Faithful Politics, Pt. 1 of 3

*Editorial Note: Faithful Politics: Ten Approaches to Christian Citizenship and Why It Matters, written by Featured Writer Miranda Zapor Cruz, releases wide today in advance of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election in November. Faithful Politics is a new release in the ongoing Missio Alliance & IVP Book Series, and we are thrilled to recommend Miranda’s book for purchase! ~CK

For Kingdom and Country

“I’m confused,” says the student, fingers gripping a cup of coffee, as if seeking solace from its warmth. She takes a sip, simultaneously shielding a facial expression that reveals the depth of her distress. She’s asked to meet with me, not to clarify my lecture or ask about an assignment, but hoping I will give her a clear answer to the questions that have simmered for months: “How am I to vote, as a Christian?  How is my faith supposed to relate to my politics?” I receive this conversation and the trust it implies as a gift and confirmation of my calling to help Christians think carefully about what it means to follow Christ faithfully in all circumstances – even in politics. I won’t answer her question by resolving the confusion. Instead, I’ll invite her – and you – to embrace tension, to live into it in a way that testifies to trust in God alone, and allegiance to God’s Kingdom above all.

As the 2024 United States Presidential Election approaches, confusion reigns supreme. Confusion should mount; difficult choices require challenging reflection. We must wrestle with big questions about the relationshiop between Christian convictions and political ideologies. It is right that we find ourselves confused, even frustrated, by the lack of simple answers, and suspicious when someone is ready with a too-simple solution. If Christians are not experiencing internal tension about the way our faith shapes our political behavior, we have likely either isolated our faith from our politics, or conflated our faith with our politics. Both approaches are incompatible with faithfulness to Christ. Our confusion and tension should lead us to thoughtful reflection and study, not one-dimensional answers, nor abandoning the questions altogether.

In this series leading up to the election in November, I invite you to lean into this tension by embracing confusion as a faithful way forward for followers of Christ residing in countries while awaiting the coming Kingdom. First, we’ll explore the fundamental differences between the Kingdom of God and the countries in which we reside.¹Ideas presented in this article are from chapters two and three of Miranda Zapor Cruz, Faithful Politics: Ten Approaches to Christian Citizenship and Why It Matters (IVP Academic, 2024). Part Two will consider several different approaches to faithful Christian political engagement. Part Three will guide Christians toward responding to elections in ways that bear witness to the Lordship of Christ.

If Christians are not experiencing internal tension about the way our faith shapes our political behavior, we have likely either isolated our faith from our politics or conflated our faith with our politics. (1/2) Share on X

Both approaches are incompatible with faithfulness to Christ. Our confusion and tension should lead us to thoughtful reflection and study, not one-dimensional answers or abandoning the questions altogether. (2/2) Share on X

The Kingdom is Not the Country

Christians are familiar with the concept of dual-citizenship: our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), but we are also citizens of our countries. What is less familiar is the pathway by which we navigate the relationship between our citizenship in the Kingdom of God and our respective countries. What do our Christian convictions about care for the poor mean for social welfare policy? What does our vision for sanctity of life mean for war, capital punishment, or abortion law? How can we hold tight to truth claims while living in a pluralistic society? Does compromising on policy equate to compromising on Christian convictions? And on, and on…

Since our brains rebel against cognitive dissonance, our impulse is to conflate or isolate Kingdom and country. Conflation and isolation lead to extremes that compromise faithfulness. Conflation reduces the Kingdom to country. Isolation privatizes faith and divides our loyalties. To avoid these temptations, we must clearly differentiate the Kingdom from the country and understand why the differences are important, then examine what the differences mean for Christian political engagement.

Our impulse is to conflate or isolate Kingdom and country. Conflation and isolation lead to extremes, compromising faithfulness. Conflation reduces the Kingdom to country. Isolation privatizes faith and divides our loyalties. (1/2) Share on X

To avoid these temptations, we must clearly differentiate the Kingdom from the country and understand why the differences are important, then examine what the differences mean for Christian political engagement. (2/2) Share on X

Foundations and Values of the Kingdom and of Countries

St. Augustine of Hippo identified the foundational difference between the City of God and the city of man as the object of their love: “Love of self, even to the point of contempt for God, made the earthly city, and love of God, even to the point of contempt for self, made the heavenly city.”²Augustine, City of God XIV.28, vol. 7 of Works of Saint Augustine, 136-37. The heavenly city is founded upon and defined by the self-giving love of the triune God. In contrast, when human disobedience brought sin into he world, it turned humanity inward, toward the self, and away from God and neighbor. In that selfish condition, humans created governments that protect us from each other and give order to what could become hedonistic chaos. The earthly city serves an important function in a fallen world, but it was formed in the context of fallenness under the leadership of sinful people. No amount of good governance or righteous policy making can make love of God the foundation of an earthly city. The Christian’s goal vis-à-vis society is not to create a government that claims to love God, but to make disciples whose lives are transformed by love of God and neighbor.  

The defining narrative of the Kingdom of God is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; but the defining narrative of countries is the ebb and flow of might and money. Christians are invited to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world, and as we do so, we discover the many ways earthly kingdoms are not oriented around redemption, mercy, or grace. But we also discover that Christian participation in politics can be a means of doing justice and loving mercy (Micah 6:8) as we bear witness to the self-giving love of God, even in our political engagement.  

The Kingdom of God is eternal, but the country is temporal. Countries, empires, and earthly kingdoms have starting points and eventually come to an end, but the Kingdom of God will never collapse or be conquered. This distinction puts limits on our expectations for our countries. Even as we participate in efforts to maintain their stability, we can never place ultimate hope in their existence. Every threat to our country can be a reminder that our eternal hope is in a Kingdom that has no enemies. We can work for the preservation and stability of political systems that serve the common good, but we must never delude ourselves into placing eternal hope in mere mortal systems. The destruction of countries is devastating for people, but will not disrupt the Kingdom of God, nor derail God’s eschatological work. Christians seek the shalom of our cities (Jeremiah 29:7) by preserving and improving our countries, but our countries are not absolute and have no divine status.

The defining narrative of the Kingdom of God is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; but countries are defined by the ebb and flow of might and money. Christians participate in God’s redemptive work in the world. (1/2) Share on X

As we do so, we discover the many ways earthly kingdoms are not oriented around redemption, mercy, or grace. But we also discover that Christian participation in politics can be a means of doing justice and loving mercy. (2/2) Share on X

The Kingdom of God shares some vocabulary of values with the United States and other liberal³“Liberal” refers to the concept of equal rights and liberties under the law, especially those related to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, not to politically liberal parties or policies. democracies; however, the meaning of these values differs.

Here are three values that both share, with their distinctions noted in italics:

1. Freedom in the Kingdom of God is the freedom from sin and for others; while freedom in country is freedom from constraints and for oneself.
2. Power in the Kingdom of God is exercised through humility unto death; while power in country is exercised through coercion, and even inflicting death.
3. Allegiance to the Kingdom of God is absolute; while allegiance to country must be conditional. 

When Kingdom versus country connotations of freedom, power, or allegiance become interchangeable, Christians conflate the Kingdom of God with our countries of residence.

Three common conflations between the Kingdom and country frequently ensue, again noted in italics:

1. Regarding Freedom: We might defend our selfishness on the basis of freedom.
2. Regarding Power: We might justify egregious state violence as exercise of divinely-sanctioned power.
3. Regarding Allegiance: We might absolutize our allegiance to country, leading to idolatry.

These contrasts are not an indictment of the United States or any other country. Countries operate with fundamentally different origins, purposes, and values than the Kingdom of God. We should not expect otherwise. The function and values of Kingdom and country are proper to their respective natures. Countries serve a vital function in providing order to a sin-sick world. But no country is now, has ever been, or will ever become the Kingdom of God. And that is good news! It is not the Christian’s job to turn the country into the Kingdom, but rather to bear witness to the Kingdom while residing in the country. Understanding that the country is not, has never been, and will not become the Kingdom of God realigns our mission. We are commanded to share the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, not salvation through political systems.  

If we understand that the Kingdom and the country are fundamentally different, we are relieved of the misguided notion that electing a political party will bring the country into alignment with the Kingdom, because the Kingdom and the country are fundamentally different entities. We do not bring the Kingdom to earth by attempting to turn our countries into the Kingdom of God. We make the Kingdom of God known on earth by living according to its radically different foundations of love and freedom.  

The foundational differences between Kingdom and country may cause us to ask questions like these:

• What’s the point then?
• If  my country can’t become the Kingdom, what are Christians to do?
• What do we mean when pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?

Just as Jesus took on flesh and entered the world fully human, so he sends us into the world with all its embodied mess, and instructs us to love God and neighbor, to make disciples, and to be salt and light. We are not sent out to ignore or to conquer the world, but to be Kingdom citizens in our countries of residence.

The next part of this series will explore different approaches to bringing Kingdom citizenship to bear on the country, encouraging us to recognize that Christians can share faith convictions while arriving at different political conclusions. If we can enter this tension together, with warm drinks and open hearts, we might just find ourselves living as Kingdom people defined by love and freedom. We might find the space between us growing narrower, as we embrace confusion, avoid simplistic answers, and walk a more faithful path toward the next election.

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When Kingdom versus country connotations of freedom, power, or allegiance become interchangeable, Christians conflate the Kingdom of God with our countries of residence. (1/2) Share on X

We do not bring the Kingdom to earth by attempting to turn our countries into the Kingdom of God. We make the Kingdom of God known on earth by living according to its radically different foundations of love and freedom. (2/2) Share on X

*Editorial Note: Part 2 of Miranda’s Faithful Politics series, entitled “Faithful Approaches to Politics,” can be read here. Part 3, entitled “Faithful Responses to Election Results,” can be found here. If you’d like to read an excerpt of Miranda’s new book, Faithful Politics, the first chapter is available for download here: Citizens of the Kingdom (Ch. 1, Faithful Politics) | Miranda Zapor Cruz. ~CK