Livin' On A Prayer

History happens every day. Each little moment in the daily lives of normal people, blend seamlessly into the world-shaking moments written into history. But history is often written by the winners, so we must learn to read it with a multifaceted approach and, more importantly, we must take care to record our lives as truly as we can for the generations to come.

For my small part in this great machine of time, I don’t want to look to the past for these moments: I want to look at the present and record what I’m seeing as honestly as I can. I’ve heard that America is now at the beginning of a golden era, and I’ve heard we are about to witness the end democracy; If any moment is pivotal, it must certainly be this second term of the Trump administration.

Even so, it’s not the political regimes or social agendas I want to record; great kingdoms rise and fall after all, and the norms of today are the perplexities of tomorrow. Rather, I'm interested in how Christianity has become so ingrained in American Politics that the doctrinal rifts within the church mirror the political rifts within society.

This seems most clear to me now as I watch the reactions to a moment which occurred on Jan 21, 2025, when Bishop Mariann Budde looked at President Donald Trump and said: “Have mercy on those who are afraid right now,”.

Though Bishop Budde's sermon was on domestic Unity, the online discussions I’ve seen in the wake of it make it clear that neither our society nor The Church is unified. It is said that there is only one Christ, yet I see two factions of Christianity which have formed around the party lines: Social Progressivism and Political Conservatism.

And the responses to Bishop Budde’s sermon, fall solidly along those lines.

The conservative camp has spread a verse from Matthew 7:15, which says “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.” And the recurring idea is that Bishop Budde is using her position to advance a progressive Christianity, which emphasizes the social elements of Jesus teachings to push a liberal social agenda while ignoring other Biblical doctrines concerning God’s law.

Meanwhile, the social camp has spread a comment by a Reverend Benjamin Cramer, which says “If your Christianity causes you to be offended by someone asking the most powerful person in the country to be merciful towards the powerless, then you have profoundly misunderstood the teachings of Jesus Christ.” And the recurring idea, is that the conservative camp is using its influence to advance a national Christianity, which argues that Biblical values can and should be implemented through legislation, also while ignoring other Biblical doctrines concerned with others.

Both parties have laid claim to God’s approval, but aren’t we supposed to separate the church and the state? Or can we separate personal belief from political activism?

I won’t pretend to know, but we can look at these factions and ask: if we are to say both camps are Christians, can they both be correct? Is one right and the other wrong?

Whatever comes of American politic, it seems like Christian doctrine will be at it’s core. So at this moment in the history of American Christianity, I see a moment for the Church to assess our belief and come to an understanding. Let us ask ourselves: What is the purpose of the Christian Faith? Because only once we understand what this Christianity is, can we ask whether it can meet its purpose while blending into the social or political ideals of America.

To do this, let’s look at the context of the passage Bishop Budde referenced, which is often called “The Sermon on the mount,” found in Matthew 5 – 7.

At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, we’re told “Jesus began to preach: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” (Matthew 4:17). This seems to be Jesus’ mission statement, so let’s parse out what this means. He says, “Repent”. Repent from what? Repent is a word which means “to turn around,” or “change your mind,”, so he’s calling us to change our mind from one thing to another.

But from what, to what, and why?

He tells us the “Why?”. He says, “because the kingdom of heaven is at hand,”. So, what is the kingdom of Heaven? The Kingdom of Heaven is an idea that the ultimate desire of God is to dwell among a Holy people, ruling them directly (Ezekial 37:27, Jeremiah 32:38, Leviticus 26:12, Genesis 3:8).

If God is ruling humans directly, it means that those in the kingdom must align with God’s ideals of government. These ideals are referred to throughout the Levitical laws, and further outlined in Ezekial 18. Broadly speaking, repentance simply means turn away from our self-interests, and turn instead to God; this same idea carries into Jesus’ sermon on the mount.

So, when Jesus says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” it evokes this idea from Ezekial as though to say: “Turn away from your earthly ambitions and worries, and instead look to God and trust Him,”.

Jesus core mission, then, is to call people back to God, and this theme carries through as we read Matthew 5-7. Here, Bishop Budde echoes Jesus’ teachings, and spoke of Unity through respect for human dignity, honesty, and humility, effectively reiterating the precept of “Do to others what you’d have them do to you: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 7:12).

But while Bishop Budde affirmed this form of generally good deeds, she fell short of the complete idea of Jesus’ sermon. Jesus didn’t stop at good deeds only but taught that “Unless your righteousness exceeds the scribes and pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:20). The scribes and pharisees were the religious leaders of the time, known for their good deeds and holiness. But for Jesus, the motive behind the actions is just as important as the deed itself.

In the opening of his sermon, Jesus said that our good deeds should cause others to praise God (Matt. 5:16), and warns us to “Take heed that you don’t do your righteousness before men, to be seen of them:” (6:1a) and, “do not be like the hypocrites,” who do good things so that they can be praised by other people. Rather, He urges us to do good things for God’s glory and trust in God for all our needs, be it food, clothing, or anything. He says, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you,’ (6:33).

Meaning, the good fruits Bishop Budde urged us to seek are the natural by product of a heart that seeks God’s glory and righteousness.

But even after this, Jesus doesn’t leave the thought at “Do good things because it pleases God,” he finishes by saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works?’ And then will I say to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you workers of iniquity.” (7:21-23).

When he says this, Jesus is saying that there will be an ultimate accountability for our actions and our thoughts. He says, “You’ll know a tree by its fruit,” meaning, a person’s true nature will show through word and deed. But more than this, Jesus is claiming the power to not only recognize the true nature of a person, but to judge them for it, and give final verdict on them. By doing this, Jesus is claiming an authority equal to God (Isaiah 33:22); and because no human can be equal to God, He is claiming to be God.

It is only after this discussion of the heart, and his closing claim to such authority that He says, “Every one therefore that hears these words of mine, and does them, shall be like a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.” (7:24-25).

What then are ‘these words’ of His?

First, that Jesus’ concern is for the heart; He wants hearts to turn to God and by that repentance produce the good fruits of righteousness.

Second, that Jesus’ concern was for the Heavenly Kingdom, not the earthly ones.

Third, that Jesus is God with authority to know, judge and give verdict on the hearts of humans; as such He has authority to make Himself the ‘ransom for many,’ through the death and resurrection on the cross.

What does tell us about the purpose of Christianity?

The purpose of Christianity is to call people back to God, by preaching the remission of sin (the changing of hearts) through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Matt. 26:26-28), “baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things [Jesus] commanded,” (Matt. 28:19).

If that is our core purpose, what role does Christianity have in social or political agendas?

Though social agendas are rich in love and strive to relieve the physical and social suffering of others, what they produce is a faith which neglects the soul in need of correction. They’re quick to preach the good deeds of Christ but fail to name Him the Judge of human hearts or urge people to change and align with God’s wisdom. Because their idol is social action, they fail to call hearts to repentance.

Though political agendas are rich in zeal, eager to correct those that stray from God’s law, they produce a faith which neglects the soul in need of comfort. Though they’re quick to preach the law of God, they fail to remember that God desires ‘mercy, not sacrifice’ (Matt 9:13). Because their idol is political action, they fail to call hearts to repentance.

Though both social and political action are needed from Christianity, each must be tempered by the message of Christ to turn to God and seek His righteousness. However, as Christianity has increasingly blended into political and social activism its core message has been replaced by political and social goals. Because of that, American Christianity has become ineffective and idolatrous; perverse and self-seeking where none seek God. No, not even one (Psalm 14:3, Isaiah 53:6). We’ve set teachers for ourselves to affirm our own desires for wealth, favor, lifestyles, adulteries of the heart, greed, malice, and call our human ways the ways of God (Matthew 15:9).

Can we say that conservative or progressive Christianity is more correct than the other? No, because both have missed the point.

This is, at least, what I see in this present moment in American Christianity and politics. So now, in my own small way, I wonder how future generations will remember this moment. If they remember this at all, will it be remembered as the spark that ignited revival: a return to one Christ and the simplicity of the gospel; or will they recognize this as the moment that led one camp to ‘victory’ over the ‘heretical losers’. Whatever the case may be, it can be certain: that this is only one of many moments that will lead to the next pivotal point in history.