Is the Gospel Political?

Is the Gospel political? I suppose the answers will vary depending on who you ask. Some clergy members might say that it is and then rattle off a list of progressive causes such as climate change, racial and gender equality and access to healthcare and say that they feel all Christians have an obligation to champion these causes. Other clergy members might say that it is and then rattle off a list of conservative causes such as abortion, traditional marriage and religious freedom and say that they feel all Christians have an obligation to champion these causes. Notice something they have in common?

The Gospel is political. And it isn’t. Clergy members absolutely have an obligation to bring souls closer to Christ for the sake of getting to heaven. Hard stop. That’s as political as the Gospel should be. Aside from preaching sound doctrine and promoting the essential tenets of the faith, the political opinions of clergy members are just that: opinions. That we will experience suffering, poverty and injustice is a given and there is no amount of work we will ever be able to do in order to bring an end to any of it. That sin exists, even in some of our secular laws, is also a given and outside of a theocracy, there is simply not much we can do about that other than educating our neighbors with the hope that through evangelization, we might take small steps forward. As Christians, we should always seek to make life a little more moral or manageable for those around us, but the only way to do that is to start first and foremost with ourselves. Changing the world starts with us. If we can do that—and that is a big “if;" it sounds much easier than it actually is—that’s when we can be most effective at assisting others on their journeys; not by parenting them or shaming them into thinking as we do, but by engaging them in positive dialogue and ministry.

While I do not possess extensive knowledge about the Orthodox Church, I have long held a strong affinity and fascination with Orthodox iconography and literature. There is undeniably a unique mysticism that exists in Orthodoxy that resonates with me because the Orthodox seem to understand the reality that this is temporal, injustices and all. Fr. Seraphim Holland, an Orthodox priest in Texas, recently preached a homily where he said “it’s true that when you go to hell, you go to hell alone. But in this world, when someone falls you should feel the fall. You should care about the fall. When someone’s struggling, you should struggle with them.” I couldn’t agree more. We are our brothers' keepers and we do have an obligation as Christians to tend to the needs of those around us. But just as guilting people and telling them how to vote from a rigid, authoritarian religious standpoint is not productive, it is equally unproductive to make the assumption, from a progressive point of view that all Christians have an obligation to protest, or march or vote a certain way; the greatest commandment was to love God with everything we have and the second was to love our neighbor. There was no footnote or disclaimer. How we go about loving our neighbor is not a prescribed task; we all have free will and it is through the use of our (well-formed) consciences that we can decide on what our personal vocations and inclinations are in that area. For some it is family; for others, a network of friends; still others, a more public activism or ministry.  

The Orthodox Church in America’s website has a rather in-depth Q&A section which provides a great deal of insight—offered by Orthodox priests and theologians—into what the Church believes. With regard to the issue of social justice—something that is certainly important from a Christian perspective—I believe the Orthodox Church offers a very balanced understanding of how to promote it without making it into an idol: "While much of the Christian west is indeed involved in promoting justice in their own societies, the Church does not exist primarily as to advocate social justice. Of course, peace and justice issues are an integral part of the Gospel, but they are not the soul of the Gospel, and many of the social issues with which the Christian west has aligned itself and continues to align itself are hardly Christian causes in the first place.” In other words, social justice is but one small part of the overarching Gospel message. Giving it disproportionate attention places us in a position of neglecting other aspects of ministry which are no less important. 

Do we spend time in prayer? Do we listen to God's voice speaking to us in silent reflection and meditation? Are we open to doing His will above our own? Do we practice a reverent liturgy? Do we fully understand the depth of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist when we receive Him? Do we practice good stewardship of the resources provided to us by God in His Creation? Do we try to help our family members and friends when they are in need? Are we compassionate to those around us who are hurting? I see all of those things as comprising an essential checklist for proper introspection; once we can say yes to all of those things, then we’ve reached a point where we can take our ministry above and beyond our immediate surroundings—within a proper contextual and theological framework. In some cases, as the Orthodox social justice commentary above suggests, social issues and causes which might very well be essentially good, are not necessarily Christian causes in the first place; this does not diminish their importance but it does become problematic when clergy members are subtly or overtly coercing their members or colleagues to champion these causes. 

It is a futile and foolish effort to think that we can bring about anything in this world independent from God. Prayer must be the most important thing in our lives at all times because as C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “God can’t give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing.” If you don’t love God above all other things—and people—then loving your neighbor is impossible.