Dear fellow Christians, where do we stand?

We are in the midst of a historic multi-faceted cultural revolution. Some of us need to clarify where we stand and why. If Christ is the centre of our faith, I propose that we go back to his example.

Jesus entered the scene as a Jewish Rabbi whose ethnic group was severely dominated and oppressed by the Romans, the ruling military industrial complex of the day.

At the same time, his religious leaders were allied to the state and used their positions to hoard wealth and power. They misused scripture to justify their behaviour, to control their population, and to keep their community focused on avoiding the “unclean”.

When Jesus began to gain influence, many Jews recognized him as the prophesied “Messiah” who was to free them from enslavement. Understandably, their expectation was that the “Messiah” would be a strongman who would use force to dismantle and overthrow the oppressive political and military structures of the day.

Jesus did not do that. He recognized that the cycle of violence present in humanity would not simply be undermined through strongman action against a deep state.

He preached love of God, love of neighbour, love of enemy, non-violence, and demonstrated repeated unequivocal rebukes of a corrupt religious institution. Jesus’ harshest words were continually directed toward the leaders of his religion who were steeped in hypocrisy.

This is what led to his death. Ultimately, he chose a path of personal descent and took victimhood upon himself as a symbol of a loving God’s identification with the oppressed. Furthurmore, the doctrine of resurection stands in direct defiance to the power of man made violence.

Flash forward to today.

A large portion of Western Christians stand behind a political leader, who they claim to be “ordained” by God, believing that he will dismantle and overthrow the political structure of the day through the use of dominance.

This leader claims to be a Christian but clearly inhabits the opposite characteristics of the ones layed out as markers of faith: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.

The narrative used to justify following this leader is often about standing up against the “______________”. (Fill in your most feared “unclean” group. Common examples include the LGBTQ+, immigrants, refugees, environmentalists, Muslims, globalists, liberals, minority groups etc.)

What has happened here?

Let me ask you this: Is it possible that because we are viewing Christ’s teaching through the lens of the most wealthy and powerful society the world has ever known, we may have gotten a few things wrong?

Is it possible that we have cherry picked the teachings of Christ in order to maintain our political affiliations?

If you’re still with me, I have some thoughts about what has happened.

The late anthropologist philosopher Rene Girard has helped me to examine the thing beneath the thing.

At the root of his work is Mimetic Theory, which essentially reveals that beyond our basic needs, our desires are primarily a learned reflection of the desires of others.

We tend to desire the same things as the people around us and dislike the same things as well. This also seems to apply to belief structures. We are wired for conformity and this is very important for child rearing and group cohesion.

As social mammals, belonging is necessary for our survival, both physically and psychologically. Group belonging brings caring community into our lives. It also makes large inter-dependent economies possible through the distribution of labour etc.

The formation of an identity is also an essential part of human development, and there seems to be a clear correlation between group belonging and individual identity.

As stated, there is obviously positive utility for group identity. However, over-identification with a group gives our psyche a dependent version of an anchor point. This makes it very difficult to see things from outside our own group’s point of view because our identity depends on towing the party line.

Girard’s theory goes on to explain how mimetic behaviour, while necessary, inevitably leads to competition, and ultimately — violence. The next part of his theory reveals how this rivalry is purged from societies. He calls this the Scapegoat Mechanism.

Somewhere along the way people learned that in order to maintain group cohesion, violence needed to be channeled in a specific direction, instead of at random. This resulted in scapegoating.

The sins of the tribe were placed upon an animal, person, or group of people, who were condemned and either driven from the tribe or slaughtered. “The gods demand sacrifice” was a wildly progressive social step beyond “kill anyone that gets in your way”.

Essentially, group cohesion is maintained and bolstered through opposition of an other. We unite by having someone to collectively be against. We all know that a nation is never so united as when it is at war with another nation.

If you’d like to watch a pastor articulate these theories in a more comprehensive manner click here.

Now, how does this apply to Christianity?

As Girard points out, Christ recognized that the cycles of violence present within humanity were perpetuated by the continual need for victims. He understood that a saviour was not someone who would overthrow the establishment through the use of power, but someone who was willing to demonstrate God’s solidarity with innocent victims, and the folly of violent systems. His self-giving sacrifice was the incarnate model of what a loving God is like.

Christ’s example was a massive disruption to the mythological structure of the day. Beforehand, meta-narratives were almost exclusively told through the lens of the oppressor, justifying the need to inflict violence upon victims. The Jewish people had been victimized over and over again and here was an innocent God figure willing to say, “I will die for you”.

Unfortunately, the Scapegoat Mechanism remained deeply ingrained within Christianity. In many instances, theological and cultural narratives have warped Christ’s sacrifice into a mechanism for establishing who is in and who is out.

If we view the most important element of Christ’s death as simply an event we can proclaim to believe in, in order to gain membership into an “in” club that gets to live forever, we are seriously missing the point!

This fundamental error is what I believe lies underneath much of the Church’s allegiance to domineering political power.

While many people recognize Christ’s example for what it is, this false us vs. them narrative has perpetuted a shamefully violent part of Christianity for most of its history: the crusades, the enslavement of African Americans, the witch trials, colonialism, etc.

Today we witness it again in the hypocritical allegiance to a political establishment that directly violates the teachings of Christ.

This group is led by a man who uses dominance, division, and deceit at every opportunity. A man who hoards wealth, blatantly claims to violate women, regularly demonstates racial discrimination, and seeks self-elevation at any cost. A man who has learned that frustrated Christians will rally around him if he continues to articulate who they are to be against.

This is the very opposite of the Son of Man, who was at home with the poor, who elevated women, who called the Samaritan “neighbour”, and who walked a path of descent, even to death.

I believe that if Christ were here today, he would stand shoulder to shoulder with victims. He would sit and eat with the ones deemed “unclean”. He would fiercely rebuke religious leadership that is allied to greedy and domineering political forces.

He would willingly replace George Floyd’s neck with his own.

I have believed things that I now understand to be wrong. I have acted on those beliefs. I have treated people wrongly because of those beliefs. Often, I have been bolstered by a group narrative and a set of influences that confirm my biases.

It can be painful to examine yourself honestly. It can feel nearly impossible to disagree with the people you most identify with. But sometimes this is the only way toward growth.

The question I want to leave you with is this. Upon examination of Jesus’ example, is the narrative of your political allegiance something you need to reconsider?