War & Politics: First Principle

This post has been significantly updated from its original format.

I’m writing to advance a new paradigm for how Christians should answer questions pertaining to “war and politics“, one that seeks to realize our Kingdom identity as sojourners in this world. Our current frameworks often leave us either compromised or disconnected from our Kingdom purposes.

One of the challenges Christians have faced when trying to answer the questions of war and politics is that Scripture advances its message primarily in narrative form, but we need propositions and principles to construct a coherent worldview. This was something that Dietrich Bonhoeffer was wrestling with in many of his writings. He observed that there are absolute truths contained in Scripture, but yet, those truths are inextricably set in their narrative context. We can’t just extract them from their setting to create the propositions and principles we need for this kind of worldview. And this is why Christians have struggled with these questions. Scripture tells us that David was both a man after God’s own heart and a warrior. And the apostle Paul taught that human governments are God’s minister of wrath meant to punish evil. But Jesus told his followers not to resist an evildoer, but, on the contrary, to love their enemies. We aren’t told how to put these things together. Only that we are supposed to live by faith in them.

On this point I want to emphasize Christian charity and unity: in trying to answer these questions, I do not mean to suggest that others are not faithful because they have given different answers. My place is neither to condemn, nor to justify anyone. All God’s children sincerely strive to live out his will, and, to help others do the same. And that’s all I’m trying to do here.

So here we will make the effort to derive our first principle for what I’m tentatively calling witness theology.

WHAT ARE PRINCIPLES?

You can skip this section if you’re uninterested in my process, but, this will be the process I follow, whether stated explicitly or assumed, throughout this series, which is why I’m taking the time to delineate it here now.

Principles are fundamental truths or propositions that serve as the foundation for a system of belief, behavior, or reason.

Our first principle must provide this worldview with its scope, structure, and constraints. Put simply, we’re looking for the fundamental truth that will help us realize our Kingdom identity as sojourners in this world in such a way that answers our questions pertaining to war and politics.

Further, for organizing principles to be sound, they must be “clear and precise“, “normatively universal“, “organized“, “consistent“, and “justifiable“. To be “clear and precise” means that our principle must be well-defined. To be “normatively universal” means that it must be recognized by all Christians and applicable within its normal scope of definition. To be “organized” means it must fit within a system of principles. To be “consistent” means that it must produce unified results when tested. And to be “justifiable” means that it must be supported by evidence or arguments that are reasonable and acceptable.

To synthesize our first principle, I’ve done structural and thematic analysis on the synoptic gospels. How do these authors compile and advance their narratives? What are they saying about Jesus? And I’ve looked at the studies of several scholars, most notably Dietrich Bonhoeffer and N.T. Wright. My hope is that we will finish with a founding principle that is universally recognized by all Christians, one that will be sufficient to base our other principles on as we construct a system of beliefs that can answer our questions.

Okay, so let’s construct our first principle.

FIRST PRINCIPLE

To begin, we’ll consider how Mark introduces Jesus:

Mark 1:15 (CSB) — 15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Now take some time to read Mark 1:15 in light of these narratives: Matthew 1:21; 25:31-46; 28:18-20; Mark 11:15-17; 12:29-31; 16:19-20; Luke 1:31-37; 3:15-18; 24:46-48. Note: I’m still working on John’s gospel.

Put simply, someone (i.e. Jesus) has come who brings the past to fulfill the future in the present (i.e. “the time is fulfilled“), and, in so doing, has ushered in God’s reign in time (i.e. “the kingdom of God has come near“) in such a way that calls everyone to turn from their present way of life and embrace the reign of God in their new life (i.e. “repent and believe the good news“). He will do this by saving us from our sin (See Matthew 1:21), overturning corruption in God’s household and restoring his people’s lost connection to their God (See Mark 11:15-17), establishing God’s reign from his throne (See Luke 1:31-33), teaching his people to love him from their whole-selves, and through their love for God, to lavishly love others (See Mark 12:29-31), sending his people out under his authority to bear witness of him to all nations (See Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:46-48), ultimately baptizing his people in the Holy Spirit to enable them in their mission until he returns to baptize the world with fire and gather his people into his glory (See Luke 3:15-18; Matthew 25:31-46).

What I’ve written above synthesizes some of Scripture’s messianic narratives into one concise narrative, one that brings together the fundamental truths of the gospel into one narrative, but it is still itself a narrative. To derive our principle we have to understand the central truth these narratives are based upon.

So here is my first principle stated: “Jesus is Lord.“

Many of the problems that I have identified when looking at the other systems that propose answers to questions of war and politics is that they are not founded on the founding principle of the Christian faith. How can the answers we give to the questions of war and politics be expected to produce results that are consistent with the Christian faith if our answers are not founded on the fundamental truth of the gospel that organizes all other truths? My intention is to organize our system around the fundamental truth that shapes the Christian faith so that our answers bring us closer to the realities of God’s Kingdom.

So, now it’s your turn: what do you think?

Share your thoughts below in the comments!