The world we live in today is in a tug of war led by the loudest, reactionary nationalist and authoritarian movements I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime. These movements have emerged on both the right and the left in various nations.
More specifically, Christians and other devout religious communities are often confronted by uncompromising hard-left and hard-right political movements, with many individuals feeling forced to choose between two bad options.
The critical challenge for Christians today is to refrain from joining these extremist, nationalist movements to achieve their own goals. Instead, Christians ought to be demonstrating an alternative path that refuses to succumb to polarization.
In the West, political leaders and pundits are not shy to attack mainstream Christian values and the basic freedoms we have harnessed over the centuries. For example, if one doesn’t ascribe to far-left cultural goals, they are mocked in the public square, shunned from their social circles, and sometimes even violently attacked.
More specifically, the pressure of the transgender agenda on minors seems uncompromising, with its activists embracing a type of fundamentalism. To be a biological female – and to refer to yourself as one – has somehow become controversial in our world today. What’s more, if one challenges the tenets of the sexual revolution, and argues that in many ways it has demeaned and exploited women instead of liberating them, they’re considered a bigot for even pursuing that debate.
Of course, the typical response by many Christian groups to these radical movements is less than satisfactory. Many Christians sadly rely on a system that confuses the truth with the law. The truth and grace Jesus embodied demonstrated a recognition of the immense complexity of life. Jesus met people where they were, considered the context of culture, and pursued the whole counsel of God as he sought to restore their souls. He showed us how to foster a multidimensional understanding of the truth, and speak the truth in love, rather than a harsh and strictly linear approach that tends toward legalism. We see the latter in right-wing Christian movements today, unfortunately.
Another example of uncompromising, polarizing movements is unfolding here in India. Where we used to be able to boast of our diversity of faiths and constitutionally protected religious freedom, we are now witnessing an alarming rise of a hard-right Hindutva faction. Their propaganda and ruthless tactics demonize and persecute Muslim and Christian minorities alike. Ethnic strife in the State of Manipur in northeast India has led to the systematic destruction of hundreds of churches in Imphal and neighboring towns.
This will not be the last time ethnic cleansing takes place against demonized communities in India. And this crisis is certainly not isolated to India. Hatred of the “other” is the new currency of social discourse worldwide. Extremists appear to have taken their foothold everywhere.
We look further east to China and see that nation sliding further into their old ways of ruthless communism and secular nationalism. The CCP continues to force devoted Christian communities to subscribe to communist philosophy and compromise their genuinely held doctrinal beliefs. Uighurs continue to face persecution and ostracization as well, yet these Chinese Muslims continue fighting bravely for their rights as their mosques are routinely torn down.
Decades ago, Francis Shaefer wrote of how Christians should respond to and live among those seeking to undermine our values. He called for active engagement and non-violent struggle in our quest to create an orderly world with Judeo-Christian values as our foundation. His wisdom ought to be considered again.
Living as people of faith who keep our Christian witness will not be easy, especially as evil manifests in new shapes and sizes. Authoritarian thinking has taken root not only in government but in smaller social circles as well, where freedom of thought and expression aren’t a priority, and religious convictions are treated as irrelevant.
There’s no easy answer as to how we respond to these struggles.
Nevertheless, we must find a way to remain steadfast on our principles, strive for the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of secular dogmas, while also respecting those who believe differently than we do. It would be foolish to mimic the tactics of those who seek to force cultural revolutions on those who disagree with them. We have to avoid the temptation to return the favor.
We must also resist the path of least resistance, where we allow ourselves to be relegated to the outskirts of society, quietly submitting to those in power out of fear for our safety. Put simply, while not compromising their faith, Christians must resist the voices pushing them towards Christian nationalism and instead just remain Christians. We must remain the type of Christians Paul describes in his letter to the Corinthians, “Hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
In the Old Testament, the prophet Micah asks us, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Our mandate is still the same today.
In our attempt to preserve our faith convictions and restore cultural norms, our Christian character must not waiver, even though the flames burn hotter.
Archbishop Joseph D’Souza is an internationally renowned human and civil rights activist. He is the founder of Dignity Freedom Network, an organization that advocates for and delivers humanitarian aid to the marginalized and outcastes of South Asia. He is archbishop of the Anglican Good Shepherd Church of India and serves as the President of the All India Christian Council.
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