THINKING ANEW:EYEBROWS, HACKLES and heckles were raised when Paul Ryan, the US vice-presidential candidate, spoke of the importance of his faith. Some commentators believe that a person should hide certain beliefs when in public office, but honesty and consistency demand that a person cannot act independently of his or her basic beliefs.
Apart from Congressman Ryan, many other politicians are driven by their faith and they do so with public mandate. Faith should be no surprise in politics. In a culture that bends towards greed, we need regulators that do no wrong to their neighbours, protect the weak and deliver justice to the least of the brothers and sisters. That is from Christ not from Keynes.
People of faith have added more to society than they have taken from it.
Medieval monks gave support to the crusades and the inquisitions; they also developed the academic and philosophical traditions that gave European society such an edge. The Methodists and Quakers led great social reform in the 19th century when industry was reducing the bulk of British society to sweatshop slavery. The religious orders of France provided the first universal education and health systems in the world and Bismarck, strictly Lutheran, devised the welfare state.
These structures are so ingrained in our society that we do not consider their religious origins. Yet privately most of us subscribe to the idea that a civilised society cares for its weak. We expect our courts to be fair, our education to be open, our hospitals to be caring, our hungry to be fed, our naked to be clothed, our sick to be visited. This is what Christ advised and what was put into effect by some of his followers. The value system that is rooted in Christ informs not only Christians but also most humanistic and atheistic thought in Europe and North America.
So why should it be a surprise that some Christians believe today that they still have something to add to society? There is very little that we value today that does not come directly from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, be it phrased by Saint Vincent de Paul or by Karl Marx.
The challenge for the Christian leader today is to find the balance between the service of God and the service of wealth. The service of God means implementing the vision of Christ for society against the demands of profit and wealth. Leaning too much to God creates a theocracy and budging too far towards wealth creates a plutocracy. The amazing thing is that both can claim to be a democracy and only have to examine their consciences on a quadrennial basis.
Our history shows the many sways between these poles, although the balance has mostly been in favour of the plutocrat. A sway towards theocracy brings intolerance and insularism. A sway to plutocracy causes poverty and division. Seeking the balance requires a person of principles. As the most common principles that we adhere to all come from Christ, why should it be a surprise that one of his followers (and the voters who chose them) wants to be part of the political process?
Sadly, there is an immaturity in our political system. We see the politicians as apologists for the services rather than as representatives of the public. They become the face of the institutions rather than our advocates before them and consequently, in true religious fashion, become the scapegoats for their paymasters. Perhaps this might soon end. It should be interesting to be offered a choice between a true follower of the Gospel and the opinion-poll blown weathercocks of lobbied lackies.