The Church, the Powers and Politics

Part 2, Not Evil, but Fallen

Currently, what is the status of nation states in relation to the kingship of Jesus Christ?

As I shared in the last post, I read the Bible as saying that the powers are currently in a state of rebellion. This rebellion ends at the end of history, when Christ destroys all power, dominion and rule (1 Cor. 15.24). In the meantime, the church bears witness to the rebellion of the powers as it fulfills its prophetic role of indictment. 

And yet, in describing the powers as being in a state of rebellion, the temptation here, a temptation I've succumbed to in the past, is to view the powers as evil. The difficulty with that view concerns the positive things Paul has to say about nation states. The most famous passage to consider is this:

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (Romans 13.1-7)

Some important things are said here that need to be taken into account in any attempt at a political theology. The powers--"governing authorities"--have their authority from God, for "there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Governing authorities are "God's servant for your good." This service is mainly rendered, at least in this text, as administering justice, serving as "an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer." Because of this Christians are to "be subject" to the governing authorities, giving them due honor and paying taxes.

A text like this precludes seeing the powers as evil. Clearly, we have to see the powers as established by God and providing some useful function. The way I thread the needle here is to view the powers as fallen, rather than evil. 

Following the arguments of many other political theologians, the exercise of "dominion," what I take Paul to mean by "authority" in Romans 13, involves creating structures that enable flourishing. "Governing authorities" provide such structures. To be sure, there are unjust, oppressive and evil authorities. But authority is given by God as a creational good that, by and large, has kept human cultures from descending into chaos and violence. Insofar as authorities serve in this function, they deserve our respect and support. 

For example, as I've written about before, perhaps the greatest source of suffering and evil in the world, and world historically, are failed states. Functional states, by contrast, promote and protect human flourishing and life. This is what I think Paul is describing in Romans 13. Even Rome, as wicked as it was, was doing some good.

And yet, to return to my prior post, the same Rome being described in Romans 13 is the same Rome being described as Babylon in the book of Revelation. A political vision of the powers has to keep this dialectic in view. Rome is both "God's servant" and the "demon-haunted city" that stands under the judgment of God and will face its eventual destruction by God. We have to hold Revelation 18 and Romans 13 in tension. For me, the best way to articulate this duality is to see Rome, along with any nation state, as not evil but fallen. As a contemporary example, both of these statements can be true:

1. America is an oppressive and wicked nation. (America is fallen.)

2. America provides more justice, safety, liberty, and prosperity than many other nations, making it significantly more attractive to live here than elsewhere. (America is more effective as being "God's servant for our good" compared to other nation states.)

Liberals like to focus on #1. Conservatives, #2. But in the biblical imagination, both #1 and #2 are true.