Biblical Christians can offer thanks to God and breathe a sigh of relief at the election outcome; we have been granted a reprieve in the spheres of free speech and government targeting of conservatives and religious adherents. We should gain traction on reducing sex trafficking and fentanyl influx at the border.
However, Donald Trump’s re-election was a stopgap measure, and no cause for gloating. Electing pro-choice politicians who prioritize personal loyalty from their subordinates, undisciplined in their management style and speech, is not a pattern for building a virtuous society. “Better than the opponent” will always suffice as the minimal threshold but fails to inspire improvement.
In American football terms, the GOP took over on downs on their own two-yard line. Momentum is theirs, they think, and are encouraged. However, midway through the fourth quarter, the GOP coaching staff told the pro-life and pro-family members of their booster club to wait in the parking lot until the game was over. The jilted parents are certainly relieved their team still won, but are not, and perhaps shouldn’t be, too excited to storm the field and sing the school song.
Which leaves the lonely boosters with this question: Where to play next season? Do they re-entrust themselves to the GOP coaching staff? Or do they start another team (i.e., another party) and start over on talent, facilities, and funding?
While some of their politicians have been bold in proclaiming the importance of marriage and life, very few national Republican leaders since Ronald Reagan have made a serious effort to educate the public on the rationale and benefits of biblical or socially conservative principles. Many church leaders have similarly been mute on controversial social issues. Writ large, top GOP leaders and Christian clergy have ceded most of the social education space to the Left. We are now reaping the fruit of those decades of neglect.
So, while I am relieved by Mr. Trump’s victory, what use will he and the RNC have for social conservatives now?
Shall we start afresh politically? Starting a new political party seems like a monumental task — and what would we base it on? However, Christians are already members of a body politic — the church, the visible presence of Christ in the world. Rather than prioritizing a new political party, Bible believers should focus on building their distinctly Christian communities and education. Then we can watch what political leaders emerge from those healthy roots, with or without the GOP or a new party.
Building distinct Christian community is the main theme of Rod Dreher’s 2017 book, “The Benedict Option.” The culture of local churches should be visibly different from the world around them. I also concur with Mr. Dreher’s recommendation that we should pull our children (whenever possible) out of public schools. The Left still holds the long-term momentum of winning over the younger generations in education systems funded by all of us. Many schools are indoctrinating our children with progressive ideals, stifling critical thinking, and ignoring history. This is another reason that neither we nor the GOP should celebrate too long.
Neither I nor Mr. Dreher advocate that Christians withdraw from politics. But there needs to be a healthy recognition that to affect reform, our future political leaders need to discover and develop their virtues from the Bible as lived out in the community of the Church, “the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:23). The victorious GOP may not heed our calls for reform, and starting a new party with no spiritual moorings will be a waste of time. We need leaders nourished by His Word, His Spirit, and His people (Psalm 1).
This article appeared originally here.
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