The checks and balances of American democracy are rooted in the idea within Christian realism that all of humanity is not perfect – and greed, selfishness, hunger for power, and other human realities are inevitable.
Part 3 in a series, "Is America Exceptional?". To read Part 1 ("Anti-Americanism and Foreign Policy"), go here. To read Part 2 ("American vs. French Revolution"), go here.
Christian Realism
Walter Russell Mead argues that the realm of foreign affairs (and politics) needs more Christians, but these Christians need more wisdom, informed by their faith, as well.
He posits that Christianity is the “soundest possible basis intellectually, spiritually, and psychologically for realism that undergirds smart foreign policy” (2018).
Mead defines realism as sobriety or a sober understanding of foreign policy – avoiding the pitfalls of utopianism, catastrophism, and denialism that will dazzle or horrify individuals who have lost capacity for real thought and action.
He argues that what the world needs today in foreign policy is Christians who have the ability to see the world “steadily and whole” and yet still have the capacity to think clearly.
Mead goes on to describe a type of Christian realism that “allows us to stay grounded in the storm and to make intellectual sense of what is out there and around us” (2018).
He lists four key principles of this Christian realism:
First, faith in God and in his “super-intending Providence” is as important for people in foreign affairs and politics as one’s personal faith in God, because “we are not capable of handling the forces headed our way on our own” (2018).
Next, Christians in politics and foreign affairs must be able to “disentangle from idolatry”, never relying on man-made solutions, products, or steps to success to carry the nation through a crisis; he notes that the “worship of peace leads to cowardice . . . worship of prosperity leads to greed” (2018).
Third, only Christianity can provide an understanding of humanity – an anthropology – to work from. The idea of imago Dei – that is, the idea that people bear the image of God – is critical in this business. Mead notes that “human society is defaced, working out sin . . . but they are made in the image of God” (2018). We must understand that people are important and highly valued, and people are also deeply flawed. Similar to the concept that nations are sovereign with a level of self-interest that leads to actions on the international stage, humans are also self-interested and subject to the human condition. Mead reveals that “the Constitution is a document steeped in original sin and plans on human depravity . . . the writers’ minds were based in Christian realism” (2018). The checks and balances of American democracy are rooted in the idea within Christian realism that all of humanity is not perfect – and greed, selfishness, hunger for power, and other human realities are inevitable.
Fourth, Mead points out that “without Christianity, there is no way that we can carry the weight that smart foreign policy places on it; if we drift from values, we will be more divided, selfish, stirred by passions of the moment, bureaucratic and restrained” (2018). American democracy and public life only function because of Christianity.
Mead reveals that “the Constitution is a document steeped in original sin and plans on human depravity . . . the writers’ minds were based in Christian realism” (2018). The checks and balances of American democracy are rooted in the idea within Christian realism that all of humanity is not perfect – and greed, selfishness, hunger for power, and other human realities are inevitable.
Through the storms ahead, we ought to operate from a position of strength through the lens of Christian realism, which will be a beacon to guide us in ambiguity and chaos.
Stay tuned for our final installment, Part 4, in this series, "Is America Exceptional?".
Sources:
Mead, W. R. (2018, November). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF2ldX_hF1o&feature=emb_title
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