John Hagee Gets Me Blogging Again ...

What it takes to get me blogging again is a heaping helping of end-times jingoism. (For the unwashed, jingoism is "extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy". Today's jingo (Is that a word?) is megachurch pastor John Hagee, who lays out his prescription to "halt the decline of America".

According to Hagee, our decline is a consequence of burning too much foreign oil, spending money we don't have, and pandering to tyrants like Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As usual, Hagee's diagnosis has a measure of truth. His cure, however, is an unhealthy injection of high-octane Western hubris: stop investing in Iran, drill for oil in the U.S., develop anti-missile defenses and help Iran overthrow Ahmadinejad.

His sentiments are not unusual--you can read or hear them on any politically conservative media outlet. What's unusual is that it is a pastor who is making these statements. Hagee is using his spiritual platform to make political proclamations, with no concern as to whether they are compatible with the gospel that should be his first priority.

The first problem with Hagee's strategy is that he places his allegiance to his country above his allegiance to the gospel. He seems unconcerned for the potential impact that another Iranian revolution would have on the believing community in Iran, whether there is something inherently wrong with America's addiction to petroleum period--not just foreign oil, whether the force behind America's decline may not be mere foolish political decisions but the sovereign confluence of moral failure and divine judgment.

The second, and more telling, problem with his strategy is the solution he offers. It is not the fresh, prophetic, jarring and convicting truth that you would expect to hear from the mouth of a prophet or spiritual leader. It does not cut across the grain of American narcissism, greed or consumerism to reflect allegiance to the Kingdom of God. Instead, he reinforces these values by merely regurgitating the geopolitical machinations of television pundits and government operatives--all with the intention of advancing American interests and ensuring the American standard of living. The rest of the world be damned.

The truth is that America's problems are at their heart spiritual--as are those of Iran, Israel, Russia, China, etc. They will not be solved with saber rattling, missile bases, threats or economic sanctions--or treaties and stimulus packages, for that matter. This is not to say that governments do not have the prerogative to attempt these measures, but it is not the role of the pastor to advocate and lobby for such solutions. It is his role to confront the spiritual emptiness of his culture and call people to citizenship in a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.