The evangelical support for Trump is a “sin [that] is collapsing the Evangelical moral witness,” says David French in a recently published open letter. “Moral witness” has become an important term in the evangelical NeverTrump rhetorical arsenal. Whatever it means, it has been lost or harmed since evangelicals chose to pursue “political expediency” at the expense of “moral principle,” as many have recently claimed. Evangelical politics ought to be witnessing faith and not have a lust for power.
Thomas Bradstreet has helpfully criticized some of the language of these evangelicals and has described the innovative theology that underpins it. Still, more needs to be said. In particular, this term, “moral witness” needs to be unpacked. What is the nature of “moral witness”? Who is the audience? Why is it so often juxtaposed with political ends and “political expediency”? What are its dangers and disadvantages? In this essay, I provide a theory on the meaning of “moral witness” in contemporary evangelicalism.
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[Evangelical] political activity, ..., is ultimately a project of moral witness, calling for Christians to live up to a selected and particular set of moral principles/language intended for a particular audience as part of evangelism. Political activity itself is just another means of showcasing an other-worldly, Christian gospel-morality in order to demonstrate the winsomeness of Christianity.
So the governing principle of political action is not the necessities of civil order, but the necessities of witness; and those two – order and witness – are not entirely coextensive. In other words, the actions necessary to ensure order are not always the sort of actions that make for an effective witness. Consequently, the witnessing-purpose of Christian politics largely sidelines questions concerning civil order, for Christian politics just is evangelism by other means.
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The evangelical moral platform then is highly constrained and partly dictated by secular moral posturing, since the winsomeness of Christianity is the ultimate end of the evangelical political platform. It seems inevitable then that the respectable evangelical moral platform will become and partly is already in conformity with the secular approved list of just social causes. In witnessing to them, evangelicals work for them, and in consequence become the unwitting advocates for and censors on behalf of secularist interests.
Read more at https://sovereignnations.com/2018/05/15/state-evangelical-moral-witness/
Those evangelicals duped by left wing social and political rhetoric are often some of the most condescending and annoying people I have met. When I was on facebook, I was tone policed numerous times because I asked questions of one of my pastors about his statements on policing. Christian SJWs might not physically attack you or dox you, but the will defame your character.
ReplyDeleteBlake, I understand ... I’ve been on the receiving end of some of that condescension. It’s a real problem, and I think the more sharply we define the left’s agenda, and distinguish it from Christianity, the better we will be moving forward.
DeleteIs there something deeper going on? An evangelical could be too into right-wing politics. Or they can be exercising judgement on how to best vote.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the problem is for a lot on the left (right too) politics is an all-consuming idol.
When people have an issue with not voting for a leftist, I bring up abortion.
Hi Geoff — I think what we are seeing goes far deeper into the population just left and right wings. “The political left” has made it a point to learn to craft issues in ways that make their agenda (think “marriage equality”) acceptable to even devout Christians. On the other side of this are the real political ramifications. My pastor, who has sworn off Facebook, came out of hiding to post the article by David French (on evangelicals voting for Trump), and there was a very big discussion there. My church is right near two major college campuses. He (my pastor) told me that his job was made 10 times harder with the election of Trump. But Trump isn’t totally responsible, and he is merely the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on these days. The lion’s share of the contention we are seeing is because the left has access to money and media, and they’re spending it (vociferously) in order to enact their agenda.
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