Christian Reformed Church Heard Michael Gerson on Politics

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> CRC Hears Michael Gerson on Politics

December 1, 2010 ? Churches can help at a time
when the United States, for a number of reasons,
is terribly divided politically. Part of the
division is the result of the straight liberal or
conservative bias of popular cable-outlet and
Internet programs, said Michael Gerson, former
speech writer and advisor to President George Bush.

"People can get their news information from

sources that agree with and support their points
of view, which leaves very little common ground
in order to have principled arguments," he said
at a lunch presentation at the Christian Reformed
Church office in Grand Rapids, Mich.

With this divisiveness on the rise, Gerson

suggested that the Christian church has a crucial
role to play in trying to bring about civil
discourse and helping to encourage reconciliation between the sides.

"We need to have biblically informed laymen who
can engage in public life and find ways to help
mediate between individuals and the government," he said.

In town to speak to a larger group on behalf of
the Center for Public Justice, Gerson agreed to
speak and take questions during the midday event
at the CRC office. The Center for Public Justice
has been an approved cause of the CRC for many
years. The center?s new president, Gideon
Strauss, also participated in the session.

"The two parties are truly separated on key

issues. It is becoming very tough for responsible
leaders to reign in those on the extremes," he said.

Legislation of significance can only get passed
when the parties are willing to cut deals and
compromise. But there is an atmosphere of
confrontation, not compromise, in Washington D.C.
today. ?My fear is that there is no one of the
kind of standing who can make the deals. Ideology is in the saddle,? 
he s aid.

Instead of taking hard and fast stands, the sides
need to compromise on social ideals, he said.
Sometimes the sides can agree on an issue today,
even though they are likely to do battle over other issues in the 
future.

A syndicated writer for the Washington Post,
Gerson is a graduate of Wheaton College in
Illinois. He also is the author of several books,
among them the recently published City of Man:
Religion and Politics in a New Era. He is a
coauthor of the book, which was published by Moody Press.

Gerson said he is concerned that bitter

rivalries, many based mainly on one ideology or
another, are threatening to undermine the
workings of Congress and the democratic system.
Democracy was built on the premise of there being
lively debate, but the contempt he?s seeing for
government today could hurt that system.

?We need room to build alliances,? Gerson told a
group of about 30 people during the luncheon presentation.

Speaking of the role of the church, Gerson said
there are appropriate times to take a stand on a
particular political issue, such as happened
during the era of the fight for civil rights.

Overall, though, the church should focus its
prayers and energy on what Christian institutions
are called to do?model ways to bring about
reconciliation between the people of God.

In addition, Gerson said, the church should

continue its word and deed ministries that focus
on protecting human rights and confronting and
addressing disease and poverty at home and around the world, he said.

> Grand, but well-meaning, pronouncements by
> religious institutions on one hot topic or
> another tend not to help. "I'm suspicious when
> church hierarchies take views on areas that they
> don?t know much about," he said in the
> presentation, titled "Graceful Citizenship."

Churches need to take seriously their role as
teachers of morality and ways of living as
described in the Bible. "This is a time to step
back and look at the broad principles of where
Christians can respond," said Gerson.

Both the Roman Catholic and the Reformed

traditions, he said, have worked out practical
and useful theologies that teach Christians how
to engage the world, he said. Christians of all
denominations can learn from these theological
approaches that teach, among other things, that
God is active in the entire world and all of its dimensions all of 
the time.

Keeping his focus on politics, he praised the
Christian right?the group that brought Christians
into the modern political arena?and its
accomplishments. But he also criticized it for
promoting an agenda that was too narrow and has
had an anxious, ?apocalyptic? tone.

> "On the one hand, the Christian right made
> significant contributions, particularly in
> uniting Roman Catholics and evangelicals [to
> advocate on certain issues, such as the right to
> life] and bringing Christians back into civic engagement.

"The religious right kept certain moral issues as
part of our national debate. They didn't build
the kingdom of God, but they proved that America wasn't asleep," he 
said.

In the end, though, the Christian right has not
been successful, partly because of its limited
agenda and ideology. By keeping its attention on
only a few issues, the Christian right became too
closely aligned with the Republican party.

"Some people found what they were promoting was
scary? It seemed that they didn't always view
every child as a child of God. All of this has led to fragmentation."

Elements of the religious left have repeated many
of the same mistakes, he said.

Gerson serves as a senior advisor at ONE, a

bipartisan organization dedicated to the fight
against extreme poverty and preventable diseases.
He is the Hastert Fellow at the J. Dennis Hastert
Center for Economics, Government, and Public Policy at Wheaton 
College.

He also serves on the United States Holocaust
Memorial Council, the Holocaust Memorial Museum?s
Committee on Conscience, the board of directors
of Bread for the World, and the board of the International Rescue 
Committee.

He is co-chair of the Poverty Forum and co-chair
of the Catholic/Evangelical Dialogue.

During the Bush years, he was a key

administration advocate for President Bush's
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the president?s
Malaria Initiative, the fight against global sex
trafficking, and funding for women?s justice and empowerment issues.

With the drop in influence of the Christian

right, conservative Christians are rallying and
starting to expand their approach to address
issues of wide significance. And Gerson applauds this.

"I think we are seeing an important broadening in
the conservative Christian movement," especially
over issues of health care for the needy in Africa and elsewhere, 
Gerson sa id.

> ?Chris Meehan, CRC Communications

> --
> Chris Meehan
> News & Media Manager
> Christian Reformed Church in North America
> 1-616-224-0849