Introduction
First, I want to thank Joseph Abdelmalik for his thoughtful essay on theopolitical witness. I also want to express my appreciation for the pushback from Martin Accad. It is my intent here to dig deeper into Abdelmalik’s thesis. I want to demonstrate the value and the necessity of his framework in presenting a Christian worldview to the Muslim skeptic of Christianity.
But first I must turn to Martin Accad’s conclusion: “A Christian political theology should not be driven by partisanship that becomes blind to right and wrong through indiscriminate support for one political position in conflict with others.” While I cannot speak for Joseph Abdelmalik’s position on this, I definitely can speak for my own.
I agree with Martin Accad that the church is not partisan in the way that he speaks of here. The Church always serves a higher power. Jesus Christ is reigning in the heavens (Matt. 28:16-20, Acts 6:1-11). We are willing volunteers on the day of His power (Psalm 110). The Church must speak prophetically to whatever authority has been put in place at any given time. She must do so with the words of Christ, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Even if “her guy” is in power, she must still critique his sins and call for repentance and faith in the halls of power. All things must be brought into obedience to Jesus Christ who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Her pastors must speak prophetically, even at the risk of martyrdom. Many have done so throughout the ages. You can see this in the writings of Augustine and Aquinas and Calvin, both in their political writings and their theological treatises. The church has always done so, as the city of God shines forth the light of God’s Word among the cities of men.
A Theopolitical Vision
In light of this initial qualification, I can press into a theopolitical vision for witness to Muslims. I will first address the theopolitical vision. I will then discuss its value in my witness to Muslims.
To begin, I appreciate how Abdelmalik handles the matter of Marcion and how Islam is an inversion of Marcion. Marcion rejects the Old Testament, while Islam rejects the New. We must not react to the abuse of either. As pastors, we must firmly grab onto both, using the regulae scripturae and the regulei fidei, in the power of the Spirit. We must look to how the Spirit has done so in the church throughout history. Scripture should not contradict Scripture. Gooddoctrine should not contradict good doctrine. The Sermon on the Mount is not written in opposition to the 10 commandments. When Scripture speaks, we must respond in faith.
The New Testament speaks in Romans 12 & 13 of civil government as a ministry of justice that is subservient to God. We must seek to understand what Paul is saying in the context of Scripture. What does the Old Testament say about the civil authority as a minister of God? What does the New Testament say about civil authority? How did Jesus respond to the civil authorities throughout the gospels? How does John critique the civil authority in Revelation 13?
What happens when the civil authority shows up in the assembly of the saints on Sunday morning? What happens in the West when a member of your church is given political power? How must he use that power? How must he walk as one of the saints in the church? What do you do as a pastor when he abuses his power? What is an abuse of power?
We have such answers in the history of the Christian Church. We have doctrines that are able to present the raw power of Islam with a Christian worldview that brings church, state, family into submission to God.
Joseph Abdelmalik touches on this when he quotes Oliver O’Donovan: “It is divine authority, not divine power that is communicated by the idea [of Yahweh’s rule]. This authority evokes free action because it holds out to the worshippers a fulfillment of their agency within the created order in which their agency has a place and a meaning.”
Politics is not just a wielding of sheer power. In Christianity, it is the administration of God’s sovereign rule over all creation in the civil realm. The church does not have this unique form of authority. She does have the authority to instruct the civil magistrate in the ways of God. She did so in the time of Alfred and Charlemagne and at other times in history. This does not mean that the rule of Alfred and Charlemagne is beyond critique. Nevertheless, we can demonstrate the salt and light of the church in history as she brought the light of Christ into the halls of power.
Notice that I am making a distinction between the state and the church. This is a classic distinction in historic Christendom. You will see it in the various confessions of the Reformation like the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Belgic Confession and the 39 Articles.
At various times in history the church had a different relationship to the magistrate. It all depended on whether or not she had “the ear” of the magistrate. The early Church Fathers produced many apologists in light of heavy persecution and affliction. While Augustine did apologetic work, he had more of a relationship of “equals” to certain officials. By his time the gospel was making inroads into the halls of power in Rome. The Church needs a theopolitical vision for both times. For each time when the state apparatus is dominated by paganism, apostasy and faithfulness. She needs to know how to read the times.
Theopolitical Witness to Islam:
So what does this have to do with Islam?
Islam is well-known for its complete world and life view. I don’t deny that there are Muslims who have been influenced by Western secularism. Some Muslim states have a more secular government than others. But Islam has a long history of political theory as Abdelmalik demonstrates in his paper. Islam is a complete world and life view. Religion is not separated from politics as it is in contemporary Western Christianity. The central essence of Islam in history is this comprehensive approach to politics, family, life, society.
As Abdelmalik points out, we should not meet Islam with a secularized Christianity or a Christianity that has been influenced by the heresy of Marcion. We should also not meet the use of raw power with the use of raw power. As Christians we are not wrong to criticize the use of raw power as we have seen it used by the United States of America and other western countries, especially when it appears they are simply protecting their financial assets in the Middle East. When evil is clear we should boldly stand in the courts of the king as Elijah and Micaiah.
Nevertheless, Christianity is also a complete world and life view that brings all things into subjection to the authority of Christ (Col 1:17-18). When Paul brought the gospel message of the crucified and risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ to the throne of Caesar, this was a deeply political move. It was an act of theopolitical witness, even if he lost his head for it. Consider Elijah’s presentation of the gospel to Ahab, both in its call to repentance from sin and faith in God unto new life.
Christianity presents a way to rule in a nation that is a ministry of justice and reflects the justice as well as the mercy of our Savior and King Jesus Christ. This just & wise rule is not only found in the perfect example of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, it is also found in the imperfect rule of Solomon in the Old Testament.
There are examples of such appeals in church history. For example in his letter to Macedonius in 413/414, Augustine exhorts him towards gentleness and mercy even in the strictness of the ministry of justice. For example, he writes: “Your strictness is, therefore, beneficial. Its exercise assists even our peace. But our intercession is beneficial as well. Its exercise modifies even your strictness. You should not object to being petitioned by the good, because the good do not object to your being feared by the bad.” (Augustine, Political Writings, Edited by EM Atkins and RJ Dodaro (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 82.)
As a Christian, I do not deny the necessity at times of capital punishment (Genesis 9:1-7, Romans 13:1-8), the right to self-defense (Nehemiah 4:14, Lk 22:35-38). By implication, I would also defend wars of necessity, especially for the defense of life and home, even the church. It is in this way that the state promotes life & goodness by being a terror to evil. Yet, the church has not been given this sword. The sword has been given to the state (Rom. 13:4). There is a time where it becomes necessary for the civil magistrate to lead Christian citizens in the defense of a nation or region, and even to defend the church from annihilation. God has ordained the sword of the state for this defense. Nevertheless, a Christian magistrate will use that very sword, not as an enemy of God, but as a servant of God. He will use it in a way that expresses both the justice and mercy of Christ who comes, leading captives in His train (Psalm 68:18).
The Heresy of Islam as a Parody of Christianity
Joseph Abdelmalik talks about Islam as a Christian heresy. This language is something that we should reflect on more deeply, especially in the way that it is a parody of Christianity. When I use the term heresy, I am not using it lightly as so many use it today. It is a rejection of core Christian truths – such as the Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Christ, the authority of Holy Scripture.
All heresy begins with an isolation of certain truths at the expense of other truths. Then these truths are isolated and eventually twisted to one’s own ends. A parody is a mimicking or exaggeration of something that eventually becomes something entirely different.
To demonstrate. Islamic martyrdom is the inverse of Christian martyrdom. Both call for martyrdom but in radically different ways. An Islamic martyr dies in order to kill others. A Christian martyr dies in order to give life, in order to show forth the life of Christ. Both die to honor God, but the Christians death begins with gratitude for the life of Christ gained for him. The Muslim dies in order to gain God’s favor. Both call for dominion but in radically different ways. Islamic rule is to dominate and subjugate. Christian rule is to give freedom.
Looking at Islam and Looking to Christ
Islam brings out what is most fleshly in men. It appeals to the belly of a man: The virgins, polygamy, the power, the worldly glory. That is why when Christians look at Islam, what we should see is our own faces, if we were not changed by the grace and mercy of Christ.
As the Church brings the gospel to Islam, we must do so in a manner where we are ready to lay down our lives for the sake of the proclamation of the gospel. Just as Paul laid down his life in bringing the gospel to Caesar.
We do not stop short there. Nor do we ignore the transformative effects of the gospel on godly Christian kings and kingdoms. That does not mean that we have to overlook the evils of these kings & kingdoms. It simply means that we should look and consider what the gospel has been able to do to raise powerful men out of their fleshly appetites. It prepares them to suffer for defense of the liberty of their people, for what is true, good and beautiful.
I don’t deny that there may have been noble Islamic princes. That was in spite of the Quran and not because of the Quran. On the contrary, Christian kings ought to rule by the example of Jesus as Martin Accad calls for in his essay. All Christians should represent Jesus as prophets, priests and kings whether they are given a prophetic, priestly or kingly role in society, whether they are given a role in the church or in the state or in the home. Those who are given the sword to be a terror to evil should also represent King Jesus as they serve Him as ministers of His justice.
Consider the powerful effects that the gospel can have in political life. It does not drive a man to the use of raw power, but endows him with authority to govern a society that is free in Christ. God gives Christian kings the authority also to defend His Church from the attacks of their enemies. William the Silent was a famous Christian Prince in the Netherlands who is renowned for ruling by conscience rather than for power. Consider the words of William the Silent to his brother Louis at the Siege of Harlem in the 1573: “It is the will of God, and we must submit; but I call my God to witness that I have done all that in me lay to save the city, utterly desperate as I knew the attempt to be. When I took in hand the defense of these oppressed Christians, I made an alliance with the mightiest of all Potentates—the God of Hosts, who is able to save us, if He choose.” (To his brother Louis at the Siege of Harlem (1573), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 68).
As a Christian Church, we must present all of Islam with all of Christ, the final prophet, priest and king, the true sovereign and Savior of the world.
The scope of the authority of Christ is not limited to the church. It is through a faithful church which is formed in union with His death and resurrection, that His preeminence is made known in every aspect of human society. We should pray that as the gospel captures the heart of the Muslim world, that it would also capture the heart of their leaders. This is so that they too would serve the Triune God as ministers of Jesus Christ’s justice in this world.
Pastor Nathan Zekveld, Christ Covenant Church of Grande Prairie, AB, Canada
Introduction
First, I want to thank Joseph Abdelmalik for his thoughtful essay on theopolitical witness. I also want to express my appreciation for the pushback from Martin Accad. It is my intent here to dig deeper into Abdelmalik’s thesis. I want to demonstrate the value and the necessity of his framework in presenting a Christian worldview to the Muslim skeptic of Christianity.
But first I must turn to Martin Accad’s conclusion: “A Christian political theology should not be driven by partisanship that becomes blind to right and wrong through indiscriminate support for one political position in conflict with others.” While I cannot speak for Joseph Abdelmalik’s position on this, I definitely can speak for my own.
I agree with Martin Accad that the church is not partisan in the way that he speaks of here. The Church always serves a higher power. Jesus Christ is reigning in the heavens (Matt. 28:16-20, Acts 6:1-11). We are willing volunteers on the day of His power (Psalm 110). The Church must speak prophetically to whatever authority has been put in place at any given time. She must do so with the words of Christ, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Even if “her guy” is in power, she must still critique his sins and call for repentance and faith in the halls of power. All things must be brought into obedience to Jesus Christ who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Her pastors must speak prophetically, even at the risk of martyrdom. Many have done so throughout the ages. You can see this in the writings of Augustine and Aquinas and Calvin, both in their political writings and their theological treatises. The church has always done so, as the city of God shines forth the light of God’s Word among the cities of men.
A Theopolitical Vision
In light of this initial qualification, I can press into a theopolitical vision for witness to Muslims. I will first address the theopolitical vision. I will then discuss its value in my witness to Muslims.
To begin, I appreciate how Abdelmalik handles the matter of Marcion and how Islam is an inversion of Marcion. Marcion rejects the Old Testament, while Islam rejects the New. We must not react to the abuse of either. As pastors, we must firmly grab onto both, using the regulae scripturae and the regulei fidei, in the power of the Spirit. We must look to how the Spirit has done so in the church throughout history. Scripture should not contradict Scripture. Gooddoctrine should not contradict good doctrine. The Sermon on the Mount is not written in opposition to the 10 commandments. When Scripture speaks, we must respond in faith.
The New Testament speaks in Romans 12 & 13 of civil government as a ministry of justice that is subservient to God. We must seek to understand what Paul is saying in the context of Scripture. What does the Old Testament say about the civil authority as a minister of God? What does the New Testament say about civil authority? How did Jesus respond to the civil authorities throughout the gospels? How does John critique the civil authority in Revelation 13?
What happens when the civil authority shows up in the assembly of the saints on Sunday morning? What happens in the West when a member of your church is given political power? How must he use that power? How must he walk as one of the saints in the church? What do you do as a pastor when he abuses his power? What is an abuse of power?
We have such answers in the history of the Christian Church. We have doctrines that are able to present the raw power of Islam with a Christian worldview that brings church, state, family into submission to God.
Joseph Abdelmalik touches on this when he quotes Oliver O’Donovan: “It is divine authority, not divine power that is communicated by the idea [of Yahweh’s rule]. This authority evokes free action because it holds out to the worshippers a fulfillment of their agency within the created order in which their agency has a place and a meaning.”
Politics is not just a wielding of sheer power. In Christianity, it is the administration of God’s sovereign rule over all creation in the civil realm. The church does not have this unique form of authority. She does have the authority to instruct the civil magistrate in the ways of God. She did so in the time of Alfred and Charlemagne and at other times in history. This does not mean that the rule of Alfred and Charlemagne is beyond critique. Nevertheless, we can demonstrate the salt and light of the church in history as she brought the light of Christ into the halls of power.
Notice that I am making a distinction between the state and the church. This is a classic distinction in historic Christendom. You will see it in the various confessions of the Reformation like the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Belgic Confession and the 39 Articles.
At various times in history the church had a different relationship to the magistrate. It all depended on whether or not she had “the ear” of the magistrate. The early Church Fathers produced many apologists in light of heavy persecution and affliction. While Augustine did apologetic work, he had more of a relationship of “equals” to certain officials. By his time the gospel was making inroads into the halls of power in Rome. The Church needs a theopolitical vision for both times. For each time when the state apparatus is dominated by paganism, apostasy and faithfulness. She needs to know how to read the times.
Theopolitical Witness to Islam:
So what does this have to do with Islam?
Islam is well-known for its complete world and life view. I don’t deny that there are Muslims who have been influenced by Western secularism. Some Muslim states have a more secular government than others. But Islam has a long history of political theory as Abdelmalik demonstrates in his paper. Islam is a complete world and life view. Religion is not separated from politics as it is in contemporary Western Christianity. The central essence of Islam in history is this comprehensive approach to politics, family, life, society.
As Abdelmalik points out, we should not meet Islam with a secularized Christianity or a Christianity that has been influenced by the heresy of Marcion. We should also not meet the use of raw power with the use of raw power. As Christians we are not wrong to criticize the use of raw power as we have seen it used by the United States of America and other western countries, especially when it appears they are simply protecting their financial assets in the Middle East. When evil is clear we should boldly stand in the courts of the king as Elijah and Micaiah.
Nevertheless, Christianity is also a complete world and life view that brings all things into subjection to the authority of Christ (Col 1:17-18). When Paul brought the gospel message of the crucified and risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ to the throne of Caesar, this was a deeply political move. It was an act of theopolitical witness, even if he lost his head for it. Consider Elijah’s presentation of the gospel to Ahab, both in its call to repentance from sin and faith in God unto new life.
Christianity presents a way to rule in a nation that is a ministry of justice and reflects the justice as well as the mercy of our Savior and King Jesus Christ. This just & wise rule is not only found in the perfect example of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, it is also found in the imperfect rule of Solomon in the Old Testament.
There are examples of such appeals in church history. For example in his letter to Macedonius in 413/414, Augustine exhorts him towards gentleness and mercy even in the strictness of the ministry of justice. For example, he writes: “Your strictness is, therefore, beneficial. Its exercise assists even our peace. But our intercession is beneficial as well. Its exercise modifies even your strictness. You should not object to being petitioned by the good, because the good do not object to your being feared by the bad.” (Augustine, Political Writings, Edited by EM Atkins and RJ Dodaro (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 82.)
As a Christian, I do not deny the necessity at times of capital punishment (Genesis 9:1-7, Romans 13:1-8), the right to self-defense (Nehemiah 4:14, Lk 22:35-38). By implication, I would also defend wars of necessity, especially for the defense of life and home, even the church. It is in this way that the state promotes life & goodness by being a terror to evil. Yet, the church has not been given this sword. The sword has been given to the state (Rom. 13:4). There is a time where it becomes necessary for the civil magistrate to lead Christian citizens in the defense of a nation or region, and even to defend the church from annihilation. God has ordained the sword of the state for this defense. Nevertheless, a Christian magistrate will use that very sword, not as an enemy of God, but as a servant of God. He will use it in a way that expresses both the justice and mercy of Christ who comes, leading captives in His train (Psalm 68:18).
The Heresy of Islam as a Parody of Christianity
Joseph Abdelmalik talks about Islam as a Christian heresy. This language is something that we should reflect on more deeply, especially in the way that it is a parody of Christianity. When I use the term heresy, I am not using it lightly as so many use it today. It is a rejection of core Christian truths - such as the Trinity, the divinity and humanity of Christ, the authority of Holy Scripture.
All heresy begins with an isolation of certain truths at the expense of other truths. Then these truths are isolated and eventually twisted to one’s own ends. A parody is a mimicking or exaggeration of something that eventually becomes something entirely different.
To demonstrate. Islamic martyrdom is the inverse of Christian martyrdom. Both call for martyrdom but in radically different ways. An Islamic martyr dies in order to kill others. A Christian martyr dies in order to give life, in order to show forth the life of Christ. Both die to honor God, but the Christians death begins with gratitude for the life of Christ gained for him. The Muslim dies in order to gain God’s favor. Both call for dominion but in radically different ways. Islamic rule is to dominate and subjugate. Christian rule is to give freedom.
Looking at Islam and Looking to Christ
Islam brings out what is most fleshly in men. It appeals to the belly of a man: The virgins, polygamy, the power, the worldly glory. That is why when Christians look at Islam, what we should see is our own faces, if we were not changed by the grace and mercy of Christ.
As the Church brings the gospel to Islam, we must do so in a manner where we are ready to lay down our lives for the sake of the proclamation of the gospel. Just as Paul laid down his life in bringing the gospel to Caesar.
We do not stop short there. Nor do we ignore the transformative effects of the gospel on godly Christian kings and kingdoms. That does not mean that we have to overlook the evils of these kings & kingdoms. It simply means that we should look and consider what the gospel has been able to do to raise powerful men out of their fleshly appetites. It prepares them to suffer for defense of the liberty of their people, for what is true, good and beautiful.
I don’t deny that there may have been noble Islamic princes. That was in spite of the Quran and not because of the Quran. On the contrary, Christian kings ought to rule by the example of Jesus as Martin Accad calls for in his essay. All Christians should represent Jesus as prophets, priests and kings whether they are given a prophetic, priestly or kingly role in society, whether they are given a role in the church or in the state or in the home. Those who are given the sword to be a terror to evil should also represent King Jesus as they serve Him as ministers of His justice.
Consider the powerful effects that the gospel can have in political life. It does not drive a man to the use of raw power, but endows him with authority to govern a society that is free in Christ. God gives Christian kings the authority also to defend His Church from the attacks of their enemies. William the Silent was a famous Christian Prince in the Netherlands who is renowned for ruling by conscience rather than for power. Consider the words of William the Silent to his brother Louis at the Siege of Harlem in the 1573: “It is the will of God, and we must submit; but I call my God to witness that I have done all that in me lay to save the city, utterly desperate as I knew the attempt to be. When I took in hand the defense of these oppressed Christians, I made an alliance with the mightiest of all Potentates—the God of Hosts, who is able to save us, if He choose.” (To his brother Louis at the Siege of Harlem (1573), as quoted in William the Silent (1897) by Frederic Harrison, p. 68).
As a Christian Church, we must present all of Islam with all of Christ, the final prophet, priest and king, the true sovereign and Savior of the world.
The scope of the authority of Christ is not limited to the church. It is through a faithful church which is formed in union with His death and resurrection, that His preeminence is made known in every aspect of human society. We should pray that as the gospel captures the heart of the Muslim world, that it would also capture the heart of their leaders. This is so that they too would serve the Triune God as ministers of Jesus Christ’s justice in this world.
Pastor Nathan Zekveld, Christ Covenant Church of Grande Prairie, AB, Canada
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