According to tradition, Santa gives naughty kids a piece of coal at Christmas instead of present or treats. However, coal may have been a welcome present among poor Europeans in the 19th century. You see, a piece of coal could help a child stay warm and survive the winter. The lesson? In times of crisis, first things (like survival) must come first; and, other things like toys and candy must wait. The events of the past week reminded me of this lesson, and here’s why:
Last week was a critical week in the history of our republic and for the church’s public witness in the United States. As I am sure you are aware, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to impeach President Donald J. Trump. And, a flagship evangelical publication, Christianity Today, called for President Donald J. Trump to be removed from office. Here are three key lessons from these events:
Purity Tests Aren’t the Best
On Thursday, Mark Galli, the editor in chief of Christianity Today (CT), penned an editorial titled simply “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.” In sum, Galli cited his grave moral concerns with the President’s dealings with Ukraine; his checkered moral record; and his spiteful and demeaning rhetoric. But, Galli did not stop there. He then chastened Trump’s evangelical supports, stating that no number of favorable political decisions (judicial appointments, religions liberty protections, protection of the unborn, etc.) could justify support of Trump. He then issued a political purity test of sorts: “That he [Trump] should be removed, we believe, is not a matter of partisan loyalties but loyalty to the Creator of the Ten Commandments.” Here’s that test or at least implication stated in a different way: as a follower of Jesus, if you do not support the removal of the President, you are being disloyal to God and are violating the spirit of the Ten Commandments.
As noted below, I welcome Mr. Galli’s opinion. I wish more thinking Christians would be more vocal about their opinions. But, his approach gives me pause in both a political and moral sense.
First, in a political sense, he is telling his readers to forget the nuance of the two-party political system in the United States, the future implications of this (admittedly) rushed and partisan impeachment vote and the implications of removing a sitting president for the very first time in American history. His argument is clear and simple: Trump must be removed! For a publication that does not routinely comment on politics, this is a pile-driver argument with little nuance and consideration of political implications.
Further, in a moral sense, Galli paints with too broad a brush. Yes, there are Christians who have compromised Biblical truth in support of Trump (the excuses for Trump’s serial womanizing are especially painful when compared to the church’s treatment of Clinton). But, there are also many Christians who (1) carefully analyzed their political options and voted for Trump because they believed that choice to be the best stewardship of their vote in the general election in 2016, (2) recognized and recognize the President’s significant moral failures and the troubling implications of his dealings with Ukraine and (3) recognize the rushed and partisan nature of this impeachment vote and the profound implications of normalizing and even weaponizing impeachment.
It seems to me that Mr. Galli made the same mistake that he accuses the Trump supporters of: he ignores the moral and political nuance of the situation (please note that I am referring to the the situation, not Trump’s actions; I agree there is moral clarity concerning Trump’s checkered moral record and his spiteful and demeaning rhetoric) in an effort to come to a simple, clear purity test. If we accept Mr. Galli’s opinion and that of Trump’s most ardent supporters, we only have two options: (1) support Trump unconditionally or (2) remove him immediately (Mr. Galli and others like him). This is a false choice.
There is a better way forward for the church’s public witness: it’s called conscience. If fellow believers are ignoring Biblical principles in pursuit of political gain, we should call them out. But if Christians are applying Biblical principles in good conscience, applaud them and engage them. And, do not question their loyalty to the King of heaven and the Ten Commandments. I have found these questions helpful in applying conscience in the public square:
- Am I focused on the gospel and the common good of those around me? (Matt. 22:36-40)
- Am I, in good conscience, attempting to apply relevant Biblical truth to the situation, or am I ignoring Biblical truth for political expediency (I find it helpful to replace the current political player with a member of the opposite party)? (Psalm 119:104-106)
- Am I carefully applying Biblical wisdom to the actual political situation in front of me with due regard to (rather than wishful thinking about) the present and future implications of my decision? (Daniel 1:20)
Faithful Christians will certainly answer these questions differently. But, but we should bear with one another in love and defer to conscience (Ephesians 4; I Cor. 8). As John Neauhaus once said, “We must never declare our politics to be ‘Christian politics,’ thereby implicitly excommunicating those Christians who disagree with us.” Stated differently, we should be careful about declaring our political opinions orthodoxy.
Politics is Part
I was a bit surprised when I read Mr. Galli’s article. I enjoy reading CT, and CT often notes its generally apolitical stance. So, when the editor in chief made such a clear political statement, it caught my attention. Further, it appears that CT is doubling down on this editorial and even marketing it in an effort to attract subscribers (just check CT’s social media feeds).
Given the analysis above, it may surprise you that I applaud Mr. Galli’s willingness to speak up. Over the past few decades, the church has swung from culture warring to withdrawal from public life. Stated differently, the general approach to politics in the American church is to not approach politics.
But, we are called to proclaim and live out the gospel in every area of our lives, including in our role as citizen (Matt. 28:16-20; Matt. 22:21). The historic role of the Christian church has been to provide wisdom to the state as it fulfills its God-given roles of punishing evil and promoting justice (Romans 13; Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, Augustine, Harriet Tubman, Wilberforce, early American church, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., etc.). And, we should work to recover that role as conscience.
Now, I am not saying that Sunday morning sermons should be filled with political punditry or that we should mobilize the church as the religious wing of a political party. Rather, I welcome (1) Mr. Galli’s assertion that politics and governance is a profoundly moral exercise and (2) his example in joining this important conversation.
In sum, as American Christians, government is part of our call. We should not and, in a sense, cannot disengage from this exercise. Therefore, the better approach to politics is to exemplify Christian discipleship in the public square (which will, of course, involve some disagreements among Christians) rather than declaring it “off-limits” for faithful Christians. For these reasons, I am grateful that Mr. Galli penned the editorial.
Our Republic is under Review
The American Republic has always been a bit, well, rowdy. Sadly, four American presidents have been assassinated, and two additional presidents have been shot but not killed. Further, consider the controversial presidency of Andrew Jackson; and let us not forget our great Civil War, which still haunts the American memory a century and a half later.
So, ugly political machinations, tense ideological division and naked power grabs are not new to our experiment in ordered liberty. But, they are fairly new to us. In the 1960s, the political platforms of the Republican and Democrat parties were almost indistinguishable. And, now we have divided ourselves into socio-political tribes with starkly competing views of the country and its future. Since we no longer have a shared belief in God and have largely embraced secularism, politics is the new religion. And, that which has always been important has now become ultimate. Stated simply, this new political reality is a test of whether our Republic can flourish and perhaps even endure.
These developments were clearly evident this week. For historical context, Andrew Johnson was impeached over the removal of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, but the real issue was reconstruction. Bill Clinton was impeached for making a false statement about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and his actions in the Paul Jones case, but the central issue was the morality of the President. President Trump was impeached for his dealings with Ukraine and his actions during congressional investigation (here’s the full text of those resolutions), but the central issue appears to be Trump’s public policy and, to some degree, morality and style.
The Constitution states that Congress shall “have the sole power of impeachment” and that the President “shall be removed from office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors.” The words “high crimes and misdemeanors” are, of course, undefined; but, the word “high” certainly implies a grievous rather than a light offense. My primary concern with this impeachment is the precedent it sets (I doubt the Senate will remove President Trump). This impeachment clearly weakens the standard for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” And that’s not just my opinion. As (more left-leaning) constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley noted this week, “You could impeach every living president” under these standards.
In summary, we should be cautious about weaponizing impeachment for our more immediate politic ends. Why? A civil cold war has settled over the country, and the foundations of this great Republic are, once again, straining under the weight of this divide. Oh, and we have something called the ballot box. We should probably use that instead of the last resort measures cautiously hardwired into the U.S. Constitution.
In summary, all American citizens (including this one) should get a lump of coal in their stockings this year. When it comes to our role as citizen, we should forget the celebrations and candy for now. We need to think about more important things, like the church’s public witness, how we are going to live together in an increasingly divided country and the very survival of the American republic.