The Socialist Gospel Manifesto

The National Council of Churches thinks conservatives are eeeevil. They’ve offered this list of “Christian” principles to help us choose to vote for Obama:

1. War is contrary to the will of God. While the use of violent force may, at times, be a necessity of last resort, Christ pronounces his blessing on the peacemakers.

2. God calls us to live in communities shaped by peace and cooperation. We reject policies that abandon large segments of our inner city and rural populations to hopelessness.

3. God created us for each other, and thus our security depends on the well-being of our global neighbors. We look for political leaders for whom a foreign policy based on cooperation and global justice is an urgent concern.

4. God calls us to be advocates for those who are most vulnerable in our society. We look for political leaders who yearn for economic justice and who will seek to reduce the growing disparity between rich and poor.

5. Each human being is created in the image of God and is of infinite worth. We look for political leaders who actively promote racial justice and equal opportunity for everyone.

6. The earth belongs to God and is intrinsically good. We look for political leaders who recognize the earth’s goodness, champion environmental justice, and uphold our responsibility to be stewards of God’s creation.

7. Christians have a biblical mandate to welcome strangers. We look for political leaders who will pursue fair immigration policies and speak out against xenophobia.

8. Those who follow Christ are called to heal the sick. We look for political leaders who will support adequate, affordable and accessible health care for all.

9. Because of the transforming power of God’s grace, all humans are called to be in right relationship with each other. We look for political leaders who seek a restorative, not retributive, approach to the criminal justice system and the individuals within it.

10. Providing enriched learning environments for all of God’s children is a moral imperative. We look for political leaders who will advocate for equal educational opportunity and abundant funding for children’s services.

The National Council of Churches could not be more wrong. I could break each one of these down and explain why they are wrong as this commenter did, but here’s the basic problem with each and every one of the NCC principles: Christianity is at heart a personal, individual faith. Jesus mandates that I personally do certain things. He offered none of those directives to governments. He didn’t tell the Romans how to rule. He declined to be the political leader that many, including his own disciples, wanted him to be.

Even if each of the NCC statements could be taken at face value as theologically correct (and they cannot), they still cannot be applied by the government and remain Christian. Take the example of Christian charity. I personally, motivated by my love for God and by extension my fellow man, choose to give to a charity. This is edifying for me, because I have an opportunity to walk out my faith and give sacrificially. It brings me closer to God, because my attention is on minimizing my own wants and needs and glorifying Him. It’s beneficial to the recipients who receive the gift, and understand that the motivation is to help them for the love and glory of God. Result: God is glorified.

Now forcibly take that money out of my paycheck so the government can disburse it. It doesn’t edify me or glorify God in any way because it is no longer voluntary. This economic transfer doesn’t bring me closer to God. It doesn’t provide a Christian testimony or witness to the recipient, who sees the government as the source of good. Result: government is glorified.

Jesus made it clear that Christianity is not intended to make the world perfect: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Christianity is an eternal, not temporal, solution to the individual sin, not societal ills, that plague man. Attempts to make it something other than that pervert the faith and should be soundly rejected.