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Comment
Lynda Gould
From
the Director
David Porter
Christian
Citizenship and Northern Ireland
Drew Gibson
Church
and State in Conflict - Ambrose
Alwyn Thomson
Christian
Citizenship in the Republic of Ireland
Patrick Mitchel
Church
and State in Conflict - Hubmaier
Alwyn Thomson
Beautiful
Ministry
Graham Cheesman
The
Cost of Citizenship
William Storrar (Scotland)
Early
Days in the National Assembly for Wales
Aled Edwards
Church
and State in Conflict - Kasemann
Alwyn Thomson
A
Light to Enlighten the Nations
J A Sider (USA)
Church
and State in Conflict - Summary
Alwyn Thomson
CHRISTIAN
CITIZENSHIP
...and Northern Ireland
If Christian citizenship is the expression of the Christian’s responsibility to promote the good of the state and Christian mission is the Christian’s responsibility to promote the Kingdom of God, then normally the two travel along broadly parallel lines. But, in Biblical terms, this is not always so. Sometimes the two sit uneasily with each other and may even come into conflict. This means that the Christian may be faced with a most difficult choice, whether to allow mission or citizenship to dominate his thinking and living. Consider three aspects of mission.
Mission as Prophecy
The Church is the normal means by which God brings to a community his comment on the life of that community. In order for this prophecy to be heard the prophet must both be in contact with the structures of power yet, under normal conditions, not actually part of these structures. Such a distance will give the prophet insight into what is happening that the man in the street will not have, but will not involve him in the structures in such a way that he will be compromised by pressures such as self interest or corporate responsibility.
In practical terms such a prophetic distance is not possible for most serving politicians, police officers, civil servants or captains of industry but it is the ideal role for the press and other media, for denominational committees, for retired civil servants, for former policemen and so on. They are not the decision-makers but have insight into the minds of the decision-makers and can call the decision-makers to account. Christians in Northern Ireland have a real role to play in these positions, sometimes as part of their job or sometimes through the formation of informed pressure groups.
Of course, prophetic mission is not confined to these specialist groups; it is the responsibility of every Christian citizen. We are all called radically to challenge the social attitudes that continue to be the compost in which the weeds of sectarian hatred and violence grow. Too many Protestant Christians in Northern Ireland accept the present situation in the Province as the ‘least worst option’. With all of its pain and social dislocation it is better than the alternative of a united Ireland. If this is the price to be paid for remaining British then they are content to live in a situation in which social dislocation has become normality.
Christian citizens must challenge this acceptance of the less than perfect, first by challenging ourselves in our self righteousness, inactivity and lack of radical faith, then by challenging the community of which we are part not to settle for anything less than perfect harmony but persistently to strive towards that ultimate goal.
The most difficult aspect of prophecy is the call to prophesy against our own people, yet biblical prophecy was almost exclusively to the people of God, not to their enemies. True Christian mission demands that to the honoured recent tradition of quiet, polite political comment in and by the Church we must begin to add a more robust, vocal and effective prophetic voice. As noted above, this must be done both by Christian individuals and by groups of Christians. If this is done properly it will call for great courage and great sensitivity. It is fraught with all manner of difficulties and it will undoubtedly bring about responses of hostility and derision. Yet, if the Church in Northern Ireland is to have any prophetic voice then it must be much more radical than it has been in the past.
In a community in which many claim that God is on their side the consequences of such a claim cannot be ignored. It is the role of the prophet to state these consequences and to take prophetic action that will sometimes be directed towards bringing about these consequences. For example, think of the state in which Judah found itself at the beginning of the sixth century BC. There were many prophetic voices assuring the people of their position as the chosen nation and calling for confidence in God as their helper. They urged national unity and pleaded the rightness of their cause. Their message was that of a model ‘Christian citizen’, … but they were not proclaiming the message of God for that specific moment. They were neither calling for radical changes in attitude nor radical social reconstruction which were both long overdue.
The authentic prophetic voice was that of Jeremiah. But Jeremiah seemed to say things that no ‘Christian citizen’ would have dreamed of saying. “Do not resist the invading army. I know that they are evil people, but do not resist them. They will act unjustly, but do not resist them. Do not expect to receive justice, do not expect your rights to be upheld. The days of our existence as a ‘Sovereign state’ are numbered. God is calling you to ‘self destruct’. Many of the external aspects of our religion must be destroyed. This can only happen if our nationhood is destroyed. Become good citizens of the invading nation, giving your loyalty to it. This is the only way to spiritual renewal and, hence ultimately for the good of the people of God.”
Has the time come for our commitment to Christian citizenship to be defined by our mission to our community and for that mission to be dominated by a Jeremiah-like prophetic word? If the Church cannot proclaim a robust reconstructive message then there is good Biblical precedent for a proclamation which replaces reconstruction with destruction.
Mission as Pastoral care
It is obvious that those who work in Government, the police, the civil service and the like, work and live under substantial pressure. There is a two fold pastoral responsibility for the Church. The first is a consequence of our obligation to provide people to work in responsible positions who will be involved in taking, implementing and evaluating difficult decisions. If such people see their work as a calling to mission then, just as cross cultural missionaries have networks of support so networks must be set up to support those who have responded to God’s call to involvement in civic life and the formation of public policy. Pastoral support for these people will be particularly important because the Christian hope is always a hope which follows a path to Calvary as a necessary precursor to resurrection and fulfilment. Therefore Christian leaders in society may be called upon to ‘die’ to such things as advancement within a political party, and Christian communities may be called upon to ‘die’ to such things as rights and heritage. This dying is extremely painful and those who are called upon to do it will obviously need substantial support. Personal mentors, peer support, prayerful encouragement, practical support for spouses and families and much more should all come from the local Christian community. Further, if the Jeremiah scenario above is accurate then Christians from the Protestant community who proclaim this prophetic word of communal self destruction will need very substantial support.
Secondly, the church should offer support for all leaders in society, without exception. This may initially come from Christians who are themselves involved in community leadership providing support for their colleagues who are also in difficult positions. Such support cannot only be offered to those with whom we agree but must be offered to all, including our natural ‘enemies’ in so far as they are willing to receive it.
I am not aware of a groundswell of such pastoral mission in our community. If such is not acceptable to Christians then we may again be forced to think of Jeremiah. The support and counsel that he offered was quite different from that offered by his fellow counsellors. He refused to give false hope or to speak deceptively soothing words. In fact the support that he gave was by calling those in power to look beyond the maintenance of the nation and to see the larger purposes of a God who would destroy the nation in order that it might live. This was a most radical call to live by faith.
Mission and Prayer
The ministry of the Church in intercessory prayer needs no rationale from me. It is the obligation of the Christian to pray regularly for all in government. This prayer should be offered both for those who represent our community, whom we recognise as ‘our people’ but also for those who represent ‘them’. For example there is no excuse for praying for Ulster Unionist politicians and neglecting the rest of the political parties. Further, it will not do simply to pray for the downfall of our opponents. In some cases we must pray for their success. The Christian must pray that, say, Sinn Fein local counsellors might stand up for justice and equality or that they might be successful in lobbying for a fair deal for local farmers. If a Sinn Fein politician becomes ‘Minister of Health’ in the Assembly then we are obliged to pray for wisdom and success for him or her. The same holds true for other areas of life. Prayer for leaders in industry and commerce should be across the board, based on the good of the community rather than partisan issues. A useful exercise for Protestants is to spend time thinking how they should pray for Republican paramilitaries who have been released early as part of the ‘Agreement’. We are bound to pray for their good which we cannot simply spiritualise as solely praying for their conversion.
The pattern of this intercessory prayer should be the same as for all of the Church's intercession. It should be both public and private. The Church could provide lists of politicians and other leaders as well as regular updates on issues for prayer, giving a lead in public prayer and in the small groups of the Church so that individual Christians can pray with understanding and comprehensiveness in families and in private.
Special periods of prayer must be undertaken at significant times such as the marching season, before and during elections, whenever significant talks are taking place, whenever significant court cases are being heard or for the work of groups such as the Patten Commission or the Saville Tribunal. In the broader sweep of public life prayer for those involved in health and education reforms would be most appropriate. Why should we not draw up a list of government departments or local council committees and pray for a different one every day? The possibilities are endless but are they being taken up?
If we reject these inclusive patterns we may again be forced to think of Jeremiah. He prayed for the success of his enemy and for the destruction of his nation. In effect this was a prayer that the ‘forces of law and order’ would be defeated, that unrighteousness and violence would triumph and that the social support structures which undergirded his religion would be destroyed.
Conclusion
Christian citizenship in Northern Ireland is by no means a clear-cut issue. It must always be defined by the mission of which it is a part and in the extreme situation, when missiological and political aspirations clash, it is mission that must dominate. All members of our community need the prophetic word, the caring touch and prayerful support which can only come from Christians. In turn, Christians must be motivated by love and informed by the Scriptures and empowered by the Spirit as they put into action God's mission to the community of which they are a part. We have a clear choice. We can either radically reorder our thinking, speaking, acting and praying so that they embrace genuine inclusiveness or we will very soon start to hear Jeremiah-like voices saying things that will horrify us, but which will have about them an air of authenticity and from which there may be no escape.
Drew Gibson - lectures in doctrine and missiology at the Belfast Bible College
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