Mammoth Blog

In the spirit of honest and civil dialogue, I would like to both affirm and respectfully disagree with a few points made by Shane Claiborne in his piece, "Voting as Damage Control." As I read his post, I cannot help but ponder its incongruity with an action alert I just received from Color of Change.org. Color of Change.org, an organization dedicated to strengthening Black America's political voice, urges its constituents to not be deterred by those who would suppress their votes because of their racial/ethnic identities or socio-economic status. While we discuss the moral implications of casting a ballot, many of the marginalized in our society fear being turned away from their local polling places on Nov. 4.

I agree, as Shane suggests, "...white folks in this election might be asking people of color who have suffered so much historically whether we should vote or who we should vote for." Let's just hope that our friends receive the same treatment that we have been advantaged to expect. I agree that the debate about voting and Christian political engagement is a necessary one. However, please understand it is a debate most often between privileged parties.

I am most concerned though by what Shane's post implies -- if voting is barely tolerable as "damage control," what should we make of prophetic advocacy? As someone who lives in an intentional community in a "forgotten place of the Empire," I see the New Monastic movement as spirit-led movement, a gift to the church and witness to a broken world. However, the strength of this movement is not so much a prophetic call to do justice as it is a prophetic warning about the idolatry of our national and political identities. This was an extremely important vocation of the biblical prophets. The prophet Isaiah's call to be a "house of prayer for all nations" was not so much an affront to Israel's religious sensibilities as a challenge to their nationalist identity (Isaiah 56:7).

The call to do justice must begin with the conviction that our allegiances have been stolen and we must return to the priorities of God and recognize God's absolute sovereignty. We must not -- no never -- subvert or ignore this prophetic vocation. Shane reminds us that idolatry is a corporate act and not only a personal sin. I am deeply appreciative of Shane and the New Monastics for pointing our way back to Jesus, our president, our Lord. However, the call to liberate ourselves from the powers of this world is the foundation for a discipleship that re-engages these systems as prophetic agents of God's kingdom. We are equipped to do justice and named "ambassadors" of the Good News. Ambassadors are sent to people with a foreign agenda, to engage at the highest levels of power.

Finally, a brief historical reflection should be added because it explains how we got to this point and to this conversation. Some our mothers' mothers and fathers' fathers disengaged from the political sphere not even a century ago. They desired to return to the "fundamentals" as they watched Jesus get sucked out of social gospel message that treated the economic and societal ills without healing our souls. Their retreat led to a naïveté -- innocent as doves, but no longer wise as serpents. They were coaxed out of retreat by a manipulative political machine, the Religious Right, which played to their best intentions to preserve life. When they reemerged onto the political scene, I believe it was this naïveté that led them astray and betrayed their calling.

Ultimately, it is reorientation, not disengagement that we need. It is a call to conversion with the humble recognition that we engage powers and principalities of this world, both spiritual and physical, that will try to lure our deepest devotions. So, we stand at a new point in history clinging to our Savior's promise: "I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33). source>>>