Last Thursday I wrote a post called Why Political Conservatism is Dangerous to the Gospel. Without being disingenuous, I was somewhat surprised by the controversy surrounding this post. Push-back is good, and it’s helped me clarify a few of my thoughts:
1. The post was not an attack on political conservatism, per se. My goal was not to attack or defend a specific political viewpoint or ideology in any way, simply to show the danger of one specific ideology being equated and confused with the gospel.
2. With that in mind, a more nuanced title would have been helpful. A slight change, like Why Political Conservatism Can Be Dangerous to the Gospel would’ve been more accurate and less contentious.
3. The entire point of the post was about what happens when a political conservative ideology is conflated with the gospel. Certainly other issues, including political liberal ideology, can become idolatrous and even be confused with the gospel.
4. In the “Bible Belt” however, (which is bigger than my town, but not as big as the United States) one of the dominant public idols is political conservative ideology.
5. If we are to preach the gospel in the very heart of an often over-churched evangelical world, then we must help people repent of the things that are more important to them than the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is the only pathway to true freedom.
6. In areas that are large conservative voting blocs that also have a high number of professing Christians, political conservatism gets easily associated with the gospel. Meaning, that it grows beyond a simple personal idolatry – it becomes the ultimate litmus test of who is in and who is out, who is wrong and who is right.
7. My hope is that even the most ardent political conservatives would not want conservative ideology to reach the status of “gospel” anywhere at any time. When that happens, the four things at the bottom of my post take place: false assurance, enemies are made out of people created in God’s image, a stumbling block is created to political liberals hearing & accepting the true gospel, and the wrong gospel is passed to our children.
8. Those four observations were not, once again, four critiques of conservative ideology – they were four natural results of political conservatism being conflated with the gospel. My concern as a pastor is to further the gospel, not any specific political cause – and when one political party or ideology so seizes a group of people (a religious group of people at that) then even a good ideology can become a barrier to the expanse of the gospel.
9. Those four observations do happen. As a pastor, it is my duty to make these types of observations. In a similar way, I may say to a woman who has made an idol out of her own children, “Watch out. When you do that, you will damage your relationship with them, because they know that they’ll never be able to live up to the expectations you’ve placed on them. You will also damage your soul own soul, because your children will never be successful enough, pretty enough, or popular enough to please you. You are setting a trap for yourself of either great pride or great despondency based on their successes or failures. Repent and believe the gospel.”
10. Lastly – when you repent of making a good thing the ultimate thing, does it mean you abandon that thing all together? In some cases, yes. The alcoholic cannot simply cut back and become a moderationist. In most cases, however, no. When your family becomes your god-substitute, you don’t leave them, or if success in your job is your idol, the best scenario may not be for you to quit your job. As we talk of issues of the heart, repentance for you will look different. (Like the alcoholic, however, some may need to fast from political talk shows of any variety, if you know that this is the medium that feeds and fuels your anger.)
Try this thought experiment. Think through these indicators that a specific political party or ideology has become your idol, god-substitute, or functional righteousness:
- When your candidate loses, how do you feel? Are you more than disappointed? Are you despondent, on the brink of despair?
- Has your political ideology created a second tier or class of Christianity in your head? There are Christians, and then there are Christians who vote like me.
- Have you experienced outbursts of unexplained anger, specifically concerning political discussions?
- Do you more easily talk about and “evangelize” for your party or ideology than you do the gospel?
- Using the Martyn Lloyd-Jones quote from the last post: do discussions about politics specifically your particular ideology dominate your thoughts and excite and enthuse you more than any other subject or topic?
Please pray for the evangelical church in the Bible Belt, that we may faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
-JMac
[...] See also: Clarification on The Gospel & Political Conservatism [...]
Re: the image that reads: “don’t let the ungodly gain congrol. vote republican!”
I recommend seeing the Ralph Nader documentary ‘An Unreasonable Man’ because it briefly delineates how the Republican Party actively courted Evangelical Christianity after the Carter administration.
The result of this courting is largely such that one is often associated with the other. All of the things you mention are symptoms of this having happened.
Jon, I don’t mean to linksp*m you, but I’ve liked your posts, and they remind me of something I wrote a few weeks back. “For Whose Name’s Sake?: Thoughts on the Culture War.” http://gospeldrivenchurch.blogspot.com/2009/06/for-whose-names-sake-thoughts-on.html
Wonder if you might like to look it over.
Yeah, I think that ideology is perhaps the most subtle of idols. Mainly because on both sides of the political spectrum you can see benefits come from your particular brand. And so when benefit is introduced, means of gain of said benefit can be associated with other positive elements of the ideology.
I wrote on a similar thing that I see involved in Christ-less leadership development.
I do appreciate your second post on this subject. The sheer amount an tenor of the push back you have received is proof of the truth in what you have observed.
Jared’s post is also quite helpful here.
I have seen the dangers you speak of. Here, it seldom comes from the pulpit, but rather it comes out in small groups and informal conversations.
The other place it comes from is “christian” radio from groups like the ACLJ and the SBC’s ERLC.
Jon, I was recently asked to join in playing some music for some political fund-raisers, but when I saw and heard the lyrics of the songs, I had to decline. The whole Christian America theme can be and often is, a source of false assurance and false comfort for those without Christ and that message is another gospel. I appreciate your thoughtful posts on this subject.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Patrick Lunsford, Michael Adams and Theology on Tap. Theology on Tap said: RT @JonMcIntosh: …Clarifying my thoughts on the gospel & political conservatism: http://bit.ly/Ub72X //One more reason to like this site. [...]
“During the dark days of World War II, William Temple, then Archbishop of Canterbury, in a radio address to the people of England, declared, ‘This world can be saved from political chaos and collapse by one thing only, and that is worship.’
Does that sound preposterous? Listen to his definition of worship: ‘To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.’ If that is what worship really is, perhaps the Archbishop was correct. Only worship can save us.”
For more information concerning the “misrememberance” of Christian America, see this simple Google Site by a professor at Washington University (St. Louis) and Missouri Baptist University.
http://sites.google.com/site/americasgodcourse/week-nine–early-u-s–evangelicals–patriotic-misremembrance
He built the site for a Sunday school class he was asked to do a series on because of all the misconceptions about the Founding Fathers’ faith.
“Do you more easily talk about and “evangelize” for your party or ideology than you do the gospel?”
Here is the perfect test. We are made to glorify God in worshipful response, and that happens when we see God as truly fantastic. When our sight is focused clearly on the person(s) of God, we cannot help but speak of what we see and love. Lovers offer each other poetic praise because it’s a spontaneous response. Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Such is the nature of all evangelism. Adoration seeks saturation fuels evangelization.
What many people are enraptured by, in our time and nation, is a political ideology. It flows naturally from their mouth and heart in sweet (confrontational) “praise.” “Followers” fill their days & nights, friendships & family gatherings with such worship. They analyze their beloved belief from every angle. They are filled with a kinship toward those who believe, yet disdain towards those too dumb to convert. “The Way” holds out promise of a glorious future fulfillment: The Promised Land. A land flowing with un-infringed rights. Heaven on Earth.
I don’t hate these folks. In fact, I vote pretty much like they do, and with good, bible-informed reasons.
But a few years ago, I had to ask myself honestly:
If I spend my free-time hearing, conversations preaching, and daydreams dreaming of a Message, isn’t that Message it my functional Good News? Which message do I love most? If someone followed me around with a tape recorder, or if Christ played back the content of my thoughts, what message would they hear? When was the last time that someone who disagrees with my politics followed me as I followed Christ? When was the last time I followed someone who disagrees with me, as they follow Christ?
Thanks, Jonathan, for helping me to think through this issue more clearly. Thanks for helping me to repent and believe (and preach) the Gospel of the Only True God.
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Thanks guys for the input.
Jared, linkspam – a new term for me. I guess I did that to Timmy Brister last month. Great post, on your page, by the way.
James, great thoughts on which “message” is your functional Good News. Thanks brother.