How My Theology Has Changed, Thank God!

 

Part XIII: Spirituality and Politics

 

Growing up in rural North Dakota, as I describe in Post II of this series, was to grow up in what I term Lutheran Prairie Pietism. I could add to that that I grew up among mostly Norwegians like myself, who tend to be quite private about their views in the attempt to avoid conflict at all costs.

 

Early on I learned that at the dinner table there were two things you should avoid bringing up: religion and politics. Both were considered private matters. There comes the first problem: in real life neither of them is private. Oh, there are some who search for a kind of quiet, individual spirituality, but spirituality and religion are both at their best when they are part of a community. As for politics, by definition there is no such thing as private politics. When I vote, or get involved in organizing politically, or publicly express my political views: in those acts, I am affecting the community in which I reside. 

 

Although since college I have been involved politically in various ways, I managed to get through college and seminary without really thinking about the relationship of politics and spirituality. At that point my political decisions were guided fairly literally from my understanding of the Bible. I read the Bible cover to cover in high school, and I was frankly amazed at both the number of times in which God welcomed the stranger (immigrants) and the times God asks God’s followers to pay special attention to the plight of women, widows, orphans, those stricken with illness (leprosy especially), and the poor. And so, when the church became involved in providing food for the hungry around the world, I got involved through Luther League (our church’s youth program) in raising funds to feed the hungry. When I became aware of the American Civil Rights Movement, I became involved through Luther League and college in combatting racism because the Bible encouraged us to welcome all into, as Martin Luther King, Jr. put it, the “beloved community.” When I was facing the first ever “lottery draft” to see who would likely be sent as a solider to Vietnam, I took literally the commandment “Thou shalt not kill,” and began looking into the possibility of becoming a “conscientious objector,” a position supported by the Lutheran church in which I belonged. However, I never got  to that point as I decided to go to seminary, and a deferment from  military service came with that action. 

 

However, as I continued to study theology and philosophy in college, I realized that so much of social justice work, as important as it was, fell into the category of “charity” as opposed to “justice.” An example of the difference between the two was captured in this metaphor: “You can give someone a fish and they will eat for one day. If you teach that person to fish, they will eat every day.” As a result, the church became increasingly involved in projects to stem poverty, such as digging wells and supporting other methods to increase productivity in rural villages around the world.

 

However, my understanding of these issues changed completely when my wife and I moved to Mexico so that I could direct Augsburg College in Minneapolis’s study abroad program. My understanding deepened further when I began to write my Doctor of Ministry thesis on Latin American Liberation Theology. There I learned that there is no such thing as neutrality when it comes to politics. We may think we are being neutral by not getting involved in politics, but we are actually being very political because what we are doing is continuing to support the “status quo,” i.e. the way things are organized politically at that very moment. 

 

The second thing I learned was the difference between personal and social sin. It has often been pointed out that America is likely the most individualistic of nations. Therefore, theologically we give by far the most attention to personal sin and personal salvation. However, all liberation theologies point out that there is also a social-political dimension to sin. Most tribes, cultures and nations are structured to keep the status quo. The more I studied sociology, racism, economics and politics, I began to see the way certain groups tend to get locked into their beginning place in society. Living among the poor of Mexico, I saw all the ways the poor are locked into poverty, with little if any chance to get out of it. In our own country, there are groups locked into a system where they have shorter life expectancies, less health care, less educational opportunities, and less income. In spite of our individualistic ideal of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps,” in most cases that is extremely difficult. This should come as no surprise theologically, as the Bible is clear, including Jesus, about the dangers of greed. So now I see sin as not just individualistic, but also as having a social-political dimension. 

 

In college and seminary, I studied what we call “Biblical theology,” which is the opposite of "proof-texting"  where you build a theological or moral position based on taking passages of Scripture out of context. For example, I once had a parishioner come to me all upset because someone had come to him and told him the Bible says, “There is no God.” I then pointed out that the passage, Psalm 53:1, actually says, “The fools says in his heart, “There is no God.”

 

Another time when we were raising money for World Hunger, a person said to me, “Why are we doing this. After all, Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.’” The context of this passage has nothing to do with poverty. Mary had just anointed Jesus with expensive oil as he nears death and his disciple, Judas Isariot, thinks it is a waste of money. Going beyond that, I once preached a sermon on this passage, raising this question: is there so much poverty because God created a world where some people will always be poor or because Jesus knows us well enough to know that our greed will keep us from truly addressing poverty, and that’s why there continues to be billions of poor people throughout the world. 

 

In any case, Biblical theology moves beyond proof-texting to studying the whole of what the Bible says about any particular topic within its context.  As for the topic of poverty, there are over 2000 passages in the Bible that touch upon poverty, justice, and the need to care for the widows, orphans, and the poor. 

 

Thus, when it comes to the issues of poverty, immigrants, the treatment of women, slaves, the sick, racial and cultural minorities, and the killing of others, Biblical theology builds upon what the whole of the Bible says about each topic. All of these issues have a social-political dimension, and they cannot be solved without involvement in politics. 

 

Turning specifically to the church to which I belong, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) states on its website that “the ELCA teaches that faith is active in love (Gal. 5:6), and love seeks justice in public relationships and social structures (Amos 5:24). In grateful response to God’s grace, our church supports members’ daily vocations, encourages learning and moral discernment, develops social teaching and policy, and bears public witness.” To that end, the church, through extensive discussions among its members and leaders, gives guidance to its members through Social Statements (passed by Churchwide Assemblies with a 2/3 vote) and Social Messages (passed by the ELCA Church Council). There are, for example, Social Statements on Abortion; Civic Life; Criminal Justice; the Death Penalty; Economic Life; Race, Ethnicity and Culture; Health; Sexism; and Peace. There are Social Messages on Child Protection; Mental Illness; People Living with Disabilities; Suicide Prevention; Climate; Gun-Related Violence; Homelessness; Human Rights; Immigration; the Israel Palestianian Conflict; Sexuality; and Terrorism. [All of these statements and messages are readily available on the ELCA website: elca.org]

 

In terms of the church’s general approach to politics and civic life, the Social Statement The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective, 1991, states:

 

As a prophetic presence, this church has the obligation to name and denounce the idols before which people bow, to identify the power of sin present in social structures, and to advocate in hope with poor and powerless people. When religious or secular structures, ideologies, or authorities claim to be absolute, this church says, “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29) With Martin Luther, this church understands that “to rebuke” those in authority “through God’s Word spoken publicly, boldly and honestly” is “not seditious” but “a praiseworthy, noble, and ... particularly great service to God.” 

To that end, the ELCA has throughout the years supported Lutheran World Relief, the ELCA Hunger Program, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, and the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, now called ELCA Advocacy. The Rocky Mountain Synod, to which I belong, also regularly hosts Border Immersion Experiences in El Paso and Juarez, Mexico (I continue to lead groups in that program) through which participants can interview Border Patrol, visit an ICE Detention Center, and talk to various non-profits organizations supporting immigration ministry so that those participants may move to a deeper understanding of and political position on immigration. [See the previous post, "Immigration and Spirituality," which describes our most recent Border Immersion.]

 

Minnesota is the state with the largest number of Lutherans, nearly 20% of the population. Those Lutherans, along with over a 100 Lutheran pastors and other Christian clergy, were a part of the demonstrations in response to the killing of Renee Goode and the failure to follow constitutional rights in the arrest and detention of so many of the nearly 4000 people arrested last winter through Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. On January 23, 2026, some 50,000 protesters gathered in downtown Minneapolis in --20 F degree weather to protest the treatment of immigrants in their community and the killing of Renee Goode. The next day Alex Pretti was also shot and killed. 

 

While I am describing the views and political positions of many mainline Christian congregations, there are also more conservative theologians who profess a similar orientation. Rev. Dr. Billy Graham, a Baptist pastor, often called the “Pastor to Presidents” and “America’s Pastor,” in a 1981 Parade magazine interview, cautioned against a close alliance between religious fundamentalists and the political right, stating: "I don't want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it."

 

Another group carrying on the quest for social justice are the descendants of the 1960 Civil Rights Movement. The King Center in Atlanta, in reference to the Beloved Community envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,, states that “In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated. . . Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood.” 

 

And the Reverend William J Barber, pastor in the Disciples of Christ church, and professor at Yale Divinity School, who is often referred to as today’s Martin Luther King, Jr., gives the Christian church its marching orders:

 

“We must shock this nation with the power of love.

We must shock this nation with the power of mercy.

We must shock this nation and fight for justice for all.

We can’t give up on the heart of our democracy.

Not now, not ever.”