I’ve been working through Alastair Campbell’s book, But What Can I Do? It’s a call to relevant political engagement at a time characterised by polarisation, popularism and post-truth. Campbell sees these three P’s as the curse of our time, dangerous tools used by power holders for short term gains at the expense of long term flourishing. It’s hard to deny his analysis. He is adamant that far too many political leaders are simply not “serious” people, but that they are chasing the latest head line to ensure their name is on everyone’s lips. You have probably heard the cynical quip, “How do you know a politician is lying?” Answer: “Their lips are moving.” We are all paying the price for it – both literally and figuratively.
I think Campbell is right, but rather than run his analysis over the broader society, I thought I’d ask if the church is providing a helpful lead here. Put differently, most Christian leaders urge Christians to be credible witnesses for Jesus by being counter-cultural. Is there evidence to suggest that the majority of Christians are heeding this call by helping people to find common ground; by acknowledging complex situations – and being willing to unpack them at depth in the hope of finding realistic answers; and by being unwaveringly honest, even when the data is not pointing to their preferred position? In other words, by being the opposite of polarising, popularists who twist truth to fit preferences.
It’s a tough question, and certainly can’t be answered with an easy yes or no. But asking it seems to me to be a start. Let’s then take a quick look at each of the P’s…
Are Christians polarising people?
At one level, the answer has to be yes. We are convinced that deciding to follow Jesus makes a transforming difference to all of life, and that saying “yes” to Jesus is not simply a pleasant but optional extra in the array of life choices, but that the answer to this question impacts everything. So do we ask the question, “Are you a Jesus follower” knowing that for some the answer will be “yes” and for others “no”? We sure do. And do we try to persuade those who answer “no” that they really should change that to a “yes”? We sure do. Is that divisive? In many ways it is – though I would like to think it clarifies more than divides. In other words, it helps people to think through their position on what is perhaps the most important question of all, and we don’t make good decisions unless we are clear about all that is involved.
But while the specific question, “Are you a follower of Jesus?” might lead to a “them” and “us” grouping, there are many unifying instincts deeply embedded within the Christian faith. In Matt 7:7 Jesus assures us that those who seek, find. Most people are seeking – often at a very deep level. Christians are quick to affirm the value of seeking, and are willing to provide the space and time for people to do so, even as they trust the words of Jesus that those who seek will surely find. This is a hospitable space – one which is open and generous. Its instinct is to include, and to meet people wherever their starting point is.
There is also a generosity about Paul’s instruction in Phil 4:8 “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” It is not only our tribe that generates things which are true, noble, lovely and admirable. We celebrate them together, resisting the instinct to belittle that which has not originated with us.
Are Christians popularists?
There is a bit of a popularist tendency within Christianity – it is unlikely to have had its numerical success without it. It shows up clearly in Paul’s description of his ministry in 1 Cor 9:22: “I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some.”
Does it sometimes lead to shallowness and superficiality? Yes – sometimes it does. After all, we have been part of creating the Father Christmas and Easter Bunny story, while some have gone even further, building Christian theme parks where you can roller coast your way through biblical stories and more beside. We’ve been supportive of ventures like the Left Behind series. It’s 16 books have clocked up over 65 million sales – really very popular, but the theology – come along people… it’s seriously dodgy.
Does it matter if we succumb to popularism? In the short term is can be highly beneficial, in the longer term it is filled with hazards. First, it almost always compromises truth, carefully avoiding those that are challenging. More seriously, it often leads to Christians who are consumers rather than disciples. That’s both to their great loss, and to the loss of the long term credibility of the church.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am all for music that is singable, church venues that are pleasing and church programmes that are engaging. It is also important to accept that the average IQ is 100 – not 150, so to over complicate things is to be elitist and exclusive – and that’s not right. The New Atheists went through a phase when they delighted in being called “the brights” – a snobbish claim to being the domain of the highly intelligent. The Christian faith has always seen things differently. When you have faith like a child you might well be amongst the greatest in God’s kingdom.
For all that, the Christian faith is serious. It explores life’s deepest truths, and finds ways to express profound truths simply. It shouldn’t be a manipulative “whip up the emotions” and denounce reason and logic faith. Rather it points to the one who calmly claimed “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through me” (John 14:6). If truth is tied up in Jesus, it can’t be conveniently dropped when it doesn’t gather as many vote as we might have hoped.
Are Christians post-truth?
I’d like to say a firm “no” to this, but at times I am not so sure. I think we are sometimes so committed to the theological models we have adopted (often without even knowing their name or origin, or their place within the broader Christian tradition) that we approach any challenge to our stance with strong conviction bias – in other words we only pay attention to those things that support our view, and stop listening to opposing ones – often viewing them as a waste of time (why listen, when I already know the answer?) This is not a helpful stance when seeking for truth.
Let me say it one more time. Jesus claims to be not only the way and the life – but the truth. The implication is that truth is found in relationship, and more especially, truth is found in relationship with Jesus. That’s a holisitc view of truth – where we don’t limit ourself to simply truth as “correspondence to the facts” but truth in the way it is lived out, and impacts life. At a personal level, I have found this to be deeply unsettling – though in a good way. Because I am a Jesus follower I have been challenged to face confronting things about myself. Because I am a Jesus follower I don’t give myself a free pass when my behaviour is unacceptable or my motivations are muddied and muddled. The deepest truth of my life is that I am a child of God, and because of that, all other truths, no matter how difficult, can be faced. Rather than blind myself to truth in a frenzy of stubborn post truth denial, I seek it out, knowing it is part of a path to growth.
So are Christians polarising, popularists ducking behind post truth claims? On our poor days, yes, but on better ones (days when we actually follow Jesus the Christ), no.
There may be no easy paths ahead, but a start could be to embrace the prayer often attributed (probably inaccurately) to St Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Lord, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in forgiving that one is forgiven,
it is in dying that one awakens to eternal life.
Nice chatting…
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