Christian crusades

I recently finished reading a book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer entitled Ethics. The book might be properly subtitled, "The Christian in the world." It doesn't not cover ethics in the convention sense, as the difference between right and wrong. Bonhoeffer was a German theologian who lived during the 1930s. He was imprisoned by the Nazis in WWII, before he finished the book, and eventually executed for his religious beliefs . The book is very provocative and technical. I enjoyed reading it.

In a later section Bonhoeffer is discussing "On the possibility of the word of the Church to the World." He says:



One of the characteristic features of church life in the Anglo-Saxon countries, and one from which Lutheranism has almost entirely freed itself, is the organized struggle of the Church against some particular worldly evil, the "campaign," or, taking up again the crusading idea of the Middle Ages, the "crusade." Examples of this are slavery, prohibition and the League of Nations. But precisely these examples betray at the same time the critical weakness of these "crusades." The abolition of slavery coincide with the coming into being of the British industrial proletariat. (It might be said that the world will have its due.) Prohibition, which was forced through mainly by the Methodists, led to worse experiences than those of the preceding period, so that the Methodists themselves supported its abolition. (This experience was of decisive importance for the American churches.) The League of Nations was intended to overcome national antagonism, but its result was to intensify them to the highest pitch. Such experiences as these must give food for earnest thought in the face of the question of the extent to which the Church is called upon to solve worldly problems. "God in their hand" (Job 12.6 [Luther]).



I would contend with his first example. I am not sure what effect abolition had on the growing proletariat, and I am not sure why he considers it a bad situation. As for his second example, I might agree, though I believe the problem was in the implementation of Prohibition. The idea is not fundamentally flawed. I will give him the third example, though I don't know that many Christians supported the LON. However, I do appreciate his question. To what extent should the Church, and individual Christians, battle worldly ills? And through what means should we battle them? To what extent should we work through the government?

That last question is one of the more significant ones. Christians have asked for many years what role they should play in government. I believe that Christians should get involved in as many ways as possible, especially in our republican government. But should government be used as a force to enact social change? Is it government's responsibility to encourage morality? Is it theologically correct for Christians to use government to spread morality?

One of the primary purposes of the local church is to declare Jesus and His righteousness. Certainly, as we do this, morality will follow along. The government is an amoral institution. There is not a "good government" and a "bad government." The morality of government is predicated on the people running it and the goals toward which they strive. Any government can be good, and any government can be bad. The political structure itself is unaffected by morality. The government our founding fathers gave us was not a "Christian government." The culture in which it was birthed, however, was Christian. Therein lies the difference between now and then. Our culture is no longer Christian. Many people have many positions as to why this is so, but the fact remains--we live in a post-Christian society. Do we then use government to re-Christianize society?

And should Christians even be worrying about battle societal evils? The chief concern of the Church is declaring Jesus. It is not the Christian's responsibility to rid the world of gambling and prostitution. Those practices are evil, and should not be tolerated by Christians. But should we battle these to their elimination?

I have raised questions where to which I have no answer. I have increased my own confusion on this matter since I started this post, so I probably not been very clear and precise. I challenge anyone who might have stumbled across this blog to take on this questions and give me your feedback. These are issues all Americans should take interest in, whether you are a Christian or not. Hopefully, in a short while, I can compose a more coherent argument.