Helene’s Dilemma
At seven years old, Helene was faced with a dilemma. She was a daughter of Pastor Jacob, a small-town pastor who was deeply concerned regarding the changing political landscape. Hitler had gained much acclaim for helping Germany recover from World War 1 but was now showing signs of tyrannical power. Many Jews had already been taken out of their homes and murders were becoming a common occurrence. One day as Pastor Jacob was traveling, he saw a freshly dug gravesite with soldiers patrolling. He could see the ground moving. Not all who were shot had died and yet nothing could be done about these acts of terror. Hitler was leading with force and brutality. Pastor Jacob warned his family and congregants to be vigilant and give no allegiance to Hitler. He stressed that as Christ followers, they should never bow down and worship anyone but God. Little Helene was impressionable and probably heard more than her little seven-year-old mind could comprehend.
The dilemma came as Helene sat in her school classroom and a few soldiers came into the room. The class stood with their hands raised and pronounced “Heil, Hitler!” with confidence. As a very shy rule-follower, she was in turmoil. With her hand slightly raised, her mouth whispered a timid “Heil, Hitler.” She was petrified. Perhaps a half-hearted attempt would at least go unnoticed by the Gestapo, but half-hearted enough not to disobey her father’s warning.
These were the life and times of my mother as a little girl in Germany. The political climate was toxic. The Church was caught in the middle with some believing the propaganda that everything was ok, others outright defying a government that was ruling the people with fear and force, and still others, responding like little Helene, with timidity and fear of repercussion.
N.T. Wright & Michael F. Bird in their book, “Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies,” admit that when it comes to empires and power struggles, the Church has often faced the dilemma of how forcefully to oppose the powers that be. “The history of the world has been about the clash of civilization, the rise and fall of empires, great battles over political ideology, religious rivalry, East versus West, Marxism versus capitalism.”[1] However, the Bible asserts the Kingdom of God is not of this world (John 18:36) but rather is a heavenly force. The problem is that we live within the confines of humanity. Scripture asks us to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s (Mark 12:17), and Caesar, at the time, was viewed as a tyrant.
This scripture on rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s implies involvement financially, but does this mean political involvement as well? Wright & Bird make the case that “whatever the good, bad and ugly of history, the Church cannot retreat from politics. If we are to speak truth to power and stand up to the powers, then we must do kingdom-business with the business of political power.”[2] I am reminded of JR Woodward’s book “The Scandal of Leadership,” where he asserts that all spiritual warfare boils down to the struggle for power.[3] If the bottom line of spiritual warfare is truly the struggle for power, whether it be in a home between a husband and wife, a leader and board, two political parties or two rival empires, can there truly be a separation of the church and politics?
The church is the hope of the world and there is much help and hope that is needed. Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth in their book “Exploring Wicked Problems” remind us that the political processes of government have had very little success in affecting the wicked problems through the years. Instead, it is people who take action that make a difference.[4] The Church can be a driving force of involvement and change since it is fueled by the love of God.
Furthermore, Wright and Bird ask the questions we, as Christ-followers, often need wisdom on: “When do we appeal to Caesar and submit to governing authorities, and when do we tell Caesar we must obey God rather than human authorities and pray for the government to fall into divine judgement?”[5]
We all need divine discernment. We don’t need to die on every hill but which hills do we choose? We see over and over in history, that when injustice runs rampant and the church stands aloof, evil can wreak havoc on a nation and its peoples. Wright and Bird quote Timothy Snyder as saying: “If none of us are prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die under tyranny.”[6] World War 2 and the forceful end of Hitler’s tyrannical reign stands as an example of this.
Wright & Bird’s reminders to the Church are to remain Kingdom minded but also to keep a pulse on the political tide with whatever involvement is needed. Those who have weathered wars due to political abuses, like Helene, know all too well the cost of not being involved and vigilant. So, though we, as believers, are not conformed to this world, we can discern what the will of God is, and “what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, ESV) especially in the realm of politics.
References:
[1] N. T. Wright & Michael F. Byrd, Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Reflective, n.d.), 2.
[2] N. T. Wright & Michael F. Byrd, XV.
[3] JR Woodward, The Scandal of Leadership: Unmasking the Powers of Domination in the Church (100 Movements Publishing, 2023), XXIII.
[4] Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important (Archway Publishing, 2020), 215.
[5] N. T. Wright & Michael F. Byrd, Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, 107.
[6] N. T. Wright & Michael F. Byrd, 163.
About the Author
Esther Edwards
Esther has served in ministry leadership for over 35 years. She is an ordained minister, an ICF and CCLC certified coach, and licensed coach trainer. Her and her husband have launched their own coaching practice, Enjoy the Journey Leadership Coaching and seek to train ministry leaders in the powerful skill of coaching. Esther loves hiking, reading, and experiencing new coffee shops with friends and family. She enjoys the journey with her husband, Keith, their four daughters, sons-in-law, and their five beautiful grandchildren.6 responses to “Helene’s Dilemma”
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Thank you, Esther, for sharing such a powerful reflection. Helene’s story is a poignant reminder of the difficult choices people faced under oppressive regimes. Your post made me consider how we balance our allegiance to faith with the pressures of the world around us. It’s a crucial conversation we need to keep having.
Hi, Mathieu,
So true. Crucial conversations need to be had, whether in the church or in the workplace.
I’m curious, how have you navigated crucial conversations in the workplace when it comes to the political landscape in Canada?
Hi Esther,
Once again you share an fascinating perspective from old world Germany. Wow.
Political Theology is something I have skirted but never been directly introduced to. I enjoyed Wright and Birds book. I also enjoy the Providence Magazine
http://www.providencemagazine.com…they write, Founded in 2015, Providence examines global statecraft with Christian Realism. We are inspired by Christianity & Crisis, the journal Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr founded in 1941 to argue for the moral and geopolitical imperative of American leadership against totalitarian aggression. We believe American Christians have a special duty to interpret America’s vocation in the world today. We seek to uplift the best of historic Christian political theology, to foster wider conversation about spirituality in politics, and to create a community of serious Christian public thinkers serving America and the world.
I believe our involvement is something that we called to do. Based on our skill sets and experience we must “choose our battles.”
Shalom.
Thanks for the recommendation for the Providence Magazine resource. I like their mission to “seek to uplift the best of historic Christian political theology, to foster wider conversation about spirituality in politics, and to create a community of serious Christian public thinkers serving America and the world.”
Having Christian public thinkers that engage with wisdom would bring such help to our present reactionary world.
What a poignant opening story Esther–putting political theory firmly on the ground! Your comment, “We don’t need to die on every hill but which hills do we choose?” is indeed the million dollar question! While we haven’t read Holland’s Dominion yet, I suspect he will say what other author’s have noted–that both the political left and right stand on the foundation of the Christianized West and argue for Christian values (like caring for the marginalized and Freedom of speech) that they perceive the other party overlooks…and yet they are both still arguing for values that align with Christianity (whether they are aware of it or not). Likewise, each party has policies that clearly do not align with the values of the Kingdom. How do we prioritize these things? And how to do we rightfully speak truth to power irrespective of our political leanings? I suspect Jim Wallis will have a few things to say about these things!
So much discernment needed with the state we are in. I do look forward to reading Jim Wallis’s perspective. Rising above the political divide to speak grace and truth can be daunting, requiring maturity as well as time spent in communion with Jesus. Pastoring is not for the faint of heart!