The Third Pole
There are no “sides” in Christ, no polarities except the magnetism of God’s power.
Editor’s Note: This essay also appears in The Line Issue 11.12 (December 2024); subscribe to The Line here.
It is more than time for American Christians to be asking questions about the spiritual crisis in our nation. The questions are not primarily for politicians, economists, the media, “influencers,” nor the billionaires who in many ways control the narrative. It is a soul-searching among Christians ourselves.
Indeed, as the country has separated into two opposite polarities, Christians have largely divided in the same way as other citizens. The magnetic force of the two polarities pull in very different directions in defining what makes for greatness. The media, and many evangelical Christians, have decided that evangelical churches are “the Republican Party at prayer” (to paraphrase the former English reference regarding the Anglican Church as being “the Tory Party at prayer”). Less publicized, but just as polarized, “liberal” Christians have made the Democrats the only choice for themselves. This division is so intense that it has become almost impossible to have any meaningful discussion across the polarity.
And it is absolutely wrong. The secular tail is wagging the Christian dog. When the thinking of the Christian community is captured by the society in which it dwells, the essence of the Church and her message bleeds and terrible distortions start happening. We are baptized into another citizenship, the Kingdom of God. For many, that citizenship is for a future state, activated at physical death, when earthly citizenship becomes irrelevant.
Baptism is indeed indelible. But your baptism is instantly effective and active. While it is possible to hold dual citizenship, Jesus instructs us “to seek first the Kingdom of God.” We can and should participate in the political process. Our participation in the earthly kingdom flows from the ambassadorship bestowed on us by the Kingdom of God (even in modern Greek, “apostolos” is still the word for an ambassador). The job of ambassador is to relay the viewpoint of his or her government to others. That is exactly what Jesus mandated us to do when he concluded his earthlyministry, delegating that ministry’s continuance to us, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). Note that the job consists of teaching and baptizing.
It does not consist of infusing the political goals or ideology of either of the present polarities into the Church. That has been tried before and has never worked. It was exactly what the disciples thought was happening. In their minds, when the time was ripe, the call for revolution would ring out from the Messiah, who would then lead an army to overthrow the Romans and establish a new Kingdom of Israel. They did not fully understand their error until after the Resurrection. Jesus did indeed establish a kingdom, but its structure and goals are radically distinct from the kind of earthly enterprise envisioned by various groups of Jewish insurgents attempting an earthly political kingdom, just as the modern secular nation of Israel has no connection whatsoever with the Kingdom of God, the transcendent kingdom established by Christ. Equally, “Christian nationalism” is an oxymoron.
Our responsibility in God’s Kingdom for the stewardship of the earth compels us to participate in the political process. That is part of how we exercise the dominion over the planet given us by God in Genesis, a dominion which includes the care of our own species as well as other creatures. Jesus points the way to manage this dominion in the Beatitudes, among the other precepts in the Sermon on the Mount.
As a child in the mid-Twentieth Century, I observed the adults at family gatherings have debates, sometimes heated, about the political issues of the time. Because they shared a common commitment to democratic values and of acceptance of each other within the family, there was never any danger of shattering their friendships or care for each other. Many had recently risked their lives fighting a massive decisive war to establish those values against the challenge of fascism. It gave them a context allowing for frank discussion of even the most contentious topics. Civility was important and respected.
Our nation would do well to return to that context. But beyond that, for Christians, there is another polarity, with a powerful magnetic force pulling us. The pull is neither to the right nor to the left, but into the magnetism of the love of God. Long after presidents and emperors have dominated the world stage and then exited beyond, the force of God’s love will remain unchanged.
Some interpret this to mean we should be political eunuchs, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses who refuse to participate in the process of an earthly kingdom of any kind. But that is not what the New Testament teaches. Both Jesus and Paul make it clear that, while we are in this world, we are to be good citizens, to honor the authorities, obey civil law, render to the civil power what it is due. But the motivation does not come from political ideology or economic theory. It comes from being drawn into the magnetic field of the loving God.
It is thus “ordered by Thy governance” that we may spend our days striving to be “righteous in Thy sight” (Collect for Grace, BCP Morning Prayer). That governance is expressed quite clearly in the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, and the emphasis of Jesus on the two great Commandments of love. This governance expresses itself quite differently than those around us, who draw their values from much more shallow political wells. Yet the Christian values expressed by Jesus and Paul are quite applicable to our current political narratives, even if they are not frequently expressed or noticed. Unfortunately, those regarded as spokespersons for the Christian perspective often simply reflect one of the political polarities, in their efforts to achieve legislative outcomes supportive of their political cause. God’s love is rarely involved.
But we can and should yield to the magnetic pull of the third pole. First, our churches should be places of honest discussion, not just places of civility (although that is certainly to be expected), but where we, brothers and sisters in our baptism into Christ, search through Scripture and the Fathers for God’s will. Such a search is powered by the third pole, not a search driven by a need to justify the pre-established views of “our side.” There are no “sides” in Christ, no polarities except the magnetism of God’s power. Nor is there a pre-determined position, the “Christian view,” as the media often conclude (helped by some self-appointed Christian spokespeople. But sometimes Christians differ in searching for divine wisdom. There is nothing evil in that. On the contrary, a healthy discourse based on Scripture and Tradition can be a learning experience.
There are some obvious guideposts. If a position promotes, killing, greed, indifference to those in suffering or distress or those in need, exploitation of people, creatures or material resources rather than stewardship, it is probably not God’s will. If it promotes love, joy, peace, nurturing of the earth or the populace, care for others (and not only family and friends), sharing of riches, it is probably God’s will.
So, be bold. Anchored in Scripture, let us search together, honestly and openly seeking the magnetic force of God in our lives and resisting the temptation to be pulled into other polarities. The Church needs this, our nation needs this kind of leadership and discussion, and we need it.