"Abandoning Self" to Ideology & Power

There is a simple rule of thumb when it comes to spiritual matters.  When an individual publicly proclaims her own spiritual righteousness, we can be sure she is not righteous.  When an individual publicly proclaims her spiritual right-ness in the context of a national political campaign for the presidency in order to cement her political base with one wing of the American Christian movement, we can be sure that she is using her religion for personal gain.  In a recent address to students at Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia, presidential contender Michelle Bachmann said, ""Even though I hadn't been a drinker, even though I never did drugs ... even though I hadn't been chasing around, it didn't matter. I was a sinner." She went on to say, "I radically abandoned myself to Jesus Christ."  She went on to place a series of hard core right-wing ideological positions in the context of her radical abandonment of herself to Christ including opposition to abortion, opposition to "Obamacare," and unquestioning support of Israel.  The evidently unstated assumption and assertion was that in abandoning herself to Christ she has become God's warrior or champion in the American political arena.  Her religion, that is, validates her candidacy and, by extension, God does as well.

In the realm of the Spirit, if ya got it, ya don't flaunt it.  That is basic, fundamental to spirituality across the major religions including most especially Christianity.  We are painfully aware of Jesus' struggle against self-proclaimed righteousness in his own day.  Religious establishment types in his day would stand in the temple in Jerusalem and loudly proclaim their righteousness in self-serving prayers (Matthew 6:5).  Jesus criticized them for it.  One cannot judge Bachmann's personal faith when she's not on the stump, but when she uses that faith as a political tool then the public use of it becomes fair game for analysis, and in that context it is clear that publicly she has not abandoned herself to Christ but to a religious ideology and the quest for power.  In her public expression of her ideology, we hear little spirituality.  She is, instead, bombastic, aggressive, and impressively self-righteous.  The fact that she is trailing badly in the polls only seems to bring out these traits in her all the more clearly.  Michelle Bachmann's public behavior is that of a person who is hungry for power and using religion as an avenue to gain power.

In the long history of the Christian faith, those who have radically given themselves to Christ display marks of a deep humility that is aware of how impossible it is for any person to radically abandon themselves to God.  On their knees in  prayer and meditation, they seek to give self over to God.  Let me be clear.  Any politician on the national public stage in our super-heated ideological age who claims to have given herself (or himself) to Christ is simply not to be trusted.  The words do not reflect the reality especially when they are used to "gin up the base."

Ideology, Idolatry, & the Politics of 2012

As a pastor, I generally avoid politics.  People of serious faith have different politics, and it is not a pastor's place to "advise" parishioners on which party or candidate they should support.  There are, however, limits to non-involvement and, sadly, I have to draw that line at the presidential candidacy of Rep. Michelle Bachman (R - Minn) because of the way she herself overtly and frequently combines her highly ideological religious beliefs with her politics.  Most politicians who have a serious faith, whether it be President Obama or candidate Mitt Romney, witness to their faith by the way they "play" politics.  Bachman does more and in doing so distorts the Christian faith in ways that could have serious negative impacts for our nation and for the faith if she were ever to become president.

But, rather than beat this drum myself, I recommend that RPK readers take a look at Alisa Harris' thoughtful editorial entitled, "My Take: I could have become Michele Bachmann."  Harris grew up in Bachman's ideological milieu, exposes its weaknesses, and describes at least one way to move beyond Bachman's ideological idolatry to a place that is more faithful to the actual biblical message.

Saying it Slightly Differently

"The Prayer at Valley Forge"
by Arnold Friberg

Presidential contender Rep. Michele Bachmann (R - MN) recently visited Iowa and spoke on a Sunday morning at the independent megachurch, Point of Grace Church in the Des Moines suburb of Waukee.  According to the Des Moines Register news posting reporting the event, Bachmann did not deliver a typical stump speech but, rather, shared a message of hope appropriate to Sunday morning worship.  At one point, commenting on a painting hanging in the church of George Washington at prayer during the hard winter at Valley Forge, she stated:

“We too are at a crucial time today. And I think it is for us to remember, that if we do as Chronicles tells us, if we humble ourselves, and pray and confess our sins, and turn away from our wicked ways, and ask an almighty God to come and protect us and fight the battle for us, we know from his word, his promise is sure. He will come. He will heal our land. And we will have a new day.”

Bachmann's statement rings with some of the greatest themes of the Christian faith: humility, reliance on prayer, repentance, faith, divine healing, and salvation.  Those of us coming from a very different theological perspective still say, "amen," to the whole of the paragraph—and, yet,  maybe we wouldn't put it quite the way she does.  Instead, we might say:

"We too are at a crucial time today when we do well to remember the things Chronicles tells us.  These are times that require us to humbly see good in those with whom we disagree.  They are times for prayer, confession, and seeking to walk the path Christ walked.  In these times, we will do well to pray that God's presence gives us wisdom us, reconciliation with our enemies, and teaches us peace.  In Christ, we trust that God's Spirit is working for healing in our nation calling us to a new day."

As disciples of the Prince of Peace, we would like to see a little less emphasis on battle and perhaps just a slightly less triumphalist tone—maybe less reliance on the God who is on-my-side and a little more faith in God who calls us to work for the good of others.

One wonders, could we sit down with Rep. Bachmann and come up with a common paragraph?  It would be an interesting, possibly fruitful exercise.  In any event, we trust that she would be able to say, "amen" to this paragraph as we do to hers, even if she put it slightly differently.