Transactional Thinking = Bad Theology, Bad Politics
Transactional thinking is really attractive. It offers a sense of control amidst the messy complexity of our modern world. If we have the courage to enter into conversations that matter we immediately find ourselves waist deep in complicated and multi-faceted issues. Immigration, educational equality, how to respond to covid-19...entering into any of these discussions and you realize there are people with terminal degrees who have spent their entire lives learning about just one facet of one of these issues.
Amidst complexity it's easy to retreat towards black and white thinking. If this dynamic is at play related to a particular cultural issue it's even more the case in the realm of faith and grappling with the mystery of God. Like an overwhelmed student who enters a biology class woefully unprepared, we have the tendency to run to quick fixes, "experts" and cheat sheets to arrive at the answers. Answers give us a sense of control. And if we have the answers it provides a sense of power.
A light bulb went off for me this week as I've been in two seemingly disconnected conversations: 1) atonement theology (what exactly was happening on the cross when Jesus died? Why was it necessary?) and 2) how so many conservative, white evangelical Christians in America tend to blindly vote for the next republican simply because of a desire to overturn Roe v. Wade. How on earth are these two things related? Let me explain...
Related to the atonement, many Christians squeeze most of the mystery out of the cross and make it into a transaction. The theological term is "double imputation". It goes something like this: The cross was necessary because God needed to satisfy his wrath against sin. Unless God retributively punishes sin he is not able to forgive. Jesus took our deserved place on the cross and absorbed the wrath of God. When we put our faith in Jesus it's the greatest transaction ever. Jesus gets our sin. We get his righteousness. What a deal! There are a lot of problems here but the purpose of this post isn't to examine all of them. For now I simply want to highlight the black/white transactional way of thinking that is imported to minimize mystery. It's all over the church today. No wonder why we are amidst a discipleship crisis within much of the white evangelical church in America. Transactional theology around the cross diminishes other critical dimensions of the cross and can keep at arms length the messy, ongoing process of daily following Jesus. What is mean to be a covenant has become a transaction. But this way of thinking has its advantages. Namely, we are offered comfort and a sense of assurance and control.
Related to white evangelicals and politics, many (not all) vote republican each presidential election solely based on overturning Roe v. Wade. There is a double narrowing:
Amidst all the issues that God cares about a hierarchy is created with abortion at the top.
Then it's assumed that overturning Roe v. Wade is the best and most effective way to get there.
During the Trump era it's gone something like this: Trump and republican presidents before him have run on anti-abortion platforms. Therefore, they will get the right supreme court justices into place which could lead to overturning Roe v. Wade. A massively complex, messy issue is reduced to a formula or transaction. As David French points out in a recent article entitled "Do Pr-Lifers Who Reject Trump Have Blood On Their Hands" this way of thinking is inconsistent with history and data and misses other ways of engaging the issue that are likely more impactful as it relates to real women choosing life for their babies.
I wonder if this is done in part to keep at arms length the other sacrificial, messy (and likely more effective) means of reducing abortions? This way of thinking often ignores a critical question that is more personal in nature: How can I live in such a way within my own community where fewer mothers feel the need for an abortion?
In either case, the way some Christians think about the atonement and about the upcoming election smell of formulas and transactions to me. It's my contention that these intellectual habits lead to incomplete views, and even worse, keep many American Christians vocal but complacent in actively working to make the kingdom of God a reality for our time and our place.
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