Archbishop Chaput takes umbrage at John Kennedy's September of 1960 campaign statement that his Catholicism would not effect his loyalty to the country as President. In other words, Kennedy's religion only had effect on the areas of his life that he wanted it to, leaving other areas - significant areas - untouched. Unchanged by the gospel. Chaput explains his concerns by 1) looking at the problems in Kennedy's words, 2) reflecting on a proper Christian approach to politics and public service, and 3) examining where Kennedy's remarks have brought us to.
The article is thought provoking and timely as in recent years, research has found that the Christianity of todays teens and young adults is a "moralistic therapeutic deism".
The underlying question is, is Christianity a religion that we are to practice or is it a covenant between God and man encompassing the whole of life? Consider Genesis 15:17 (a good life verse if anybody needed one)...the rest of the chapter is good too.
The truth is that we all have areas of our lives that we do not want to have changed by the gospel. Is there anything for us to hear in the Archbishop's words?
The one about the Archbishop at a Baptist University...Probably would not have been much of an original joke anyway.
(Thanks to Michael Geer for the link to the news story posted at catholic.org.)
Posts
Thank you for all this good reading. I'd like to take a closer look at the "moralistic therapeutic deism" article with apologetics students. Reading Archbishop Chaput sure got me revved up. I'll need to read it again later to take it all in, but one pass kicked up plenty of dust for now.
ReplyDeleteArchbishop Chaput: Ecumenism based on good manners instead of truth is empty. ...Members of a family owe each other more than surface courtesies. We owe each other the kind of fraternal respect that "speak[s] the truth in love" (Eph 4:15).
Well put. Good manners instead of truth is a lie. Of course, it's still possible that speaking the truth with good manners may be a step toward speaking the truth in love.
Archbishop Chaput: Therefore, political engagement is a worthy Christian task, and public office is an honorable Christian vocation. ...With the help of God they can improve the moral quality of society, which makes the effort invaluable.
Certainly, Christians need to stay fully engaged in our nation's political life and strive to raise public standards of morality. However, Christian teachers sometimes give their students the idea that just being a Christian is a virtue or that Christian faith endues them with certain superior skills. However, being a Christian does not make someone a better politician or plumber than the next guy or gal. (As Tim Keller notes in chapter four of Reason for God, Christians are often the most ineffective and dysfunctional members of any particular societal cross-section. Unless we happen to be one of the camels who made it through the needle's eye, we have twice the work to do if we want to compete in the "real world.") Even were a believer to have the requisite gifts and training, my cynical side doubts that a public dedicated to "moralistic therapeutic deism" will desire to have Christian leaders improving the moral quality of society (at least not while the sun is shining therapeutically on the fruits of deism). Players only love you when they're playing, and character only shines through when it's raining. It’s when common grace dries up and the storm clouds gather that Christian character will be most in demand. Therefore, wherever they serve, Christian leaders should capitalize on their strengths: taking on thankless tasks, expecting and weathering storms cheerfully, and gathering up the windblown pieces of our communities.
Although this doesn't limit Christ's Lordship over any portion of the political arena (or preclude involvement at every level), another important question is what truly constitutes the heart of the political arena. Politics is the art of practical decision-making. It takes place primarily in families, then in local municipalities, and finally in state, national, and world governing bodies. Of course, our strong inclination to push responsibility as far away as possible typically reverses this order of priorities. In an affluent democracy (and we are hardly a constitutional republic any more), this natural human aversion to responsibility will manifest itself more and more until we submit to tyranny at the federal level in the hopes that it will save us from our failings. In response to all this, we might be tempted to focus our efforts at the uppermost level, but focusing on the real center of gravity (families living together in local communities) is always the most prudent. So let's keep talking to each other and enjoy the shared task of training a couple leaders who God could use to improve our nation morally and otherwise.
"Politics is the art of practical decision-making." This smacks too much of pragmatism. I have in view the kind of wisdom that every person needs to handle responsibilities, the kind of wisdom that Solomon asked for as a king (to administer justice as well as to form and carry out good plans).
ReplyDeleteOn the topics of local community and political involvement, visiting the Pennsylvania Family Institute and the Front Porch Republic (see sidebars) have recently informed and convicted me.