Voting for a Lost Cause--Political Parties and Truth Claims
"How far are you from the
kingdom of God?" This question is based on the claim Jesus made of the
scribe questioning him in Mark 12. Jesus states, "You are not far from the
kingdom of God." Not far appears to indicate, not quite there. That leads
me to ask a second question. What are the stumbling blocks that keep this
Scribe from the kingdom of God.
Today, I want to look at the third
of three of those stumbling blocks--Political Parties and Truth Claims.
In Mark 12: 18-27, good religious folks called Sadducees ask
a question about Jesus. The question is reminiscent of "what if"
questions by children, who, at every answer, say, "Yeah, but what
if...?" The Sadducees present this scenario. "There were seven
brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children; and the second
married the widow and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; none
of the seven left children. Last of all, the woman herself died. In the
resurrection, whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her."
In Jesus' response, he redefined resurrection. C. Clifton
Black, in his commentary on Mark printed by Abingdon Press, paraphrases Jesus’
response this way. Resurrection is not about which husband gets to dance with
his wife in heaven. Instead, resurrection is an announcement that God has the
power to remain steadfast to his people both in life and in death.
Now, it is important to remember that in Jesus' day, there
was disagreement about resurrection. While the Pharisees believed in
resurrection, the Sadducees did not. The battle between the parties was for who
was right about this claim of resurrection. The battle--which party held the
truth in their teaching.
We have the same battle today. Does one party--Democrat or
Republican--have the claim to the truth? Does one ideology--Progressive or
Conservative--have the claim to the truth? The answer, No. Neither the
Democratic or Republican platform fully embody the Word of God. Neither those
who are Progressive or those who are Conservative and their ideologies fully
embody the Word of God. There is a depth, breadth, and transcendence about the
Word of God that cannot be embodied in one platform or ideology.
In the Democratic system of government, the decisions our
legislative bodies make are, as Robert Jenson writes in Christian Dogmatics, a
functional solution, supported by the majority of people, that may or may not
be moral. The battle between Democrats and Republicans; the battle between
Progressives and Conservatives is not a battle for truth, as they would claim,
but for the power to express, through the political system, their world view
and approaches to understanding people, nature, and the cosmos.
In this, we find the stumbling block, blurring the lines
between the battle for power and control to assert a world view and holding
onto the truth which is not ours to hold, but is revealed to us--as Mark would
write, "by the Father."
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