Religion and Power

Religion has a long history of influence in politics and rarely for good. European monarchs were so often persuaded by the cardinals and bishops who advised them, that the US Constitution expressly forbade such interaction between Church and State.

Religion was used to justify conquest, colonization, even slavery. The Church had no sympathy for the plight of the “Godless savages” whom European settlers displaced and forced into lives of bondage.

The Old Testament lists Ten Commandments. Jesus added an eleventh commandment when he urged his disciples to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t qualify which neighbors to love and which to exclude. He didn’t say, “Love your successful neighbors, love your agreeable neighbors, love your neighbors who come from a similar ethnic background.” He didn’t say, “Love your Christian neighbors.” He didn’t say, “Love the neighbors who share your political views.” He didn’t say, “Love the neighbor who occasionally gets extra tickets to the big game.”

Love thy neighbor as thyself. That means all of them. Love the neighbors with whom you disagree. Love the neighbors who come from different places and cultures. Love the neighbors that have nothing to do with you. Love the neighbors who frighten you.

And when you are loving this wide array of neighbors, love them “as thyself.” Care about them. Express concern for their well-being. Help them to achieve their goals. Stand up for them when their rights and their safety are threatened.

Notice some other very important points that Jesus did not suggest.

He didn’t say, “Love thy neighbor, but if they seem suspicious, call the police.”

He didn’t say, “Love thy neighbor, but protect the neighborhood from strangers moving in by enforcing discriminatory housing and lending policies.”

And as sure as the sun comes up in the East, Jesus did not advise anyone to use the power of the government to control the behavior of others in their neighborhood.

Leveraging governmental authority to control one’s neighbors is not Christian. In fact, it’s anti-Christian. This is what the priests and the officers of the temple did to Jesus, himself. They were so fearful of this strange, mystic man with a growing and dedicated following, that they pleaded with the Roman authorities to have him punished.

At first, Romans were confused. “This man hasn’t broken our laws,” they noted. “Why do you want us to punish him? Take him over to the local king. Maybe he will have some issue with the man.”

The priests took Jesus to Herod, but Herod wasn’t interested in prosecuting him, either. So, the priests dragged him back to the Romans.

“You again? We told you, we’re not interested.”

“Please! You have to do something. He’s bad. He’s wicked. He’s really, really bad!”

“Okay, what do you want us to do with him?”

“We want you to KILL him! But first, make him feel a lot of pain. Would that be okay?”

“Sure, fine! Consider it done. Now, get out of my office!”

People who claim to be Christians but who advocate for the government to punish and control others, others with whom they do not agree, others whom they fear, these people are not following the teachings of Jesus Christ. They are following the petty, self-serving, manipulative behavior of the priests who sentenced Jesus to execution on the cross.