KINGDOM ETHICS D A V I D P. G U S H E E
The “Both/And” Vision That Changed My Life It is very exciting to return to the pages of PRISM, a magazine I edited 15 years ago—and before that, the ESA Advocate. This inaugural “reunion tour” column has stirred many thoughts about the journey on which God has led me in the intervening years, reminding me that the vision Ron Sider and ESA have offered along the way was not just instrumental in shaping me but also clearly preferable to every other alternative I have met along the way. The original ESA language from the 1970s focused on “combining evangelism and social action.”This “both/and” approach addressed the long-standing problem within evangelicalism of emphasizing personal piety at the expense of moral/social concern, a problem mirrored in the mainline denominations of emphasizing social concern at the expense of personal piety. These “evangelicals” were therefore going to be for “social action.” To the extent that there remain large pockets within evangelicalism that continue to embrace an otherworldly faith (an amazingly large sector, actually), this message remains relevant. And to the extent that progressive or liberal Christians can’t quite embrace personal conversion and serious piety, the message remains deeply relevant on that side as well. When I worked for ESA in the early 1990s, I was already thinking that the main problem, within evangelicalism anyway, had shifted.The rise of conservative evangelical social engagement meant that many were indeed “combining evangelism with social action.” But the problem was the kind of social action they were embracing—a narrowly focused social
agenda closely tied to conservative worldly politics. Ron Sider and ESA were saying as early as the 1980s that a holistic, politically independent moral agenda that dealt with all ethical issues addressed by Scripture must be the way forward. Ron and I were both struck by the Catholic “consistent ethic of life” language that was being articulated by John Paul II and Cardinal Bernardin, and this “seamless garment” vision of moral concern remains central to both of us. Another “both/and” characteristic of ESA has to do with where the action is for Christian engagement in the world. In an era in which many Christians have chosen between either the church (as locus of God’s activity) or the world (state, politics, culture, and law), ESA has consistently sought to combine both arenas. Evangelicals need to figure out what God requires of us ethically and then seek to embody that in the church and (with proper care and limits) advance it in the public arena—which itself has multiple sectors, all of which require different strategies and approaches. And of course ESA has faithfully sought to be serious about individual Christian discipleship as well. Many American evangelicals fixate on our own nation. Others tend to think internationally, especially to focus on global missionary efforts. ESA has been “both/and” here as well. Ron Sider’s own efforts to remain closely involved with the international evangelical community were visible to me when I worked with him in Philadelphia, even though they are not always widely publicized. This commitment has borne good fruit in many ways, one of them being the correction of overly Americanized Christian perspectives by listening to voices from overseas. This theme made its way into the pivotal “For the Health of the Nation” statement that Ron played such a key role in making happen in 2004. ESA also helped me find the balance between trusting God and working hard.
Some Christians emphasize trusting God and, especially in highly determinist theology (such as in versions of a resurgent Calvinism today), end up with a remarkable moral passivity. Others emphasize working hard to make good things happen and end up seeming rather desperate, as if Christ were not alive and at work in the world made by and for him. A final “both/and” for Ron and ESA has been the commitment to being both evangelical and ecumenical. ESA has been consistently evangelical in that it has remained closely tied to the cardcarrying evangelical world with all of its church and parachurch institutions. This world itself is amazingly ecumenical in that it involves so many dozens of denominations and thousands of organizations. Meanwhile, Ron and ESA have always related to the broader ecumenical structures provided by, for example, the National Council of Churches—not to mention ongoing dialogue with Roman Catholic leaders. The ingredients of healthy Christian existence in the world are not really all that mysterious. But we so often get it wrong. Start with a transformative commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and never stray. Rely on the inspired Scriptures for authority. Commit to the body of Christ both congregational and universal.Attend to all aspects of the church’s divine commission. In the ethics arena, attend to all dimensions of biblical morality. Never stop trying to change the world and never stop trusting in God’s providence. It is good to reconnect visibly with this vision, which has changed many lives, including my own. ■ David P. Gushee is a distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, Ga., co-chair of the Biblical/Contextual Ethics Group of the American Academy of Religion, president of Evangelicals for Human Rights, and the author of 11 books, two forthcoming this year.
PRISM 2008
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