Political Christianity
In John Esposito’s book ‘Islam, the straight path’ (3rd edition) there is a fascinating chapter on the way Arab countries have used Islam to further the political aims of the leaders. There have been many interpretations and uses of Islam to legitimise the power being held by the rulers. Right wing monarchies in countries such as Saudi Arabia, and military regimes in countries such as Pakistan, Libya and Sudan all use Islam to control their people. These Islamic regimes range from radical socialism in Libya to the conservative Saudi Arabian monarchy. Islamic law is being used to keep the power in the control of the ruling group.
This use of religion to keep in power is not only in Islam however, Christianity has also been used in this way. The medieval Roman Catholic Church had great power, and did abuse this in many ways, whilst at the same time the church popes, cardinals and bishops were too often living far from Christian lives.
Many political movements start with genuine grievances. National Socialism grew out of the poverty and hardship in Germany resulting from the first World War - fairness and economic needs being reasonable driving forces at the beginning. In Russia, the deprivations felt by many led to the rise of communism but from this an elite took and use unethical means to remain in power. In England poverty and deprivation were similar forces that led to socialism.
What is striking is that these powerful movements came out of the ethics of Christian teaching although they all subsequently have come to focus on what the leaders wanted to see in this life and overlooked what Jesus taught about how we work towards the next life. These political movements start with just causes but then use the God or Christian label to promote their ends. All move away from Jesus and from the truths he and Scripture give us from God.
Right wing politics
In the United States, Christian slave owners and pro-slavery politicians in the 19th century used Biblical verses, such as Ephesians 6:5 which addresses the relationship between slaves and masters, to defend the institution of slavery. The Southern Baptist Convention was founded in 1845 specifically to support the practice of slavery on theological grounds, an action it did not apologise for until 1995.
In 1933, 95 per cent of Germans described themselves as Christians. It is therefore not surprising that in his public speeches and on the National Socialist Party Platform in the early days, Hitler frequently referenced ‘God’ and ‘Providence,’ presenting himself as a defender of Christian values and declaring that the Nazi movement was Christian. The ‘Nazi’ Party promoted a concept called "Positive Christianity," a state-sanctioned version that was largely a political ploy. This movement sought to ‘Aryanise’ Christianity by removing its Jewish origins and the Old Testament. They portrayed Jesus as an ‘Aryan fighter’ against Jewish materialism emphasising obedience to the state as a Christian virtue and therefore taught that loyalty to Nazi ideology was a Christians responsibility. In a speech on April 12th, 1922, Hitler had said:
“My feeling as a Christian points me to my Lord and Saviour as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded only by a few followers, recognised these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God's truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders. How terrific was his fight against the Jewish poison. Today, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognise more profoundly than ever before the fact that it was for this that He had to shed his blood upon the Cross. As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice.“
In a speech in Passau in October 1928 he again stated that the Nazi movement was ‘Christian”. In a radio address in February 1933, he declared Christianity to be the ‘foundation of our national morality’. In a speech to the Reichstag in March 1933 Hitler emphasised that the government viewed ‘Christianity as the unshakable foundation of the morals and moral code of the nation’.
In August 2, 1934 Hitler became Führer of the German Nation and he was able to order actions that were far from those Jesus would approve of.
Despite his public actions, Hitler and his inner circle were fundamentally hostile to traditional apostolic Christianity and were contemptuous of Christian values. In private conversations recorded in the ‘Goebbels Diaries’ and by aides like Albert Speer, Hitler scorned Christian ethics of compassion and meekness as a ‘rebellion against the natural law of selection by struggle’ and the ‘survival of the fittest’.
Hitler viewed Nazism as a secular, science-based ideology and intended to ultimately eradicate the influence of the Christian churches in Germany after the war, replacing it with Nazi ideology. The regime engaged in a ‘Church Struggle’ (Kirchenkampf), suppressing Catholic schools and newspapers, arresting thousands of clergy, sending many to the Dachau concentration camp, and attempting to bring Protestant churches under state control through the creation of a unified ‘Reich Church’.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to Adolf Hitler and leaders like him as bad shepherds or “mis-leaders.” Bonhoeffer gave a speech just two days after Hitler’s election that proved prophetic. He said that if a leader did not understand that his authority was derived from God, and did not use his position and power to serve the people, then “the image of the leader will pass over into the image of the mis-leader, and he will be acting in a criminal way not only towards those he leads, but also towards himself..” Bonhoeffer proclaimed Hitler a mis-leader before his regime had even been fully formed but was eventually hanged by the regime just before the end of the second world war.
Was Hitler a follower of Jesus Christ, the answer is absolutely no, yet he had been baptised as a Roman Catholic. He did sometimes make positive references to Christianity in his early public speeches, and he did try to get the Churches on his side. However he was not a Christian in the Biblical sense of the word. He did not follow Jesus, read the Bible, or go to church. It is difficult to see how someone who hated the Jews could follow the greatest Jew of all. As his ideologue Martin Bormann put it:
“National Socialism and Christianity are irreconcilable…National Socialism is based on scientific foundations… [it] must always, if it is to fulfil its job in the future, be organised according to the latest knowledge of scientific research.”
He condemns “the concepts of Christianity, which in their essential points have been taken over from Jewry”, saying:
“We’ll see to it that the Churches cannot spread abroad teachings in conflict with the interests of the State. We shall continue to preach the doctrine of National Socialism, and the young will no longer be taught anything but the truth.”
It is so easy for politicians to use people’s beliefs, particularly if these are not well founded, to promote a particular ideology. It is remarkable that Hitler repeatedly used the story of Jesus ejecting Jews from the temple to justify his anti-semitism.
In modern times, the rise of the Christian right in the United States. has seen politicians and associated groups, such as ‘the Moral Majority’ and ‘the Christian Coalition’, use Christian values to push specific conservative agendas. Antagonism to such issues as abortion, LGBTQ+ rights is used to promote a wider selfish agenda. In the United States promoting the Christian faith has a clear electoral advantage - with churches having significant lobbying power. An outward nominal faith is therefore espoused by most politicians who hope to be elected, although what that faith really means is often open to doubt.
In Britain today the English Defence league has many similarities to the early National Socialists in Germany. They have a reasonable grievance, emphasising how immigrants are taking jobs and housing from English born patriots. One of their leaders, Tommy Robinson, who real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has publicly identified himself as having become a Christian when in prison. He now wears a cross and says he is promoting Christianity. This movement encourages the flying of the flag of St George with its red cross. At their political rallies, sometimes called ‘Unite the Kingdom’ there can be hymns, prayers and they have Christian symbols publicly displayed. Some have even suggested this organisation is a para-church movement. However this movement is not to promote the person of Jesus as Lord of all and what Jesus and his apostles taught, but is a nationalist political pressure group. They encourage an ‘us-versus-them’ mentality whereas Jesus wants his people to draw people of all nations to himself.
So often ‘Christian nationalism’ conflicts with the emphasis of the Bible that Christians must live to please their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and speak openly about him. He longs for all people of every nation and creed to follow him, because of who he is. Following him will include calls for social justice, compassion for immigrants, and human rights, but not the promotion of an exclusive form of national identity. Critics of the nationalist movements contend that the political power and cultural influence associated with Christianity are prioritised over the ethical and moral teachings of Jesus, his prophets and apostles.. So often when political power is achieved, Jesus is forgotten and this proves that their Christian affiliation was spurious.
Left wing politics
The Tolpuddle Martyrs were forebears of the modern trade union movement and were also largely Methodists. Their leader, George Loveless, served as a Wesleyan preacher. They felt their political views were based on Christianity.
The Labour Party in the United Kingdom also had its origins in non-conformist Christianity. Christianity was a significant influence on the formation of the Labour Party, particularly through the involvement of Christian socialists and nonconformist trade unionists. Keir Hardie, the primary founder and first leader of the Labour Party, was an adult convert to Christianity and a Methodist preacher. He explicitly stated that his faith was the
‘. . . impetus which drove me first into the Labour movement... has been derived more from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth than from all other sources combined”.
Organisations such as the ‘Christian Guild of St Matthew’, founded in 1877, were among Britain's first overtly socialist bodies. Prominent Christian socialist thinkers, such as economic historian R.H. Tawney, helped underpin party policies as Labour grew into a national political force. A specific organisation, the ‘Labour Church,’ emerged to express the theological socialism inherent in the movement, further highlighting the explicit link between faith and early Labour politics.
Local socialist groups are still called ‘chapels’, indicating the origin of this movement in non-conformity. The Christian emphasis on ‘brotherly love’ and all people being ‘children of one Father’ directly influenced the socialist cry for brotherhood and later, comradeship or kinship, as the basis for human relationships and the common good. The Christian principle that all people are equal in the eyes of God was changed and secularised into a fundamental tenet of socialism: social and economic equality.
However again, this link is superficial. Ramsay MacDonald, Labour’s first Prime Minister, was President of the ‘Union of Ethical Societies’, now ‘Humanists UK’ before becoming an MP and was probably an atheist in all but name. Clement Attlee was as an ‘unobtrusive atheist’ who believed in ‘ethics without the mumbo-jumbo’ of religious doctrine. He considered himself ‘incapable of religious experience’. James Callaghan, Prime Minister between 1976-1979, has also been identified as a non-religious Prime Minister, with an agnostic or humanist outlook. Neil Kinnock, the Labour Leader from 1983-1992 was an atheist who was open about his lack of belief during his leadership. Tony Benn, a Cabinet Minister, did challenge Neil Kinnock for the leadership in 1988. He came from a strong Christian socialist background and the ethical teachings of Jesus were a major influence on his politics. He described himself as a ‘Christian agnostic’ or a ‘Christian who did not believe in God, believing in ‘Jesus the prophet, not Christ the king’. Ed Miliband has said, ‘I am not religious but I am Jewish’, referring to his family heritage. Keir Starmer, the current Prime Minister, is an self-described atheist, though he has said that he ‘does believe in faith’ as a force for bringing people together. He is the first openly atheist Prime Minister.
Other Labour Prime Ministers, such as Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, were known for their Christian faith and both were members of the Christian Socialist Movement, a Labour affiliate group. Most people admire the ethics that Jesus and the Bible teach but do not want to acknowledge that these can only be logically derived if they come from our creator.
Nick Clegg announced in a Radio 5 Live interview that he does not believe in God with the effect that he was called the anti-Christ.
It is apparent that in the United Kingdom the faith of political leaders has little obvious significance on the electorate. - religion is perceived as a disadvantage here, which is why Campbell told Blair to be Trappist about it. And a problem for British politicians is that religious positions are more starkly polarised than before. This nation, in which Mohammed was this year's second most common name for male babies, is also one in which two of the most popular book presents at what used to be Christmas will be ‘The God Delusion’ by Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens's ‘God Is Not Great.’
When Karl Marx was a lad he called himself a Christian. Although born into a Jewish family, Marx was baptised when six years old after his father converted the family to Lutheranism in 1824, largely due to Prussian restrictions on Jewish professions. While his family was not particularly devout, Marx did receive a Christian education.: A key piece of evidence is Marx's 1835 school essay, "The Union of Believers with Christ, According to John 15: 1–14, Showing its Basis and Essence, its Absolute Necessity, and its Effects". In this paper, he discussed the necessity of union with Christ and the joy it provides. His school records from that time indicate he possessed "fairly clear and well grounded" knowledge of the Christian faith. He subsequently became an avowed atheist but his belief in the equal status of all remained. A major problem of communist societies is that when people achieve power they themselves become the elite and compel others to follow them often by force.
Why these deviations?
All these political movements have claimed that their principles are taken from Christianity but in every case they take parts of Scripture but forget its fundamental teaching. It is highly significant that many of the leaders of these movements have become atheists. Their principles, whether equality or a hatred of abortion or of liberal sexual ethics can all be derived from Scripture but their promotion to the exclusion of other values can only be achieved if the centrality of Jesus is overlooked.
In the survey taken in early 1991, interviewees were asked, "Do you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly with the following statement: There is no such thing as absolute truth; different people can define truth in conflicting ways and still be correct." Only 28% of the respondents expressed strong belief in ‘absolute truth,’ and more surprisingly, only 23 percent of born-again or evangelical Christians accepted this idea! While an estimated 74 percent of Americans strongly agree that ‘there is only one true God, who is holy and perfect, and who created the world and rules it today,’ an estimated 65 percent either strongly agree or somewhat agree with the assertion that ‘there is no such thing as absolute truth.’ It is therefore not surprising that such pseudo-belief can be manipulated for political advantage.
Jesus’ teaching
Jesus sought to keep his mission distinct from the violent, power-seeking politics of the day, focusing on the coming of God's Kingdom. He did not propose that faith should have no influence on how his followers lived within society, but rather that their actions, including any engagement with the political realm, should be informed by their faith and focused on eternal values and justice, not the pursuit of worldly power itself.
When asked if Jews should pay taxes to Rome, Jesus famously replied,
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God’s”. Matthew 22:21
This statement acknowledged the legitimacy of civic duties such as paying taxes to the Roman authorities, while also emphasising that man’s ultimate allegiance belongs to God.
Jesus consistently avoided attempts by crowds to seize him and make him a political king who would lead a revolution against Roman rule. He stated,
“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight”. John 18:36
This indicates that his mission was spiritual, not a worldly political takeover.
Jesus did not align with any specific political faction of his day. However, his teachings had significant political and social implications. He criticised leaders, challenged social hierarchies, advocated for the poor and oppressed, and promoted justice, which were radical messages in their context.
Jesus' teachings imply that while human governments have a God-given purpose in maintaining order, they are ultimately under God's higher jurisdiction. Followers are called to obey the government, but only to the extent that it doesn't conflict with obedience to God. This theme was later expanded upon by the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:1-7 where submission to the ruling authorities is encouraged.
Peter’s teaching
The early church grew in spite of intense political and religious opposition. Its strength was that it was based on the truth of the person of Jesus who lived, performed miracles, taught, was crucified and rose again. Those who witnessed all this first hand were willing to die for what they taught, insisting that their stories about Jesus were true. He is truly the fulfilment of the 330 prophecies in the Old Testament.
The emphasis in the Bible is that God’s people must be a holy people, people ‘set apart’ to live for the glory of God. This will be seen in how Christians live and how they speak. Without a personal ‘turn around’ where each person makes the decision to live s God wants, a person is not yet a true Christian, they are not yet saved. Peter emphasised the need for this ‘repentance’ if anyone is to be acceptable to God. At the end of his first Pentecost sermon his listeners asked what they had to do to be saved:
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38
In his next sermon Peter stressed:
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” Acts 3:19
His message was the same when he spoke to the esteemed members of the Sanhedrin about the truth of Jesus and his resurrection and what he taught:
“God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.” Acts 5:31
This emphasis never changed throughout his teaching ministry. At the end of his life he wrote:
“Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
This submission to the rule of Christ leads to transformed lives. Personal morality changes when our judge is no longer other people but our Lord and Saviour. Repentance is always personal.
When Peter wrote his first letter he defined what the Christian faith is.
A new relationship with Jesus
Christians are those individuals:
“. . . who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood.” 1 Peter 1:2
No-one is saved who is not committed to living as Jesus wants and who are obedient to what he teaches. We know God’s will because he has given us this in the Scriptures.
A new future hope
The emphasis for Christians is to live for the next world and not just this one. Those false teachers who want to use Christianity for political gain never stress that Christians are living with eyes on a heavenly future:
“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5
A new present relationship
Living as a Christian is a thrilling experience but not always easy. Peter recognised that there were those with a pseudo-faith. Those with a genuine relationship are having their characters changed by the problems they face, but it will all be worthwhile when Jesus is met face to face. A true Christian loves Jesus and will live for him.
“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:6-9
Christians are working for Christ so that in the end we will receive the salvation of our souls.
A new Word from God
The authority for Christians is the Word of God, the Old and New Testaments. These tell us what God has done for us and how he wants his people to live. God does speak to us through other ways such as the book of nature or science and through our consciences but the ultimate authority is Scripture.
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.” I Peter 1:10-12
The Scriptures have been given to us by God himself for our benefit. A love for God’s Word and for doing what it teaches is one mark that God’s Spirit is in us. Notice also how the Holy Spirit leads people to speak of Jesus, to point to Jesus and to preach about him. The Spirit always points people to Jesus.
How different the message is of those who use religion for political advantage. If Jesus is the Son of God then he must be the focus of all of life. Any Christian person getting involved in politics must still ensure that the Lord Jesus is always central to all that is said and done as he is God. The apostle Paul was tempted to use devious techniques to promote his beliefs but he renounced any form of manipulation, relying on the convicting power of truth.
“Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:2-4
The ‘belt of truth’ is the only weapon Christians should use, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is the most effective weapon to lead people to repentance:
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17
“ For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
Reasons for Christian affiliation
There has been some recent publicity saying that there is an upturn in church attendance lately. Although this is encouraging it should be realised that a changed allegiance can come for many reasons. The rise in popular nationalism under the flag of St George can result in people joining a movement because they want what the movement stands for. Prisons are well known for recruiting Muslims to their cause - they want a cause to fight for. National Socialism grew in Germany because people wanted a cause they could get behind. This is how socialist movements developed in this country, people wanted to improve their lot in life. Some are drawn to the peace and solemnity of cathedral worship, others to the vivacious enthusiasm of some non-conformist churches. The organisations meet their need for a purpose or friendship or aesthetic reasons but are all these people really converted to following Jesus Christ? Jesus had no time for sham followers.
Surely, what is needed is for more people to stand up and proclaim clearly who Jesus is what he and his apostles taught to all these religious groups so that some of their followers may be truly ‘born again’ into Christ and not be satisfied with joining quasi-Christian movements.
BVP
