Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies

by N.T. Wright

As Anglicans, we routinely get cornered by our Baptist friends who tell us that the Anglican arrangement, with the King as the supreme governor of the Church of England, and the Crown appointing bishops and key positions in the English Church, is a political abomination. Or worse, it is a rehash of the Constantinian corruption of power, grasping after a new Christendom while ignorant of the evils of the old one. The wall of separation between Church and State is good for Church and State, lest the two corrupt each other in some unholy theocratic alliance. So we are told ad nauseam. We are no fans of theocracy, nor of the divine right of kings. Yet when we hear that complaint, we always have a standard answer. Yes, you want to avoid the evils of Constantine and Christendom. Instead of seeking influence in the halls of power, you want to be the angry prophet on the margins speaking truth to power. All well and good. But what happens when the power listens? What happens when the power or the people ask you to sit on a committee, contribute to an investigation, run a programme, advise on policy, or serve as a chaplain? That kind of absolute separation of Church and State is fine if you want to be a critic making snarky criticisms on the sidelines. But if you want to change the game you need skin in the game. The people who change history must make history. If you want to build for the kingdom, then you have to build something: relationships, alliances, advocacy, food banks, pa...