Christian Prudence in Modern Governance

Politics has always been controversial, whether in ancient Athenian democracy or in a 20th-century communist dictatorship. It is also likely true that most people either pay too much attention to politics or pay none whatsoever. The Church is not unique in this regard. To avoid the question of how to apply the Gospel and Christianity to politics, many pastors and popular figures in modern Evangelicalism often say things like, “Just preach the Gospel.” Others turn their sermons into stump speeches for a particular candidate or a cause. Neither of these is acceptable any longer. Your average church member can feel something is wrong: Church leaders must be prepared to shepherd their flock accordingly.

A Liberal Art or a Hard Science

The biggest shift in modern political thought, especially on the “New Christian Right,” is the consideration of politics as a liberal art rather than a hard science. With hard sciences such as math, chemistry, or physics, there is always a right or wrong answer. Experiments or equations that are consistent and repeatable lead to the creation of formulas. The liberal arts, however, have to be studied and understood in a particular context to be properly applied. They require much more work to study and even more to master. To exemplify what I mean, the New Christian Right is not concerned with “nation building” or “fighting them over there so we don’t have to fight them here.”  We learned over the last twenty years that you cannot copy and paste the American Constitution into a Muslim society and expect to have lasting peace and tranquility. This realization, however, presents its own unique challenges.

Prudence or Procedure

One of the biggest challenges we face now is how to apply the idea of politics as a liberal art to modern America. The majority of our politicians are either so committed to an ideology or so cravenly self-interested that they are unable to exercise their power prudently. They have to abide by a procedure. They do not know how to govern any other way. There are a few examples of Christians governing prudently even when in violation of “conservative principles” or going against the consultant’s advice. Ron Desantis’ tenure in Florida is probably the best example of this. A decade ago, conservatives would not have been in favor of the way that Desantis punished Disney in 2023 by taking away the self-governing privilege that the company had enjoyed since 1967. However, in 2023, conservatives cheered him on his crusade.

Be Prepared for the Backlash

The other challenge we will face is the backlash and name-calling from alleged conservatives and center-left liberals. James Lindsay will label you as “woke-right” even though he cannot clearly define or explain what he means by that. In short, “woke-right” is his version of “Adorno’s F scale” from The Authoritarian Personality. On the contrary, your average conservative is going to accuse you of being a pure pragmatist with no principles because you do not adhere to a specific process or procedure. They cannot comprehend a governing philosophy that doesn’t abide by strict guidelines like “low taxes” and “free markets.” 

For specific examples, let’s take a look at how well conservatives have done in the areas of taxes and supposedly free markets. As Elon Musk recently said, “You are taxed on what you earn, you are taxed on what you buy, and you are taxed on what you own,” so we aren’t off to a good start. Concerning free markets, a purely free market can never exist because there would have to be no rules. If there are no rules, human sinfulness will take over. This is why Donald Trump was so concerned with trade deals in his first term. He knew that we were being taken advantage of by other nations so he renegotiated the terms of those deals and is now using tariffs to advance American interests and prosperity. So for all of their principled rhetoric, conservatives have lost on both of these issues.

The Way Forward

The good news is that many on the New Christian Right do not care about getting called mean names because they know that just means their opponents have no serious argument against them. This is what’s most needed in America right now; good Christian men who will lead and not fold like a cheap suit when scrutiny arises or someone calls them a “racist.” We certainly do not want to practice sinful partiality based on race, but the accusation of racism is just that in most cases; a baseless accusation. 

We need men like Dusty Deevers all over the country to stand on Biblical principles and take the fight to the Spirit of the Age instead of always assuming rear-guard actions that do nothing but concede ground to the enemy. Christians are going to have to learn that it is not power that is good or evil, but the wielder of that power. The Book of Proverbs says “When the righteous rule, the people rejoice.” We need to make that principle more than just a campaign slogan, but rather an entire philosophy of governing. 

For proof of concept, I will again point to Ron Desantis. Barely winning his gubernatorial bid in 2018 against Andrew Gillum, he won in a twenty-point landslide against Charlie Crist four years later. How? By governing righteously throughout the COVID-19 saga and by fearlessly acting on cultural issues as he did in his fight with Disney.

“Trust God and Get Going”

It will be an unbelievably challenging time for Christians in the coming era for many reasons, not the least of which is that we are going to be forced to be more politically minded than we have been in prior eras. Evangelical leaders like Russell Moore are going to accuse men like Dusty Deevers of politicizing the Bible or putting politics above the Bible, though they were more than happy to help push the Church in a leftward direction. Men who take up this fight will need spines of steel because they will drown in the waters of emotional blackmail and “toxic empathy” if they do not stand up straight and wade through these waters with courage and conviction. 

When these attacks come, detractors should be reminded that alongside the Great Commission, we also have the creation mandate to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28) We have work to do while we are here on the earth. As J.I. Packer once said, “The Christian’s motto should not be ‘Let go & let God’ but ‘Trust God & get going’.”