The world (or part of it, at least) waits to see what President Trump will do next. Gerrymandering* Texas constituencies to ensure a Republican majority in the mid-term Congressional elections only the latest escapade (*from Elbridge Gerry, Governor of Massachusetts in 1812, and the new ward boundaries, described by the “Boston Gazette” as resembling a salamander). But while Trump’s speeches are often incoherent (prompting questions about developing dementia), his actions constantly shift public attention- in that way cleverly avoiding serious debate.
The questioning of many previously “unassailable” beliefs in philosophy, religion, morality and history has spilled over into scientific evidence and facts (such as climate change and health), to the point that people like Trump and JF Kennedy can peddle fantasies as “alternative truth”, which gives “democracy” the right to challenge “experts” (having elected to power politicians who offer over-simplified “solutions”).
Can good political education make a difference? Possibly, but only if education is about far more than simply imparting knowledge. It must also encourage understanding, and foster the ability to reflect. The same is true of the churches, especially their preaching. If preaching only aims to stir emotions, in order to cement people’s loyalty, it can be destructive. It is only creative if it encourages the freedom to question and debate. Only then can congregations develop the maturity to make a positive contribution to society. That must involve is the ability to see comparisons between what is happening today and a past which has often been forgotten (for example the genocidal destruction being wrought in Gaza now and what was done to Warsaw in 1944).
Our reading was from Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 to 17: “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his power” (verse 10). The militaristic language used- “armour; shield; helmet; sword” etc- would have been familiar to people in the Roman Empire, and of course is used metaphorically. But the degree to which even our metaphors depend on violent and aggressive language shows how limited is our repudiation of force and domination, and its replacement by the language of love and goodness.
The key to this passage is “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but… against the cosmic powers of this present darkness” (verse 12). It is true that the institutions and ideologies that cause destruction have been created by human beings. But in his “The Powers that Be” (a summary of three earlier books), the United States Methodist theologian Walter Wink (1935 to 2012) argues that the organisations and structures which people create develop an identity and an ethos (an ideology?) that is stronger than the individuals themselves, and in some ways imprison even those who think of themselves as leaders and “in control” of the powers they have made. So to attack the individuals is in some ways beside the point if we do not find ways to deal with the structures and ideologies (the “cosmic powers” in the language of Ephesians) that control them.
Weblinks:
Katharine Hayhoe: “Saving Us” https://www.waterstones.com/book/saving-us/katharine-hayhoe/9781982143848
Walter Wink- The Powers that Be: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/the-powers-that-be-theology-for-a-new-millennium/