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January 23, 2013

The Good News of the Arab Spring

by Elie Haddad

A question has been on my mind a lot lately. What should the role of the Church be in the context of our troubled region? How should the Church respond to its changing realities as the Arab spring is unfolding? We can observe a variety of responses around us. Mostly, there is fear. Many Christians are alarmed by the diminishing Christian population and liberties in our region. This is forcing some to emigrate to find a better life somewhere else. Others feel the need to do something about their deteriorating situation. Their fear frequently drives them to take political sides in the conflict, thinking that by supporting the lesser evil they will be much better off; they will ensure a better future for their community. Some churches, however, are responding differently. They are trying to be church to all no matter what their political affiliations are by caring for their holistic needs. These churches are not as worried about having a political voice as much as they are concerned about maintaining a prophetic voice. I’m all for individuals boldly expressing their political opinions. But what’s the role of the Church, as a community, the community of God’s people? Is its role to take political sides? Should it have political power? What should the proper response of the Church be?

I was reading a book about the connection between the Church and the State. The title of the book is Christian Ministries and the Law: What Church and Para-Church Should Know, by H. Wayne House. In the chapter “Church and State in America”, the author surveys the historical Christian views on Church and State relationships. The views mentioned in the book are pretty diverse. The author discusses the issues behind the current debate in today’s evangelicalism then moves on to propose a Biblical approach. This approach calls for individuals to function as “salt” and “light” and to pray. This is what I expect from a Biblical approach. But what I find a bit unsettling is that the author goes as far as suggesting that a Biblical approach includes the formation of political lobbies. Again, I’m all for Christians, as individuals, getting involved in all spheres of influence in their society, including political responsibility, even going as far as voicing opposition. However, is this the role of the Church as God’s community of redeemed people, to act as a political lobby? We see this phenomenon not just in the Arab region, but also in the West where many churches have become issue-driven, taking on political lobbying as a primary response.

My concern prompted me to take a deeper look at Paul’s directives in Romans 13. I consulted many works and commentaries on the topic. There are varied interpretations of Paul’s motivation for writing the Romans 13:1-7 passage. I found James Dunn’s commentary on Romans (Word Commentary) relevant to my concern.  Dunn suggests that Paul was trying to “redraw the boundaries of the redefined people of God.” The first 11 chapters of Romans redefine the people of God, chapter 12 starts to manage the relationships within this body, and chapter 13 draws the external boundaries. Jews in the diaspora, explains Dunn, were concerned with living within their own boundaries as Jews. They identified themselves in ethnic terms and had some political privileges given to them as minorities. Members of this ethnic group enjoyed some protection. Dunn argues that “Paul’s definition of the people of God no longer made that possible.”  By urging Christians to “subject themselves to the governing authorities” (Ro 13:1 NIV), Paul put the political status of this new congregation at risk. Paul basically pulled the carpet from under their feet. They could no longer benefit from the protection afforded to the ethnic group. They no longer enjoyed political power. They were left on their own.

What was the outcome? History tells us that followers of Christ were subjected to persecution, dispersion, even martyrdom. Life did not become better for them. On the contrary, it became much more difficult. Nevertheless, intriguingly, that’s exactly when the Gospel (God’s Good News) spread. It seems that the bad news for individuals resulted in Good News for many. Maybe this is how things work in God’s economy!

So, the question that begs itself in our Arab world today, should the Church be involved in political lobbying? Should it take political sides in order to preserve some semblance of a cultural Christian presence? Or is its role to have a prophetic voice? To speak out for what’s right and against what’s wrong no matter who the perpetrators are? I’m not arguing that these positions are by necessity mutually exclusive, but I truly believe that the role of the Church becomes much more significant the more it suffers hardship and persecution (without undervaluing the suffering that many are experiencing today). I believe that the Church functions a lot more effectively from the margin than it does from the center. I believe that the Church should take on advocacy (lobbying), not for our own rights and comfort and self-preservation, but for the needs of the others around us, including our perceived enemies. Essentially, I believe that this is a great day for the Church in the Arab world. It’s a new day that calls for a new response. I believe that there is Good News embedded in the midst of this complex Arab spring.

5 Comments

  1. […] just got the latest blog from IMES (Institute of Middle East Studies) titled The Good News of the Arab Spring.  It talks about how the church in the Middle East should be responding to the Arab Spring.  The […]

  2. Saad ZARIFEH says:

    I fully agree with you, St. Paul said” تكفيك نعمتي ان قوتي في الضعف تكمل”. In Revelation 5 when John turned to see who is in the center of Throne, he saw a Lamb who had been slain, and not a Lion. As the Kingdom of God draws near, the pressure against the Church will increase due to the collisions between the kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of Christ.

  3. Mike Kuhn says:

    Great thoughts, Elie. I appreciated your suggestion that Christians should lobby, not for their own interests, but for the interests of others. Now that’s a new perspective. It’s needed not only in the Middle East but also in the West where some, not all, define our Christian activism more-or-less in terms of government lobbying.
    I appreciate your call for Christians to play a prophetic role in the region, operating from the margins. I think that concept, as well, has implications for Christians in the West where numbers of those who affiliate with Christianity are in decline.

  4. Emmett Barnes says:

    This is a good and thoughtful article. Dr. Haddad guides us in the right direction for the understanding of Christian character and responsibility. Unfortunately, many Christians here in the U.S. are caught up in mixing power and politics with our basic understanding of ourselves as servants of Christ. The result seems to be a false hope in political power instead of an humble confidence in the work of God’s Spirit and his strong “amen” to all that is just and right in our world. We will continue to look to the followers of Christ in the midst of the “Arab Spring” as Christian character and responsibility are worked out in the realities of their lives.

    The Bible calls for us to protect three categories of people: the widows and orphans, the foreigners in our midst, and our enemies. That protection does not have to be a big, distant political agenda, although it would be worthy, but should be a part of the continual way that we think and live as followers of Jesus Christ. The results belong to God.

  5. […] in the Middle East have not been immune, with Martin Accad, Wissam al-Saliby, Rupen Das, and Elie Haddad each presenting excellent insights as to an appropriate Christ-centered response to the crisis […]

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