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“Poverty and the Christian Left” John Armstrong

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mwkruse
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Acton Powerblog: Poverty and the Christian Left by John Armstrong.

There is clearly a “Christian Left” growing among evangelicals in America. We have heard a great deal about the “Christian Right” for more than two decades. I frequently critique this movement unfavorably. But what is the Christian Left?

The Christian Left is almost as hard to define, in one certain sense, as the Christian Right. And it is equally hard to tell, at least at this point, how many people actually fit this new designation and just how many potential voters this movement really represents. Is there real political power in this movement? Time will tell. It seems to be a small right group now but the movement is clearly gaining in terms of public notice. It is especially appealing to some evangelical Christians who draw a lot of attention to a select set of issues that they have linked to the Bible in a certain way.

…….

…The father of this movement is Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners, a magazine read by several thousand. Wallis is also the author of one of the most misnamed books I know: God’s Politics (Harper, 2006). If someone my age and background wrote a book with this title I think I would be maligned for my sheer audacity and incredulity….

I know many of my readers are Jim Wallis fans, and I am not trying to pick a fight but…. I think Jim Wallis is to the Religious Left what Jim Dobson is to the Religious Right. I see almost no difference in my heart of hearts other than that Wallis' star is rising and Dobson's star has been falling. The idea that Wallis offers some third way doesn't pass the smell test with me. 🙂

The promotional literature [Pentecost 2007] adds, “We believe that the conversation about moral values in America has been widening and deepening, building into a movement for real change.” The promoters of this event believe that Christians “from across the political spectrum are being moved by this call for justice and are forming partnerships.” It further suggests that there are many “new found partners and allies” that are coming together and thus this event will be a place for that to happen.

…….

…The problem I see here is the staggering hubris behind suggesting that their way of answering the poverty question, which I believe Christians should seriously address since the Bible speaks a great deal about it, is the only solution for Christians who really care about this issue. (You get the same approach when global warming is presented.) Long before these advocates of the Christian Left got excited about promoting governmental solutions to poverty there were large numbers of Christians promoting alternative solutions through the market, private enterprise, and the church. These types of solutions, which are rooted in both Catholic and Reformed theology, preserve personal freedom and keep government from becoming the central player in the solving this problem. There is a long tradition of Christian social thought that is not based on the federal government leading the way in charity and economic growth for people, including the weakest among us. From reading the literature of the Christian Left you would never know this tradition existed at all since the literature paints with such a broad brush, much like some in the Christian Right.

I couldn't agree with the closing paragraph more.

Missional Christian theology is not equal to the Christian Left’s political and social agenda. Sadly, some have concluded that the two really do go together. It is the church that will suffer loss once again if this mistake is perpetuated in the manner that we now see developing. Christians need to engage the politics of many important ethical and social issues but they should do so only after they have worked much harder to understand the serious nature of what is required to form a public policy that is deeply rooted in historic Christian theology.

Comments

13 responses to ““Poverty and the Christian Left” John Armstrong”

  1. Sam Carr Avatar
    Sam Carr

    I think I agree with your assessment though not all of your conclusions. Individual freedom and individual action go together. Where i find myself lacking is in applying Jesus’s teaching of God’s kingdom to my actions.
    It’s always attractive to try to build a movement and to make these issues political and that means very often choosing between a ‘right’ and a ‘left’.
    The comparison of Wallis and Dobson is also appropriate.
    The question really is how to properly engage with ‘the way’ of Christ?

    Reply
  2. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Thanks Sam.
    “…though not all of your conclusions.”
    That just means I haven’t worked on you enough yet. 🙂
    “Where i find myself lacking is in applying Jesus’s teaching of God’s kingdom to my actions.”
    Ain’t that the truth for all of us.
    What I find annoying about Wallis is not so much his stands on particular issues. I disagree with lots of folks on issues. It it that he (and cohorts) offer their policy agenda up as the test for being a true believer, just like the Religious Right does with their agenda.

    Reply
  3. RonMcK Avatar
    RonMcK

    At heart, there is not much difference between the christian left and the christian right. They are both committed to the use of state power. The only difference is in what they use state power for. One group wants to beat up the rich to help the poor. The other group wants to beat up Iraqis.
    Anyone whose first solution to any problem is to bring in state power is dangerous, christian or not.
    Ron

    Reply
  4. Sam Carr Avatar
    Sam Carr

    Agreed. We must also explore what stewardship means in a bit more depth especially as far as ‘ownership’ is concerned and in terms of a communitas approach to solving problems like poverty and injustice.
    We are one body with one Lord whether we know it or not.

    Reply
  5. Dan Anderson-Little Avatar
    Dan Anderson-Little

    Mike,
    I am troubled by your statement “I think Jim Wallis is to the Religious Left what Jim Dobson is to the Religous Right.” While both of them are articulaters of a particular point of view and a set of policy recommendations, to compare Wallis to Dobson is to be blind to the enormous influence that Dobson and other leaders in the Christian right have had and continue to have with the current administration. Jim Wallis has no constituency to deliver–as you say, his ongoing readership is relatively small. The other big difference is that Wallis (as far as I can tell) does not engage in the demonization of others, except for those in power and that is a group that Jesus and the Old Testament prophets did not hesitate to criticize and even condemn. While no governmental program can eradicate poverty and human misery, government can actually make a difference in the lives of the poor. It is a sin, that in our country, literally millions have no guaranteed health care. Of course there are a whole tangle of issues and dynamics that perpetuate poverty–but the people who are hungry and in need of care are not statistics–they are people to we as Christians are obligated to help–and in a country of 300 million, I do not see how government cannot play some significant part.
    To be sure, Jim Wallis has his problems–but please do not diminish the enormous power of Dobson et al. by equating him to Wallis.

    Reply
  6. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Ron, what I find odd on the American scene is a curious mixture of government action and Anabaptist theology (which is supposed to be separate from the government.) Why can’t they all be reasonable and consistent … like me? 🙂

    Reply
  7. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    “We are one body with one Lord whether we know it or not.”
    I have sermon that I have used a couple of times where I suggest that many people ask how we can become one in Christ. Moot question. We are one in Christ. The only question is what are we going to do about it.

    Reply
  8. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    For the record, I’m no fan of Dobson or Wallis. Both, I think, allow themselves to be used as Christian masks for secular political objectives, in a sordid exchange for access to power.
    That said, it should be noted that Dobson’s principle concerns weren’t political until relatively recently. For decades, FOTF has produced resources for childrearing, crisis intervention, etc., some of which I’ve found quite helpful.
    Leaving the demagogues aside, and acknowledging that politics have had a hideously corrosive effect on all involved, I do think that there’s a significant difference between the self-identified constituents of the Christian “right” and “left”. Bar the average conservative Baptist or Presbyterian from ever again uttering a word about public policy, and he or she still has a robust, comprehensive worldview that shapes every facet of life (for good or ill). Do the same thing to most of the progressives I know, and they’re not left with much at all.

    Reply
  9. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    Dan, my point of intersection is that both Dobson and Wallis have become religious spokespersons that seem to baptize particular ideologies with proof-texts. Yes Dobson is in a more powerful position but Wallis is where Dobson was in the 1970s; courting a political movement that was in ascendancy and becoming an integral piece of the that political movement.
    I also think both the size and the clout of the Religious Right is greatly exaggerated, and therefore Dobson’s influence. Andrew Greely’s “The Truth about Conservative Christians” helps break this down a bit. I think the Republican Party mostly uses Dobson and Dobson has little true impact on most policy decisions. However, I do agree he has a larger following at the moment more influence than Wallis, because Dobson’s types are the ones in power. I would also ask which of the two has had a nationwide runaway bestseller about political action.
    Yes, Wallis has good intentions of helping the poor. Good intentions have to married with sound policy. The issue isn’t whether or not government has a role. The issue is what policies actually accomplish the objective. Reasonable people can disagree about the effectiveness a policy but this is not what Wallis is saying. He is saying you back debt forgiveness for developing nations, increases in the minimum wage and legislation requiring businesses to pay a “living wage” or you are a sinner exploiting the poor. Support his program form healthcare reform or you are violating biblical justice. How about his rhetoric on climate change? I am on the Sojo mailing list. I find them every bit as trivializing of their opponents as the stuff I have seen from Focus on the Family and every bit as good at de-contextualized proof-texting their positions from the Bible.
    So in short despite the relative disparity in influence between the two Jims (which I think is shifting) I think the comparison is valid.

    Reply
  10. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    “Do the same thing to most of the progressives I know, and they’re not left with much at all.”
    Interesting comment, Andy. Having recently read books by Arthur Brooks on giving and Andrew Greely on Religious Right politics, I think there is much greater diversity of people on left and right then we often give acknowledge. I do agree that there is a faction in the church for whom social action is virtually all there is to being a Christian (Just like there are others who believe it is all about “saving souls.”)

    Reply
  11. Sam Carr Avatar
    Sam Carr

    In your comments on Wallis, yes, agreement on what needs to be accomplished may be very there, but a lot of discussion amongst Christians on options, scenarios, ‘rival’ projections and so on should be the basis on which we decide what is most likely to be in line with God’s kingdom and what will accomplish kingdom objectives, and that may not be the same as just what works.
    In a recent post on Ben Witherington’s blog, he discusses liberation theoology in S. America in the light of the Pope’s visit there. Many of the same questions arise, there is indeed a biblical basis for liberation theologies but unfortunately that has become wedded to Marxist thinking. The Marxism comes in because free market approaches in developing countries generally results in the few super rich exploiting the heck out of everyone else.
    Debate is badly needed and it should start with what the gospel is all about, not what is left, right or center politically.

    Reply
  12. Michael W. Kruse Avatar
    Michael W. Kruse

    “Marxism comes in because free market approaches in developing countries generally results in the few super rich exploiting the heck out of everyone else.”
    These nations already have the super rich exploiting everyone else. It dates back to the hacienda system of Spain and Portugal. Free markets did not create the situation. When we engage in free trade with these nations the powerful elite keeps the profits and, because they are above the law, the use their resources to keep their hold on power inhibit trade from developing within their own nation. Free markets are predicated on well institutionalized property rights and the rule of law. The problem is not free exchange. It is that these elites block the emergence of the institutions that will lead to economic freedom in their countries.
    That said, I agree with your basic point. A little more dialog and a little less ideology is sorely needed.

    Reply
  13. John H. Armstrong Avatar
    John H. Armstrong

    Michael,
    I just discovered your blog via your citation of my work on “The Christian Left.” I also see the Acton involvement on your site. I would love to get to know you and would be delighted if you email me at: JohnA1949@comcast.net.
    I will keep looking over your blog site as well. I see a great deal that I resonate with personally. It seems we are both catholic, ecumenical, mainline reformists who love Christ, the kerygma, the ancient creeds and the Great Tradition. Check out our site at http://www.act3online.com and my blog at http://www.johnharmstrong.com and then perhaps we can “chat” by email and get to know one another.
    Pax Christi,
    John H. Armstrong

    Reply

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