Idols of Power

What if American political culture actually placed their ultimate hope in the right things?  This is one of the questions that British theologian, N.T. Wright seeks to address in his book, Surprised by Hope.

“What would happen if we were to take seriously our stated belief that Jesus Christ is already the Lord of the world and that at his name, one day, every knee would bow?” He asks.

“[C]onfessing Jesus as the ascended and coming Lord frees us up from needing to pretend that this of that program or leader has the key to utopia (if only we would elect him or her).  Equally, it frees up our corporate life from the despair that comes when we realize that once again our political systems let us down.”

The next several posts I hope to expose the underlying “utopian” values and claims we hear from our politicians.  I may switch the order around, but I hope to follow this outline:

Part 1: Intro
Part 2: The Bush Administration
Part 3: Obama’s Hope in Unity
Part 4: McCain’s Hope in Country
Part 5: Hope in Government

As I begin this intellectual journey, I want to first thank Herbert Schlossberg, the author of Idols for Destruction, for the title of my blog.

Schlossberg’s chapter on politics (where I got my title), describes how many thinkers, especially from the intellectual line of Hegel and Marx view the state as the “savior” for mankind. Here’s one quote by Hegel that sums up this position:

“We must therefore worship the State as the manifestation of the Divine of earth, and consider that, if it is difficult to comprehend Nature, it is harder to grasp the Essence of the State…the State is the march of God through the world…”

A goal of mine for this blog is to combat this notion that the state is where we find our sustenance, security, and identity. Think these ideas died out with communism? With all of this talk about “Hope” and putting our “Country First,” it seems I have my work cut out for me.