Posted on 01/21/2008 3:20:03 PM PST by Mr. Silverback
As Americans observe Martin Luther King Day today, I am reminded of the rich Christian tradition of activism in this country. For millions of Christians who have gone before us, activism was considered fruit of the faith. Not only was the civil-rights movement led by evangelical Christians like Dr. King, so too were campaigns for abolition and women’s suffrage heavily influenced by Christians expressing their faith.
But for much of the twentieth century, Christians—especially white evangelicals—shied away from activism. Part of the reason is that from about the 1920s to the 1970s, many evangelical Christians simply withdrew from the public square. Defeats in Prohibition and the discouraging results of the Scopes trial left many evangelicals disheartened. Soon the rich activist tradition was lost or divorced from true faith.
But in the African-American community, Christian principles and hopes prodded the rise of the civil-rights movement. It was not until the ’80s with the rise of the Moral Majority, that activism began to resurface among white evangelicals. Unfortunately, as Tim Stafford notes in his new book, Shaking the System, by then, “The very idea of Christians advocating for public causes created panic among secularists and dreams of utopia (a long-lost Christian America?) among true believers.”
This is why I like Stafford’s book so much: It draws from the rich history of Christian involvement to revive that lost knowledge of what it looks like to be a Christian activist.
True Christian activism, Stafford writes, always begins with the truth. “That means,” Stafford says, that “the true activist is a witness, anxious to pass on truth to others.” This is how the abolition movement began in the United States. About 30 years before the Civil War, the truth that slavery was a sin began to break through the consciousness of more and more Americans.
Soon all activists, however, learn that not everyone can handle truth. That is why a second thing that any Christian should know about engaging the world with a Christian worldview is to expect resistance. When truth collides with the status quo, Christian activists had better know where their ultimate hope lies.
Christians must also have a strategy for shaking the system: from prayer to dialogue, from political involvement to pressure tactics such as boycotts and strikes.
But above all, like Dr. King, the activist must possess courage and an unyielding faith in the God of justice. Injustice does not loosen its grasp easily. We must be prepared for a long haul, drawing on the rich resources of community and that abiding hope and passion for truth. And we must avoid violence: in our rhetoric and our actions. As Martin Luther King reminded those who gathered at his home after it had been bombed, “Don’t get panicky. . . . I want you to love our enemies. Be good to them. This is what we must live by. We must meet hate with love.”
So if the life of an activist holds so much discouragement and risk, why get involved at all? Because a Christian understanding of the world compels us to combat injustice and promote truth. That is a thought worth reflecting on, especially on Martin Luther King Day—a man who exhibited those qualities.
Actually, Larry Schweikart and Michael Patrick Allen detail how Prohibition was more the child of wealthy women from the mainline churches in "A Patriot's History of the United States."
There are links to further information at the source document.
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It seems to me that if you're going to get involved in explicitly Christian public activism as an evngelical, it would be important to focus on issues that are both indisputable from a Christian point of view and solidly defensible from a secular, public-policy point of view.
I remain unpersuaded that the legal prohibition of the consumption of alcohol, and the prosecution of John Scopes, substitute teacher and ACLU shill, fit those criteria.
Poor choice of issues.
Rich Christians are not sufficiently known for their activism.
Christians getting involved in the political system are quite a hot topic now.
Many want Mike Huckabee out because of his views and I have always noted his moralistic approach to matters.
Huckabee would prefer federal intervention on matters like abortion just like King demanded intervention for civil rights from several American presidents.
The conservatives like Barry Goldwater did not want rights of states trampled on with civil rights laws he thought were not constitutional.
Conservatives today speak of a federalist approach to abortion, letting states make their own decisions.
The Operation Rescue movement of the late 1980’s and early 90’s was in a sense inspired by the MLK’s activities much to the liberals chagrin.
But if we oppose Huckabee and his attitude, we should also note King’s approach and express our opposition to it.
But will conservatives honestly disagree with King or still continue to worship him as if he were great when from a federalist approach, MLK was wrong.
Thanks. Emailed this one.
Remember Prison Fellowship. Let’s stop the revolving door.
Amen.
?? Did you mean to send this message to somebody else?
The objection to Huckabee among conservatives has little to do with the HLA. He is a weasel in sheep’s clothing. He is the second coming of Jimmy Carter.
Awesome.
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