Theology Today - Vol 51, No. 2 - July 1994 - BOOK REVIEW - A Christian Perspective on Political Thought

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A Christian Perspective on Political Thought
By Stephen Charles Mott
New York, Oxford University Press, 1993. 338 pp. $55.00 cloth, $29.95 paper.

The author, who is Professor of Christian Social Ethics at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, divides his book into two major sections. In the first, he discusses particular subjects, such as power, human nature, groups, and history; in the second, he critically examines major ideolo-

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gies, such as conservatism, liberalism, and socialism. It can be said that the major premise of his book, voiced in different ways and reiterated throughout, is that Christian faith carries with it political responsibilities and, therefore, involves Christians necessarily in the task of political thinking.

The first section displays a great deal of "Christian common sense." By this, I mean that it brings authentic, if largely familiar, Christian standards to bear on a host of fundamental political issues. Ministers and laypeople who do not feel entirely clear in their minds on what these issues are, or on what a sound Christian position concerning them is apt to be, will find this section particularly useful. The second section is in some ways tour de force. The author is extremely well informed with respect to all of the major ideologies; indeed, his presentation of them is worthy of a professional historian of political theory. And his critical comments on them are invariably balanced and reflective of a truly Christian political conscience. Christians trying to think through their own political views are apt to gain help from this section.

For all of this, however, A Christian Perspective on Political Thought is more in the nature of a good, upper-level textbook than of an original treatise on Christian political theory. It is comprehensive and fairly well-organized, but one does not see a unified Christian vision emerging in the course of the book. The author is not particularly good at synthesizing diverse concepts and seems often not to face up to issues that cry out for resolution. Thus, the author states unequivocally that "The Judaeo-Christian idea of time encourages rational planning for the future." But only eight lines down, from there, he says, again unequivocally, that "the future is divine not human. It does not lie in the grasp of human calculation." Then what basis is there for rational planning? It may be that some readers will find answers to such contradictions between the lines. At the very least, they are not clear.

Perhaps the primary contradiction in the book is that between the "idealism" of Christianity, inherent in the ethic of love, and the "realism" implied by the doctrine of original sin. It must be granted that this antithesis is, perhaps, beyond clear theoretical resolution on the part of even the greatest political theologians, yet the reader may feet that the author does not wrestle with the antithesis as long or hard as he might have-not nearly until the breaking of day. It is not that be ignores human sinfulness. Far from it. He speaks of it in connection with every ideology that tends to ignore it-that is, with every ideology. It is questionable, however, whether he is sufficiently attentive to the consequences of this sinfulness. He seems, after speaking of it quite explicitly in connection with some particular ideal, such as liberty or democracy, often to slide, almost unconsciously, back to the idealistic side. The reader is left uncertain as to either the practical or the theoretical import of human fallenness. The result is that the deficiencies and ambiguities inherent in every historical society and, even, in every political ideal are not kept very sharply in focus, and the Christian perspective on politics tends to be

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defined ideologically rather than historically and eschatologically. Even though the author includes a chapter on the Christian view of history in the first section (a chapter containing a sensitive discussion of time), the book as a whole scarcely even tries to attain the perspective, superior to every earthly city and ideology, that is classically exemplifed by Augustine's City of God. This perspective, arguably, is the Christian perspective on politics.

The author's idealistic political inclinations, maintained in defiance of his realistic Christian insights, come out strikingly in his final chapter, which is a strong affirmation of socialism as closer than any other political creed to Christian principles. The objection that socialism is overly-Optimistic, neglecting sinful human propensities, is taken quite explicitly into account, and its validity is, in some measure, granted. Yet the strength and enthusiasm of the author's socialist affirmation is such that the reader is apt to feel at the end of the chapter that the author's reservations about socialism have become dim and inconsequential. Thus, the author argues for socialism on the grounds that it is simply an extension to the economic sphere of the political principle of democracy, which has been long in use. Little notice is taken of how badly democracy is working today, as evidenced, for example, in the nearly categorical unwillingness of voters in America to tolerate the level of taxes implied by the governmental services they demand. The author concludes by suggesting that socialism has great "utopian value," regardless of its practicality. He does not note or attempt to deal with the argument that socialism, although in a certain sense conforming with the Christian standard of love, nevertheless, by recasting that standard in secular terms, obscures a distinction absolutely vital to any Christian political outlook-the distinction between the City of God and the City of Humanity.

However, A Christian Perspective on Political Thought is sensitive in its treatment of details and is based on an impressive mastery of relevant literature and information. Many Christian readers will gain insight from reading it.

Glenn Tinder
University of Massachusetts
Boston, MA