Witnessing With Distance But From A New Horizon: finding redeemed spaces in a post Trump era
I was talking to a friend over the weekend about the sad predicament we see so many well meaning Christians in, many of these Christians are ones we know intimately and love. They’re hard to ignore as they’re everywhere, even in some of our families. I’m sure it’s hard for you to ignore them too these last several years-the tumultuous Trump years if you will-because they have clearly (to me and my friend who were talking at least) overly politicized God-talk, and to such an extreme that it’s corrupted the very perceived character of the religion they claim to represent, but have in fact abused. These people idolized Trump, and in a post Trump era have further Balkanized themselves into a full on conspiratorial counter sect. It’s not worth characterizing them too much here, people shouldn’t be objectified (and I don’t want to fall too far into that easy trap). What’s of concern here is their abuse and over politicized use of God-talk requires religious people who would also call themselves Christians to distance themselves from these others out of obligation. But what obligation would cause people to have the need to distance themselves when that certainly is not a Christian ideal or principle in the naive sense? We’ll get to an answer to that but a little more reflection here first.
As my friend and I discussed this predicament, and our pity for this extreme politicization of these people’s use of God and God-talk, I felt I was unintentionally becoming aware that perhaps I am now part of a group who doesn’t care to counter but has no choice. Perhaps I am not alone? Perhaps there is a counter set of people of equal proportion whom want to go on with their religious and spiritual life at a level appropriate to their actual capacities, but not to such an extreme? Certainly no rational person sets out to abuse their religions’ most precious terms. But these are not rational times (and it’s not like they ever were). If my awareness and intuitions correspond to a reality, then we should find others who will feel part of a generational move to react not necessarily with opposition, but with the obvious distance they have made between themselves and this bad type of polarizing group of extreme Christians, and what they have forced on the world. But in the distance I should also find people being formed toward a love against the lust for a false power. Where Christian’s move to is always a pilgrimage because Jesus is there. Where Jesus is is a humbling space. Pilgrimages-like all big moves-especially from a space one use to love are exhausting, and tend to be hard to traverse.
Along this way people will die, feel abused, become disenchanted, and feel like people and institutions have failed them: it’s inevitable. But certainly some of us can make the journey?
Until we find our new destinations, we must cope, complain, morn, even as we move on. This friend of mine and I lamented that we can’t associate with abusers of God and God-talk, even if it’s done in ignorance, just as we can’t stay associated with anti-intellectualism, or grandiose conspiracies that have moving goal posts (and ill-logic, and are insular from falsification), and finally we can’t associate with their cultish sectarian religious commitments which are mostly obsessed with false dichotomies in the weird culture wars (such as left/right, republican/democrat, fake news/real news and so on).
So what obligation would force one to create clear distance from Christians? Especially when the mandate is to be one. Unfortunately, it’s not an easily reducible answer. Some of it is just about witness.
A baptized believer in Christ is called to be discipled and grow, and in a sense become perfect. In the New Testament the apostle Paul has this idealistic vision of his converts being like presentations of his work to the Lord. He envisions fully initiated, totally holy participants in the divine life, and hopefully with a little guidance from what he’s come to learn trying to live up to that ideal. Ironically, much of the New Testament is Paul lamenting from a distance how bad he’s hearing about their witness to this process he hoped and called them to.
Us on the receiving end want to meet Paul’s challenge not for being a witness to his work and discipleship, but because all Christians are entitled to a piece of God’s life and bear witness to their participation in that wonderful grace bestowed us in Christ. In a sense, we want to live up to the God-Man, the God who is in the form of a slave. This means being in a space where we can be witnesses to the little bit of faith in our lives we’re able to cultivate. But if that space is choked out by bad politics and an identity that isn’t defined by our calling but the American right wing’s agenda then not only will we miss out, but we won’t be able to witness on Christianity’s own terms it’s been struggling with the last 2,000 years.
Sadly, the people me and my friend were talking about generally don’t want unity with anything universal about Christ’s body (they tend to be evangelical, but there’s ultra right wing Catholics and Orthodox too). They’re not part of any ecumenical movement, and for the most part still attend churches that reflect the old American paradigm where Sundays are the most segregated day of the week. Some of these spaces we will not be able to avoid ourselves. But hopefully in our pilgrimage people will hear us not for our social media personalities and ideologies, but for our little light shining. In an age of incremental technologized personas hopefully our whole witness will get a chance to come through: which isn’t just about abusing God-talk to own the libs, or create in/out groups. Pilgrimages are intended to allow ones to become more whole and more authentic people. Something that can’t be done with just a social media profile, or a podcast or whatever. We also want to cultivate the rest of our lives to be in accordance with the little bit of mustard seeds that’s been planted in us. It goes beyond the lust to make the American empire some social or individualistic dream.
America may be the land where the sun rises and sets, but the pilgrimage to a horizon where God is God is no place where we may be allowed to lay our heads in a space of pride or comfort. We will be pitied too because we were called to much lower calling, and it sucks, but hopefully it’s formative enough to counter and speak for itself what it is.
In these last days, God has spoken through his Son:
Hebrews 3:12–13 (NRSV): “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
We must strive for truths that are not falsely equivocated as love, or placed in a false dichotomy to loving each other vs some equivocal and ambiguous “Truth.” This is no easy space to cultivate oneness and love. Jesus may be the truth, but love covers a multitude of sins. There is no dynamic perfect equilibrium point. Personally speaking, I just want to be in a space where I can love and witness and participate in accordance with my calling, small as it may be in the grand scheme of things. What is clear is where we’re called to is not their politics or wars. The politics of Jesus is a hard horizon to pilgrimage to. Lord knows if we’ll make it? But I hope those on this journey hope for a grace for all despite where we will probably fall short too.
Some of ya’ll have turned into missionaries, some have converted to new churches and denominations. However you cope with this much needed distance, may you find a space to love, witness, and participate beyond small American dreams some have clearly idolized beyond a healthy level.
Peace. ✌?
