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\u201cMost socio-political disagreements are not about different laws or policies; rather, they are about competing theories of justice (morality and applied morality), knowledge, human nature, and the nature of existence\u201d<\/span>.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n Last week, while working in Phoenix, Arizona, I attended a large mega church in Scottsdale for their Sunday morning worship. \u00a0The woman sitting next to us insisted I meet the director of their women\u2019s ministry and invited me to join their Bible study Tuesday morning. \u00a0Because I love the energy of meeting new people (and a good Bible teaching), I organized my morning so I could participate. \u00a0Packed with women from various backgrounds, ages and races, I was immediately welcomed as we listened to the director of women\u2019s ministry teach on the Minor Prophets. \u00a0Throughout her entire lecture, which was an overview of Scripture, the teacher emphasized multiple times how the Jewish people and the chosen Nation of Israel are the same today as they were in the Old Testament.<\/span><\/p>\n Several times she paused, encouraging her audience to pray for the Nation of Israel because what was happening to them in the war was completely unjust\u2013how the Palentianians were in the wrong. Just weeks before, I received an email from a writing friend, Christena Cleveland, in which she strongly encouraged her audience on how to pray for Palestine while speaking out against Zionism.[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a Jewish Christian woman whose brother[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0is an Israeli citizen, I am extremely uncomfortable with both approaches: The Bible teacher from a Mega Conservative church using her influence to bring such an unbalanced approach to Scripture making modern day Israel the hero and a Christian social justice journalist overlooking the grave actions of Hamas, leading her audience to believe the Jewish people are the real enemy.<\/span><\/p>\n As I read and listened to this week\u2019s book (Thank you, John Fehlen), I heard the author talk about the greater purpose of offering the culture an escape from hyper politicization. Using both deductive and inductive logic, the authors create an argument for how these ideologies ground their vision of both what is good (and how to achieve that good) outside of God. \u00a0The book\u2019s overall purpose is that if Evangelicals can make a convincing case, through the principals of Catholic social thought, that the Church has a good vision of politics,\u201dgrounded in the objective truth, then we at least open the door for considering that the church might have a good vision\u2013a vision founded in objective love.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yet while Matthew Petrusek and Thomas Cardinal Collins were presenting their alternative to ideologies,[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and suggesting the Church invite culture into a relationship with Christ, I wondered if first the Church might consider some of her choices?<\/span><\/p>\n In\u00a0Evangelization and Ideology: How to Understand and Respond to the Political Culture<\/em>,\u00a0<\/span>Petrusek and Collins focus on four Western secular political theories. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \n Utilitarianism:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Actions are right if they are useful or beneficial for the majority.<\/span><\/p>\n \n Classical Liberalism<\/span><\/strong>:<\/strong> Advocating private property, unhampered market economy and the rule of law.<\/span><\/p>\n \n Progressivism\/Wokeism<\/span><\/strong>: Alert to radical prejudice and discrimination.<\/span><\/p>\n \n Non-Theistic Conservatism<\/span><\/strong>. The principle of separation of church and state.<\/span><\/p>\n \n After reading about the ideologies, I experienced the ephemeral fear that often accompanies a discussion of politics. With a bit of nostalgia, I recognized how we no longer live in the days of politicians like Ronald Reagan who didn\u2019t appear to be sullied by partisan subterfuge. \u00a0What is the purpose of the Church when ideologies read more like idolatries? Thinking back to Annabel Beerel\u2019s words when she writes, \u201cThe goal of leadership is to advance global flourishing by embracing changing reality,\u201d[6]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0might we now ask \u201chow\u201d in light of these ideologies?<\/span><\/p>\n \n What Can the Church Do?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This week on campus, Kaitlyn Schiess spoke in chapel. \u00a0Kaitlyn is the author of\u00a0The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of our Neighbor.<\/span><\/em>[7]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0and\u00a0Ballot and the Bible: How Scripture has been Used and Abused in American Politics<\/em>.<\/span>[8]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Her purpose and platform extend far and wide despite her young age. \u00a0What I found fascinating about her messages was how she dove beneath the ideologies that shape our culture while peeling back the layers of what\u2019s at the heart of the division. \u00a0Kaitlyn claims it\u2019s a lack of honesty about our emotions.<\/span><\/p>\n In a recent interview with Kaitlyn, Preston Sprinkle[9]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0admitted how hundreds of pastors share with him that the last two years have been the most difficult, divisive, experiences because of politics. On the podcast, he asks Kaitlyn what she thinks the future will be for the church and politics. \u00a0She offers a handful of helpful responses:<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n As the Church has opportunity, how might leaders take the moral initiative to disciple their congregations so that it replaces the discipleship of social media and idealogies?<\/span><\/p>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n [1]<\/a>\u00a0Petrusek, Matthew, and Cardinal Thomas Collins.\u00a0<\/span>Evangelization and Ideology: How to Understand and Respond to the Political Culture<\/span>. Word on Fire, 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n [2]<\/a>\u00a0Cleveland, Christena. \u201c8 Tips for Talking to Your Community about Palestine – Accessed January 31, 2024.<\/span>\u00a0<\/a><\/span>https:\/\/mail.google.com\/mail\/u\/0\/#search\/daniel%40jewelsofjudaism.com\/FMfcgzGwHLkwlQXVLPPtvDQCJGNhPvjs?projector=1<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n [3]<\/a>\u00a0https:\/\/nerleraglai.com\/responding-to-hamas-attack-on-israel\/<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [4]<\/a>\u00a0Petrusek and Collins,\u00a0<\/span>Evangelization and Ideology<\/span>. P. 17<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [5]<\/a>\u00a0P. 18<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [6]<\/a>\u00a0Beerel, Annabel.\u00a0<\/span>Rethinking Leadership: A Critique of Contemporary Theories<\/span>. 1st ed. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group, 2021.<\/span>\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n [7]<\/a>\u00a0Schiess, Kaitlyn, and Michael Wear.\u00a0<\/span>The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor<\/span>. IVP, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n\n
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