A Call for Public Theology: on not becoming the Religious Department of the Empire
In their work, Jesus and the Powers, N.T. Wright and Michael F. Bird offer us a call for public theology, how to belong to the kingdom of God that is not from this world, but is done within and for the sake of the world [1]. While not seeking to gather signatures for a particular political ideology or position on abortion, gun control, Brexit, climate change, racial justice, they invite us to consider the important call of followers of Jesus to speak to power and carries out what they articulate as a “vocation for faithful action” that brings God’s kingship over every facet of human life [2].
The reason I see this as a call for public theology is rooted in the flow of the content, as well as the primarily Western audience to whom the authors are speaking.
By addressing the Biblical backdrop of the Roman Empire and the Caesar cult, and considering examples throughout church history, it gave me pause in terms of any misconception about unique or special challenges the church faces in the West in our time as an ‘institutionalized people’ experiencing a sense of lost power and privilege, and needing to find its way again. In this sense, the negotiation of church and empire is expressed hauntingly by Wright and Bird, that “The early church had to negotiate empire, resist empire, flee from the empire, suffer under the empire, offer apologies for itself to the empire… until the church became one with the Empire” [3]. At its best, Jesus’ Kingdom values of forgiveness and freedom, love for enemies, and protection and care for the vulnerable and the poor stand clearly in opposition to the Empires throughout time [4]. At its worst, the church can begin to operate in a defensive posture that no longer resists evil, but even ends up complicit with evil in seeking political solutions that support faith positions through unethical or violent means. Power is and has always been enticing.
Another way to put this is that the church in the West is susceptible to being co-opted for purposes that run contrary to the ways of Jesus’ Kingdom. In a phone call with Johannes Reimer, he shared a lament for Evangelicals. “What is wrong with our Evangelical political orientation which seems to lead many of us to follow leaders with obvious anti-Evangelical tendencies” [5]? Questions like this invite us to wrestle with a tension between submission to governing authorities (Romans 13:1-5 and 1 Peter 2:13-17) and either passive or active resistance [6]. Wright and Bird do not resolve this tension for us, but simply present it with a spectrum of responses to tyranny and injustice from violent and revolutionary to non-violent, which they call for as the norm we ought to aspire to [7].
So we are left with a challenge to live out and reveal God’s covenant relationship by participating in James K. A. Smith’s idea of building a society in which justice and the right ordering of society are championed [8]. We are called to live, in Vincent Bacote’s words, “Christian faithfulness in the public realm”, which, though achieved in an array of different ways in different Christian traditions, restores a conviction that being a follower of Jesus means “living a public faith, for the common good, which compels us to do good, to make good, and to build good in private and public endeavours” [9].
I dream of such a renewed passion for public theology, spoken of unashamedly and practiced diligently. Will we be known not simply as those who hate infanticide, but as those known for our compassion for the unwed mother with insufficient social support to raise a child, and as those who adopt the unwanted or unattended children? Will we be the people of God who stand against the injustices of abandoned international relationships, not just those who wish to push away unwanted asylum seekers created by tyrannical forces who filled the power gaps? Will we be known as the people of God carrying on the manifesto of Jesus in Luke 4?
“‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’” (Luke 4:18-19 NIVUK)
Will people know that Jesus is Lord by looking at our private and public lives? That is my prayer.
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[1] Wright, N. T., and Michael F. Bird., Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, London: SPCK Publishing, 2024, 7.
[2] Jesus and the Powers, xiii and 8.
[3] Jesus and the Powers, 25.
[4] Jesus and the Powers, 28. Here, Wright and Bird explicitly document that “such values were certainly not self evident to the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Vikings, Ottomans, Mongols or Aztecs”.
[5] Johannes Reimer is the founder of the Peace and Reconciliation Network of the WEA, with whom I work. More of his thoughts can be found in his book on the topic: Reimer, Johannes, Missio Politica: The Mission of Church and Politics, United Kingdom: Langham Creative Projects, 2017.
[6] Jesus and the Powers, Chapter 5.
[7] Jesus and the Powers, 121.
[8] Jesus and the Powers, 144.
[9] Jesus and the Powers, 150.
About the Author
Joel Zantingh
Joel Zantingh serves as the Canadian Coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance's Peace and Reconciliation Network, and as Director of Engagement with Lausanne Movement Canada. He has served in local and national roles within the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada, and led their global mission arm. He has experience teaching in formal and informal settings with Bible college students and leaders from various cultures and generations. Joel and Christie are parents to adult children, as well as grandparents. They reside in Guelph, Ont., situated on the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and home to many past, present and future First Nations peoples, including the Anishinnabe and Hodinöhsö:ni'.6 responses to “A Call for Public Theology: on not becoming the Religious Department of the Empire”
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Joel, I highlight this section:
“Another way to put this is that the church in the West is susceptible to being co-opted for purposes that run contrary to the ways of Jesus’ Kingdom. In a phone call with Johannes Reimer, he shared a lament for Evangelicals. “What is wrong with our Evangelical political orientation which seems to lead many of us to follow leaders with obvious anti-Evangelical tendencies” [5]?”
I, too – as I am sure you do – keep asking a version of this question over and over again. But the frame here is slightly different: What is wrong with our Evangelical political ORIENTATION…?
Where are you on this question? What do you think? Is there something about Evangelicals that leads many to this anti-Evangelical tendency? Or about evangelical theology/beliefs in general? What should we be wary of?
Thanks for asking this question. In David Fitch’s latest book, Reckoning with Power, he proposes that evangelicals in particular do not differentiate between two kinds of power – worldly and godly. Rather than read verses about power (think Ephesians 3:20-21) and seek to become complicit with earthly, worldly or political power, we have to distinguish that godly power is intended to operate in upside-down ways. It may be a useful book to wrestle through this question.
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Fitch, David E.. 2024. Reckoning with Power : Why the Church Fails When It’s on the Wrong Side of Power. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press.
Joel,
I was just having this discussion this morning at work. We were discussing how vocal we should be during this election cycle as we call on the local church to view immigration from a biblical perspective. We are not wanting to specifically call out the political rhetoric but rather rise above it in this contentious time and speak into the immigration debate as experts in the field. Yet, I find that the desire to not cause waves during this political season is winning over the debate and discussion we were having earlier. I am a boat rocker by nature but I have learned when and how we should rock the boat. Sadly, at least at this point, I am the decision maker. How do you navigate knowing the times of when to step in and say something political and when not to?
Hi Joel,
Thank you for your post. In your reading, in what ways do Wright and Bird suggest that the church’s potential complicity with evil, through seeking political solutions that support faith positions, contrasts with the Kingdom values of Jesus?
Joel, Thank you for this as I am encouraged in the pursuit of our public theology. We have truly seen an emergence of a watered down witness in the face of the challenges in the world today. I resonate with your last paragraph and wonder from your perspective what is most effective way of of improving our witness in this loud but deaf political sphere.
Hi Joel, Like Daren, I also resonated with your last paragraph, especially your words, “I dream of such a renewed passion for public theology, spoken of unashamedly and practiced diligently.” I share the same dream.
Something I have had to come to terms with is that the gospel message is offensive to some and life to others. What keeps you motivated and energized on your journey to facilitate reconciliation and create meaningful dialogue even when the message is met with hostility or apathy? Lately, I have found interactions in my context “dry,” which has felt exhausting.