Code

This week CNN hosted a forum on “Faith + Politics” that featured three leading candidates for President. The first shared his deep faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and explained his daily reliance on prayer. He then went on to explain that despite his personal moral convictions about homosexuality, he supported civil unions for homosexuals. This tolerance was based on his deep belief that everyone had a right to believe and live as they chose. Another candidate explained that speaking publicly about faith was difficult because of the Christian tradition he was raised in. It was a fascinating glimpse into Christian faith in the West in 2007.

Every candidate on the panel last night mentioned faith in God. They used many Christian code words. But I wonder what they mean when they confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Which Lord Jesus Christ? Peek into different churches or denominations on a Sunday morning and you will usually confront different depictions of Jesus. So it begs the question – which Jesus do you believe in? The human Jesus who was a masterful teacher, the divine Jesus who healed, some mixture thereof? But its dangerous to just accept the touchy-feely statement that someone has deep faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The second thing that struck me was the idea of Christian faith as a private, personal experience. The early church, the people who were closest to Jesus and His apostles, expressed their Christian walk almost entirely in the context of community. They knew nothing of the individualistic faith that is so popular in the 21st century. I suggest that their communal approach was the result of deep change in their lives. Following Christ was not done on a business trip or on the campaign trail, it was the defining point in their lives. It changed everything, inwardly and outwardly. But today, it is much more common for people to talk about their personal, individual walk of faith and relationship with Christ. But I’m just not sure that is Biblical or reflective of the early church.

The final thing that troubled me was how faith in Christ was compartmentalized. Even the forum itself suggested that faith is a topic to be segregated from topics like the war in Iraq, healthcare, and immigration. This compartmentalization also allows someone to confess faith in Christ on one hand while standing firmly against His teachings on the other. If Jesus is truly Lord, no believer (even if he is the President of the United States) has the right or authority to decline to follow His perfect, complete, and holy teachings. Christ does not call compartmentalized disciples but committed disciples.

In the last ten years, “Christians” have become a target market and voting block. Let’s face it – its not difficult to learn our Christian code words and advance the appearance of faith. So it is up to us to understand who and what we believe and realize the life of commitment we are called to. And as we grow in understanding our faith and its object, we must beware those who speak the code without displaying the commitment.