Provocative comments, Loren. I wonder, though- when some thought leaders on the Christian Right (though not Kirk) attack the ideas of empathy or loving your neighbor, how do you “depoliticize” Christianity? Some of this may depend on what we mean by “politics.” You can avoid promoting particular policy options and partisanship in general. But when one party rejects Jesus’ core message and calls that rejection “Christianity,” I don’t see a way to utterly depoliticize my response, and see no reason why we should. There’s a reason the Romans executed Jesus, after all- his message was a political threat to the Empire. “Trusting in God” complements advocating for Jesus’ ministry, and both are required of any disciple.
An insightful article. One of the most remarkable things for me about this article is Karl Barth's response to Hitler. With the political divisions within and between faith groups, this perspective starts at the center and moves from there.
It's quite interesting though, the sort of depoliticized approach led to a number of pastors being caught off guard to discover that their congregations had voted for Trump. I remember asking many friends who are pastors, how did you let this happen? I also, left the church in 2016.
Jeff Mikels in his book Evangelical Idolatry: How Pastors Like Me Have Failed the People of God, speaks to this as a former pastor:
“At the heart of it all was a simple but obvious logical conclusion: If, after seventeen years of being under my ministry, their hearts resonated more with Fox News then with Jesus, I had failed to accurately portray Jesus as our example, authority, and only King.”
He writes, “Afer much consideration, I’m convinced that I am complicit.”
To be clear, I really appreciate your perspective and for the most part agree. In fact, more than ever, we need spaces that are a shelter from the storm. I try to make my wine bar something of that, but of course, some of my wine selections can be political in nature.
Thank you for writing this, Loren. I'm grateful to learn from you. What stands out from this piece is, "“preach as if nothing has happened… as though Jesus is Lord. ... go to a place on Sunday morning and refuse to talk about the thing everyone wants us to talk about and instead talk about Jesus—that is itself a political statement.”" ... does this stand true in smalltown hyper conservative america? I ask for lots of reasons, but I attend a church where the pastor does his best to be a-political and simultaneously it's very clear where he stands on lots of issues. I find him hiding behind what Micheli describes in order to get out of talking about the hard stuff, assumably b/c he holds a conservative stance. It's become nothing short of an excuse and defense that he avoids hot topics because he wants to be apolitical.
Such a good point. It's worth noting, thinking about your geographic reference, that Micheli preaches "within the beltway," so to speak, a context I can imagine that would be similar to what Barth and Bonhoeffer both encountered. Yet, I'm also struck by your point about hiding behind a shield of political avoidance, and I appreciate that observation. I'll ponder on that. One thing for sure, your presence in that church is a powerful testimony and act of faith on your part.
Provocative comments, Loren. I wonder, though- when some thought leaders on the Christian Right (though not Kirk) attack the ideas of empathy or loving your neighbor, how do you “depoliticize” Christianity? Some of this may depend on what we mean by “politics.” You can avoid promoting particular policy options and partisanship in general. But when one party rejects Jesus’ core message and calls that rejection “Christianity,” I don’t see a way to utterly depoliticize my response, and see no reason why we should. There’s a reason the Romans executed Jesus, after all- his message was a political threat to the Empire. “Trusting in God” complements advocating for Jesus’ ministry, and both are required of any disciple.
Yeah, fair point. I don’t know how one can criticize empathy as being somehow “unchristian.” I think it’s only a caricature that people criticize.
I’d also agree with your point that Christian actions like love of neighbor do have real-world consequences that may cause political repercussions.
An insightful article. One of the most remarkable things for me about this article is Karl Barth's response to Hitler. With the political divisions within and between faith groups, this perspective starts at the center and moves from there.
It's quite interesting though, the sort of depoliticized approach led to a number of pastors being caught off guard to discover that their congregations had voted for Trump. I remember asking many friends who are pastors, how did you let this happen? I also, left the church in 2016.
Jeff Mikels in his book Evangelical Idolatry: How Pastors Like Me Have Failed the People of God, speaks to this as a former pastor:
“At the heart of it all was a simple but obvious logical conclusion: If, after seventeen years of being under my ministry, their hearts resonated more with Fox News then with Jesus, I had failed to accurately portray Jesus as our example, authority, and only King.”
He writes, “Afer much consideration, I’m convinced that I am complicit.”
A good point. But I do think this is a question ultimately about discipleship and formation. But your point stands.
To be clear, I really appreciate your perspective and for the most part agree. In fact, more than ever, we need spaces that are a shelter from the storm. I try to make my wine bar something of that, but of course, some of my wine selections can be political in nature.
Thank you for writing this, Loren. I'm grateful to learn from you. What stands out from this piece is, "“preach as if nothing has happened… as though Jesus is Lord. ... go to a place on Sunday morning and refuse to talk about the thing everyone wants us to talk about and instead talk about Jesus—that is itself a political statement.”" ... does this stand true in smalltown hyper conservative america? I ask for lots of reasons, but I attend a church where the pastor does his best to be a-political and simultaneously it's very clear where he stands on lots of issues. I find him hiding behind what Micheli describes in order to get out of talking about the hard stuff, assumably b/c he holds a conservative stance. It's become nothing short of an excuse and defense that he avoids hot topics because he wants to be apolitical.
Such a good point. It's worth noting, thinking about your geographic reference, that Micheli preaches "within the beltway," so to speak, a context I can imagine that would be similar to what Barth and Bonhoeffer both encountered. Yet, I'm also struck by your point about hiding behind a shield of political avoidance, and I appreciate that observation. I'll ponder on that. One thing for sure, your presence in that church is a powerful testimony and act of faith on your part.