Pursue constructive political engagement, seeking to avoid a clamorous or censorious tone which could prove counter-productive, and repudiating violent, threatening or coercive methods.
In my life, I don’t think I’ve ever called someone a ‘viper’, but I found myself repeating Jesus’ words – ‘you brood of vipers’ – on Premier radio just a few weeks ago. The situation that prompted my outburst was the following story: Matthew Shepard was an openly gay US college student who in 1998 was violently murdered in a crime that was widely reported to be motivated by homophobia. The trial of his killers was picketed by members of the Westboro Baptist Church who held up banners proclaiming the number of days Matthew Shepard had now been burning in hell. The Premier debate was exploring the question: Is the Church Homophobic?, and the broadcaster asked me my view of the banner waving churchgoers. I replied: ‘You brood of vipers’.
In the Alliance, at present, we have been considering what it means to demonstrate truth and grace in an integrated Biblical way to society. One of the points that Joel Edwards has made is that truth is not truth in the absence of grace, and grace is not grace in the absence of truth. The debate I was involved in on Premier gives a perfect illustration of what Joel is getting at.
In any given situation, such as the question posed to me by the Premier journalist, there are a range of true statements that we can make. So, in response to the Matthew Shepard story, I could have made any of the following points, all of which are true:
- Homosexual practice is a sin, and God judges sin.
- Hatred of persons, including hatred of gays, is a sin, and God judges sin. The church members will one day have to answer to God for their actions.
- The banner waving churchgoers were acting according to their religious conscience.
- The banner waving churchgoers represent the kind of pharisaical, judgementalism that Christ condemned with the phrase ‘You brood of vipers’.
I opted for the last of these. And this is precisely how grace functions. It doesn’t change the nature of truth – what is true will always be true - but it does guide us into thinking through which of the many true responses that we could make in a particular situation is the right one.
Now, of course, someone might object and say that I should have said all of the above and more, but in the real world of radio debates, or even real conversations we do not have an infinite expanse of time. The first point we make is probably the only point we will be allowed to make – and hence, choosing what that point will be becomes crucial.
It is important that evangelicals do not water down God’s message regarding sexual activity; but it is just as important, as the Faith and Nation recommendation makes clear, that we repudiate violent, threatening or coercive methods in our engagement with society. And this applies just as much in our daily conversations and weekly sermons, as it does in our interactions as an Alliance with the media.
