Evangelicalism: Biblical Fidelity or Political Expediency

I recently read Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez with every intention of writing a thorough book review. Du Mez is a good writer and has carefully sourced the book. In fact, I know it is well written because I actually enjoyed reading it, even though I disagreed with so much in the book.

As I said, I had every intention of writing a book review, but this isn’t it, and I’m not sure I can write a thorough review. The author has sought to address her concerns with evangelicalism since the turn of the twentieth century. In so doing, she has created false narratives by condensing long strands of historical events into small chapters and conflating disparate evangelical movements into a [supposedly] carefully orchestrated stream of political activism. Du Mez’s evangelicalism did not exist throughout the twentieth century and does not exist today. A thorough review would require far more time than I am willing to give.

However, I will take time to address one of her conclusions. On page 297 she writes,

Despite evangelical’s frequent claims that the Bible is the source of their social and political commitments, evangelicalism must be seen as a cultural and political movement rather than as a community defined chiefly by its theology. Evangelical views on any given issue are facets of this larger cultural identity, and no numbers of Bible verses will dislodge the greater truths at the heart of it.

This is quite a statement and is built primarily off of her belief that evangelicals have conflated Jesus with John Wayne and as a result put Donald Trump in the White House.

First, I want to point out that her position on Jesus and John Wayne is foreign to me. I have spent all of my nearly 40 years of life in evangelical Southern Baptist churches. I have attended youth camps, men’s conferences, and a combined 8 years of seminary education. Never, not one time, have I ever heard anyone even suggest that John Wayne is a good example of what a Christian man should be.

With that in mind, I don’t personally know any evangelical leader who would agree with Du Mez’s characterization of evangelicalism.

Nevertheless, I think it is at least worthy of our consideration. As much as I disagree with Du Mez, I think it is worth wrestling with the question of whether or not the world knows that Du Mez is wrong.

As evangelicals, we should at least look in the mirror and ask ourselves if Du Mez’s characterization carries weight. Have we behaved in such a way to encourage Du Mez or others to believe that we are nothing more than a political movement?

It would be easy to point out how wrong Du Mez’s characterization is, but the harder thing is to ask ourselves if aspects of it are correct.

I am confident that evangelicalism is far more than a political movement, however, when I see those who claim to be leaders among evangelicalism trade their morals and their biblical commitments for political expediency, I see how Du Mez and others could make their claim.

Among my own group of friends, I can point to some evangelicals who have said, “You can’t really apply the Bible to politics.” Realize that if we only apply the Bible to the areas of life where it is comfortable, we have become exactly what Du Mez accuses evangelicals of being. We have become a group of people who are concerned primarily about culture and politics.

When we use the ends to justify the means, we may be acting pragmatically, but not always biblically.

Bible-believing Christians must work to orient our primary goals and our driving principles according to Scripture. Only when our ends and our means line up with the Bible will we live lives that are consistent with our Christian ideals.

I read Jesus and John Wayne, but I do not recommend it. It is well-written, but it is misleading and is a mischaracterization of evangelicalism. But, my fear is that if we aren’t careful, this book could become a work of prophecy instead of an attempt at history. Without careful course correction, evangelicals could become so consumed with political power, Supreme Court influence, and fear of a leftward-lurching culture that we could lose sight of the marching orders of Jesus.

We are to love God, love our neighbor, and make disciples of all nations. Other things in this world matter, but those things must bow to the explicit commands of King Jesus. When we have committed ourselves to living biblically and putting Jesus first, we may very well be hated by the world, but let’s make sure we are hated because we love Jesus and look like him, not because we love power and politics.