Christian Theories of Religion and Politics I. Key Concepts

1. Christian Theories of Religion and Politics I. Key Concepts • The Kingdom of Christ – extends to every sector in which the total and complete rule of Christ is established. Questions concerning it: Is it present or is it future? Is it purely spiritual or also earthly/physical (Christendom). • The Millennium - period of time (literal or not) in which Christ and His church reigns (literal or not).

2. Revelation 20:1-6 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

3. Amillennialism (no future millennium): The view that the millennium of Revelation 20 is fulfilled in the ______________________ or in the deceased saints reigning with Christ in heaven. It specifically denies any global millennium. Kingdom is more or less spiritual, with only indirect effects in the physical world. Any physical manifestations of the Kingdom of Christ during this time are coincidental via the impact of the gospel. • Premillennialism: The view that Christ's Second Advent will occur before the earthly millennium of Revelation 20, and will, in fact, institute that millennium (or the physical rule of Christ’s church in the world). This is the idea that Christ will reign on the earth with His church physically for a long period, probably a thousand years, sometime in the ____________. • Postmillennialism: The view that Christ's Second Advent will occur after the earthly millennium of Revelation 20. Most postmillennialists believe that the kingdom of God advances in history _____________, almost imperceptibly, but that there will be a Godly Golden Age as prophesized in the Old Testament prophets before Christ returns.

4. C. What does this have to do with politics? The Millennium may be: 1. Physical and Present - If the millennium and reign of Christ is said to be physical and presently manifesting itself, then it makes more sense for the church to work in or engage the political process in order to usher in the Kingdom of Christ because that Kingdom will extend to both church and state prior to the Second Coming. More common among postmills. 2. Physical but Future - If the millennium is physical, but entirely future (after the Second Coming), then there is ________ incentive to engage the political process, at least not tenaciously or distinctly, because the Kingdom will be limited to the church (not state/world) until the Second Coming. More common among premills. • Spiritual only and Present or Future - If the millennium is only spiritual, then the church at no point in time has the incentive or instruction to look to the political process as a means of ushering in the Kingdom of Christ. Indeed, the state can never be identified with the Kingdom of Christ in any sense if this is the nature of the millennium. More common among amills. • Theologies of Religious Disengagement

5. Augustinian-Lutheran: “By two cities I mean two societies…one…predestined to reign with God from all eternity, the other doomed to undergo eternal punishment with the devil (Book XV, Chapter 1). – St. Augustine Augustine & Luther spoke of Two Kingdoms (City of Man & City of God). One passes away; the other is eternal. Christians are dual citizens, but owe their ultimate allegiance to Jesus. These two kingdoms should carry on with no overlap, minding their own business. State promotes justice, peace, and order. The church concerns itself with the edification of believers and spread of the gospel. State _______________ take steps to see God’s Law (Decalogue), much less God’s Word, explicitly imposed as such on its subjects. For saints only. In city of man, all people share common goals and knowledge in politics as earthly citizens because God’s natural law, which all men possess, tells them enough about what is right/wrong and wise to solve collective problems (no need for special revelation here – Bible – to tell them). That is, Christians are to appeal to God’s natural revelation in politics and God’s special revelation in church. The church has no distinctive political worldview. Christians, like non-Christians, will disagree on how to best carry out civil justice/common good. As long as there is justice, peace, and order, the church is to be indifferent to politics.

6. B. “[State and church] have different purposes (salvation of sinners versus the restraint of the harm caused by sin), different constituencies (all the redeemed across time and space versus all the created within certain geographic borders), different authorities (special revelation versus reason/natural revelation), and different means (the supernatural tools of preaching and the Sacraments versus the natural means of the sword and the purse-strings). Application: Consider it a huge mistake to identify the work/mission of the church with the work/mission of a political party. Which millennial/kingdom view is closest? __________________ B. Anabaptists and Radical Reformers – basically teach that we are not dual citizens, but truly only citizens of God’s kingdom. Strict separation between church and state and even between believer and state (some go so far as to require nonvoting, but also they are pacifists, against oaths, and often against holding public office). Very suspicious of state and think of it as inherently _______. The Christian is to refrain from resistance under any circumstance (even persecution). All human institutions are evil. Today, some Baptists, Mennonites, and Amish embrace these views. Refer you to John Yoder for leading proponent of this view.

7. C. Fundamentalists, a term that became associated with theologically conservative Protestants who reacted to Darwinian evolution and Higher Criticism of the Bible in the early 20th century, taught that the way to deal with an increasingly secular society/state is to be ____________ from it (if it was secular, it was evil) or at least become more introverted. This view was applied to government involvement as well. Fairly short-lived. D. Humanism – though not a religion in the popular sense of the term, secular humanism calls for strict separation of formal religious institutions and the state. They also call for taxing church property (they consider this exemption favoritism). Also believe that religious motivations ought not influence policy outcomes. E. Jewish - though it may appear this group would favor the reestablishment of the OT theocracy (Israel), Jews virtually all champion strict political neutrality concerning religion and the state (probably due to history of persecution). Only strict neutrality, as difficult as it may be institutionally and individually, is the only goal that protects the rights of all (p. 20-21 Corbett).

8. III. Theologies of Religious Engagement • Neo-Calvinists, Pluriformity, Sphere Sovereignty – accept the Two Kingdom view of Luther, but argue that there really is no common ground between believers and unbelievers (dismiss natural revelation; embrace presuppositionalism) in the public sector. People of all faiths and no faith should be free as religious individuals and institutions to influence society and gov’t as their worldview sees fit (no favoritism of any religion, including secularism). The proper implementation of a truly Biblical society is one where all institutional spheres of creation (family, school, church, state, etc.) are limited in authority and answer directly to God with the goal of restoring those institutions back to their ____________________ prior to Adam’s fall; the state’s purpose is to restrain evil, do good by promoting public justice which involves making sure that these institutions do not intrude upon each other’s turf. So, state can punish criminals, but not deny them communion; employer can fire an employee, but not spank them; Boys Club can keep girls out, but not from the voting booth, and state must be even-handed between all religious people/organizations, etc. Sovereign only in their God-given spheres of authority.

10. Reconstructionists – these groups basically argue that the proper government is one which grounds all _____________ in Biblical law & endorses Christianity (with varying degrees of toleration for other religions). They teach that the Kingdom of Christ has a direct physical manifestation not only in the lives of believers but in society/politics as well. They are __________________; disagree with the Two (distinct) Kingdoms until Christ’s return view. Not necessarily calling for a theocracy, but for a state that seeks to honor and promote the God of Christianity. Called Reconstructionists because they often believe that this was the original intention of the colonialists (Puritans and Pilgrims seeking to reconstruct OT Israel in the New World). Argue that a secular state will inevitably __________ Christ as savior (no neutrality). Also believe that the Bible calls for free-market capitalism.

11. Neo-Evangelicals – parted ways with fundamentalists (1950s) in theological approach (refused to ignore Bible critics, for example, but rather to engage them at the highest levels of theological, scientific, and philosophical discourse). Whereas fundamentalism responded to cultural modernity (secularism, science, theological liberalism, etc.) by withdrawing from culture, Neos argued that Christianity calls for direct engagement without _____________________. Christians must not surrender any front, including politics, to seculars and theological liberals (neglects duty and results in societal disintegration). But, no specific political theory, however. Far more tempered, contemplative, and theological in approach to politics than current “Christian-Right.” But a few common threads: • Stress need for explicit recognition of divine law (God) as the only adequate ground for civil law (e.g., human rights) • Explicit support for those policies specifically ________________________ in scripture (laws protecting human life, property, religious freedom; those punishing criminals), but respect diversity of views for all others (not all sin should be criminalized).

12. Liberation Theology - explores the relationship between Christian, especially Roman Catholic, theology and political activism, particularly in areas of social justice, poverty and human rights. The main methodological innovation of liberation theology is to do theology (i.e. speak of God) from the viewpoint of the economically _______ and oppressed of the human community. According to Jon Sobrino, S.J., the poor are a privileged channel of God's grace. According to Phillip Berryman, liberation theology is "an interpretation of Christian faith through the poor's suffering, their struggle and hope, and a critique of society and the Catholic faith and Christianity through the eyes of the poor". Liberation theology focuses on Jesus Christ as not merely as Savior but as Liberator of the Oppressed. Emphasis is placed on parts of the Bible where Jesus' mission is described in terms of liberation and as a bringer of justice (Matthew 26:51-52). This is interpreted as a call to arms to carry out this mission of justice -- literally by some. A number of liberation theologians, though not all, also add certain ___________ concepts.

13. Roman Catholic view – Initially, the Roman Catholic church condemned the Revolutionary sentiment running through Reformation thinking. The Church criticized constitutionalism and democracy as producing an ________ and godless society (preferred absolute hierarchy in church and society). But this view was basically altered in the late 19th and especially after Vatican II (1962-1965). The church then more or less embraced liberal democracy and the doctrine of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity – coined by Pope Pius XI, states in his Rerum Novarum (1931) that wherever possible, duties should be fulfilled by the ___________ conceivable element in the social hierarchy (God at the top, then church, state, mediating structures); only in the case of failure is a higher authority (state) authorized to step in. In practice, this has meant an opposition to totalitarian regimes and support for social justice. Social Justice in Catholicism – Life is sacred; appreciation for differences and inequalities among men. Develop notion of Solidarity, which stresses that humans are inevitably inter-related; this warrants _______________ on behalf of others. Good gov’t acknowledges these principles, and intervenes to promote them when subordinate institutions fail to do so adequately (backs out when they do).

15. Distinction between Sphere Sovereignty (Neo-Calvinists) and Subsidiarity. They agree that the human will is not ultimate either individually or corporately (God’s will is), but they disagree on whether there is an ultimate source of sovereignty delegated by God in the earth (i.e., a mediating sovereign) from which other sovereignties (families, individuals, church, etc) get their authority. For the RCC, the ultimate earthly authority is the church in spiritual matters and the state in non-spiritual matters. The decision guide for the church is revelation (Bible, Tradition, and Pope); for the state it is reason. • Erastian-Anglican; Episcopalian: English Anglicanism historically viewed the church as a _______ of the state (seemingly opposite of RC). Church is under authority of King (Anglican) or Parliament (Erastian). State dictates what is permissible in religious matters. American Episcopalians have traditionally upheld this model in church gov’t, but not state gov’t. England eventually followed this lead, at least in practice. • Christian Right? Hard to say because its activism appears to be almost completely reactionary, not stemming from a careful theological/philosophical ground (no theology of the state). Ready, Shoot, Aim!