CEASEFIRE!

The time has come–and past. We in the American evangelical church have to call a unilateral ceasefire. The culture wars may have seemed like a good thing at one point, but we have to stop. Too much is at stake.

I’m not minimizing the importance of the issues central to the long battle. Of course our society is at risk. Sin is everywhere. Political policies have flaws. Leaders are often interested only in themselves. Traditional values are threatened.

But is warfare really accomplishing our goals? Let’s reflect on this.

First, by taking up arms, the Church is assuming there is an enemy. And while we may call that enemy, “the Devil,” our malice is often directed at real people. Generally, we flip Paul’s assertion in Ephesians 6:12 on its head and struggle not against “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” but against “flesh and blood.”

When we make other people the enemy we are declaring war on the very people we should be embracing. We subvert the second great commandment–the commandment to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39). You, of course, remember that Jesus described our neighbors as those with whom we disagree theologically and culturally (cf. “The Good Samaritan” Luke 10:25-37). His teaching doesn’t just apply if we happen to be in harmony with the perspectives or lifestyle of the other person.

Second, the core role of the Church is not that of “cultural critic” but of witness to the Truth both in word and action.

As citizens in a democracy, we do have a duty to be civically engaged. We want to live in a thriving, prosperous nation in which we can raise healthy children. We have concern for our fellow citizens. Without doubt, our faith will naturally inform our understandings of the make-up of a “good society” pulling us toward some ideas and away from others. As we engage in healthy debates about how to “promote the general welfare,” we will lean into our own ethical and metaphysical understandings.

This effort is not inconsequential. It is truly an act of love for our fellow travelors and gives glory to our heavenly Father. In his monumental work, The City of God, Augustine affirmed the power of Christian involvement in the political sphere at the end of the fourth century.

“Were our religion listened to as it deserves, it would establish, consecrate, strengthen, and enlarge the commonwealth in a way beyond all that Romulus, Numa, Brutus, and all the other men of renown in Roman history achieved.”

But make no mistake. Our role as citizens in a democratic republic is not the same as the mission of the Bride of Christ. The Church is not called by God to reform the United States (or drag it back to some idealized recent past). The Church, like Jesus, is called to proclaim the coming of a radically new Kingdom, ruled in holiness by the Creator of the universe. In this new Kingdom, there is no USA. Sin and death are destroyed. Love and justice reign.

Note well that street fighting is not a part of this mission. As we live in anticipation of Christ’s return, we live as citizens of this new Kingdom. Our behaviors should reflect that kingdom. Therefore, we who have chosen to follow the King should seek the welfare of His whole creation (especially those in His image) just as He does. Our lives, like His, reflect love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control. Where is warfare in this picture?

No, the effective witness to the Kingdom is not the one who desperately fights, but the one who empathetically loves. By this love, the Church and its Lord will be known. (John 13:34-35)

Finally, culture war hasn’t proved very effective in changing our society. Often, it has been counterproductive. President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, with its free contraception provision, did more to reduce the number of abortions in the US than all the wrangling about Roe v. Wade. The Church’s strident and angry approach toward racial equity, social justice, and sexual identity issues has not resulted in changed societal attitudes. But it has succeeded in alienating many young people brought up in the church.

What does the American church have to show for long years in the culture war trenches? Not much good, I’m afraid. Mostly, trying to reduce sin in the world and restore a fictitious past in which Christianity was universally practiced has tarnished the Church’s credibility and alienated the very people who need regeneration through the work of the Spirit.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t care about our core Christian values. No indeed! But we need to rethink how we go about bringing in the Kingdom. While the world will inevitably seek to destroy the Church through open or covert warfare, that must not be our way. The way of Christ is the way of love and peace. So ceasefire!