The Supremacy of Scripture in Political Theology

Scripture is our ultimate authority. For the Believer, this simple statement seems basic enough. Christians of all walks throughout history have affirmed this austere truth, with only a few minor exceptions. But what does it mean for the Bible to be our ultimate authority? More specifically, what does it mean for the Bible to be our ultimate authority in our political engagement?

Too often in life we unknowingly let our backgrounds and biases influence our decision making, especially in the realm of politics. What we grew up with, what we were taught in school, what we find trendy, all of these factors collide with each decision we make. But as Christians we claim to hold to a higher standard, an unmovable standard: the Bible. We proudly claim that the Bible is the centerpiece of our lives, and if we are asked, we would also affirm that the Bible is our guide when it comes to our political involvement. Tragically, however, it seems that this is not entirely true. For many of us the stream flows the wrong way. Our political outlook influences our interpretation of Scripture instead of the other way around.

In their popular work, Jesus for President, Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw attempt to carve a framework for a political theology. Using an immense amount of Scripture citations, they try to convince the reader that their political philosophy is a truly biblical one. But in numerous places we find them bending and abusing Scripture in order to make it fit their desired outcome. God refusing to let David build the Temple is said to be because Yahweh likes sleeping in a tent and being close to poor people, instead of what the passage really says, that David had too much blood on his hands to erect God’s Holy Temple. The tragedy of this example isn’t found in the fact that the authors are saying God loves the poor, for that can certainly be proved from countless other places. Rather, it is the disrespect, the bending of the text to make it say what they want to hear that is truly startling. But we cannot merely point the finger at these two men as if the blame stopped there. All too frequently our pastors, politicians and friends, yes, even ourselves, succumb to the same temptation, the temptation to hear our own voice louder than Scripture’s.

At the core this problem is a result of pride, the temptation to believe that our way of thinking is best. And by the looks of things, we are all infected. This infection is spread through the social enclaves that we are all a part of. We surround ourselves with likeminded people, people who also read the Bible the way we do, encouraging us to keep making the same hermeneutical errors. But there is a solution, and it is called the Body of Christ. The Body is incredibly diverse. Full of people from all backgrounds and biases; backgrounds and biases different from our own. And bumping into these people not only helps us work through our biases, but it also has the same affect on them. This principle only serves to highlight how important it is that we all adhere to the unmoving standard of Holy Scripture. We can work towards unity in the body, even in our politics, but only if we agree to approach the Bible humbly, allowing God’s word to shape our lives instead of a blind following of our chosen political philosophy.