argues that political liberalism has impoverished public moral discourse by depriving it of the depth dimension of faith, that is, the dimension that provides people and movements with moral motivation and specific ethical content. The attempt to find a neutral language not only reduces public debate to drabness but privileges rationalism over other alternatives.24
3. Pragmatism. Jeffrey Stout suggests that public discourse should be pragmatically goal-oriented, with all perspectives—religious and nonreligious—welcomed, granted that they abide by the rules of civility and remain focused on and mutually committed to the qualities that constitute a good society.25
In the efforts of the church to translate biblical truth into political process, the above three alternatives will challenge thought and provide important insights. In the final analysis, however, a theo-political hermeneutic is required that is simultaneously true to Christian beliefs and moral principles and suitable for the political settings within which we live. Rather than choosing between political liberalism, communitarianism, and pragmatism, such a hermeneutic can draw judiciously from all three in the process of forging a strategy that strikes the delicate balance between confessional integrity and civility.
A Five-Step Hermeneutic for a Biblical Based Political Theology
We have offered examples of the dangers inherent in an undisciplined application of biblical verses, motifs, and themes to contemporary domestic and international issues. We also have given an overview of the political models that arose over the course of biblical history by means of which our spiritual ancestors sought to relate their faith to the political, economic, and social realities within which they lived. The picture that emerged was not of a static blueprint for relating religion to politics, but rather a dynamic one characterized by adaptability to ever changing circumstances, both within the nation and in neighboring empires often led by imperious rulers. The nature of the biblical sources themselves thus deprives us of the simple exercise of consulting an authoritative manual for answers to all problems. Not timeless answers, but testimony to a living God involved with his creation and the people responding to his call to partnership on behalf of fullness of life for all, such is the authority to which we have fallen heir.
The hermeneutic that grows out of this understanding of the Bible will take the form of a process rather than a mechanical deductive exercise, a process conducted not by an elite cadre of experts but by a faith community embracing people from all lands and from all social and economic classes and races, a community moreover that works cooperatively with justice-loving members of all other communities. The following brief description of a five step hermeneutic will offer a glimpse into my understanding of the interpretive process in which a faith community engages as it turns to the Bible for guidance from the perspective of the Christian faith and within the context of a society characterized by broad religious and philosophical diversity and a history of a lively legal and legislative debate over the issue of the proper relationship between church and state.
First, if we believe that the cornerstone of a Christian political theology is the distinction between God’s ultimate authority and the derived, penultimate authority of every human institution, we must abide in a living relationship with that God, whom we know personally through his Son, the Messiah who has inaugurated God’s reign, and by whose Spirit we are supported through every trial. Where the triune God is most intimately present to us is in worship, where we are invited to celebrate the Kingdom-to-come that is already present through participation in the Eucharist and where we hear anew the Word that directs our lives. We can formulate this first stage of our hermeneutic thus: The starting point of authentic Christian political reflection and action is worship, for there it is that we experience the living God awakening our conscience, kindling our compassion, and directing our actions on behalf of justice and advocacy for the suffering and the poor. Lest we be tempted into seeing the Church as just one more social action movement, we can restate the first step in our theo-political hermeneutic thus: worship is the most political thing the community of faith does.
Secondly, it stands to reason that we must be adequately tutored in our biblical and confessional traditions to be informed and reliable contributors to the public forum of the bearing of our scriptural legacy on contemporary realities. It may be helpful to note that on these first two levels, the communitarian position can contribute enormously to clarification of the convictions and moral principles to which the faith community must bear witness if it is to remain faithful to its prophetic calling. For as Stanley Hauerwas has emphasized repeatedly, to adopt the latitudinarianism of liberals like John Rawls dulls both the specific message of the Gospel to world affairs and threatens to cut off the ambassadors of the Gospel from the source of their passion for justice and mercy, the God who in Christ stands in solidarity with every individual impoverished by corrupt economic structures and oppressed by tyrannical political authorities.
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