A Christian View of Ronald Reagan

I don't usually bother to be for or against politicians. It's a mindless substitute for thinking through political issues, or having political principles. And in the nature of things, politicians have a short shelf-life. Today, however, NPR's "Talk of the Nation" was about Ronald Reagan, in honor of his upcoming 100th birthday, and I was reminded that politicians' impact can be lasting.

The talk was, of course, almost entirely laudatory: what a great President Reagan was, and what important things he accomplished. Even I weren't a Christian, I doubt I'd view any human, human event, or human idea as wholly praise-worthy. All things human necessarily include mistakes and failings. Not taking those into account is neither honest nor thorough. Nor does it allow us to be realistic in our assessment. Ronald Reagan is a good example.

Reagan based his political career on anti-communism. He often pronounced communism the source of all evil. It's a shallow understanding of evil: and not a Christian understanding, though it doubtless relates to communism's failure. We often hear that "Reagan defeated communism." More causative may be that God sets his face against evil.

We were also continually told communism was an unworkable economic and social theory. It seems wrong-headed to praise Reagan for stopping what can't work. To the extent that anti-communists' efforts had a part in defeating communism, some credit may be due the 12 Presidents who preceded Reagan. The most that can truthfully be said of Reagan is that he happened to be riding in our cab when the other guy's locomotive fell apart.

We hear that Reagan "restored America's honor." We should probably understand that, as he did, in terms of military power. But that too is not a Christian understanding. In fact, scripture pronounces a curse on those who put their trust in their armed might.

In mundane terms, his military expenditures produced our first trillion-dollar budget. For that money, American troops conquered Grenada, a nation the size and population of the rural county I live in. U.S. bombers once struck Libya in retaliation for a nightclub bombing. U.S. peace-keepers were sent to Lebanon, and withdrawn after 231 were killed by a truck-bomber. It's hard to see how, on his own terms of projecting invincible military power, Reagan's actions "restored honor to America."

Reagan's administration also took a tough stand against Iran, designating it a sponsor of international terrorism. That designation was justified. Its effect on Iran was probably undercut by the fact the we were secretly selling them arms at the same time (arms they needed to continue their war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq, whom we were also arming). The Reagan administration, on their part, needed off-the-books money to fund Central American contras, which was against U.S. law. In both directions, Reagan's policy was run by evil men: law-breakers who delighted in stirring up war, and who (by Oliver North's own testimony) were proud to lie when caught.

Reagan's most famous dictum was that "government is the problem." It seems an illogical and disingenuous reason for wanting to head the government. Once in office, his anti-government belief was embodied in the policy of deregulation. We still live with the consequences, from airline and food safety, to the economic consequences of Wall Street's unrestrained greed, to the Murdochization of American media. On that operative spirit, Reagan also claimed he knew nothing (and did nothing) about the illegal war-mongering of Col. North and others in America's name.

Again, "de-regulation" is not a Christian idea. Restraining lawlessness is in fact exactly what scripture says is God's purpose for human government (Romans 13:4, I Peter 2:14).

America suffered, and suffers, additional harm from Reaganism. His ridicule of climate-science put us 30 years behind on dealing with the matter...or even thinking about it except as a POLITICAL issue. Reagan's myopia remains the operative mindset of his faction.

But his greatest harm was to the Church. He taught the Church to believe unscriptural ideas: that military might exalts a nation, that government is the problem, that evil is primarily political. On the latter premise, he taught the Church that political factionalism and its bitterness are "Christian;" contrary to Galatians 5:20, which teaches they are works of the flesh, and not of the Spirit's leading.

More than individual unChristian ideas, Reagan co-opted the Church' identity for his political purposes, persuading Christians that they were "conservatives" and should vote for "conservatives." (Not that Christians should vote for Christians, note: in that case he might have been at a great disadvantage against the strongly-evangelical Jimmy Carter.) It's an untrue characterization of the Body of Christ, and of Christ, taught nowhere in scripture. It's a self-concept which has misled the Church to do itself, and the country, irremediable harm. Worse, the Church continues to think of itself in Reagan's terms.

That the Church foolishly takes its identity from a politician, rather than its Head, doesn't absolve the deceitful politicians. God will judge both. Perhaps Ronald Reagan repented of misleading Christians. But my concern is that the Church turn back from following deceptions, and be and do what God created it for. May the Church be the Body of Christ, God's light in a dark world. To every extent we've made ourselves a sub-demographic of Reagan's political faction, may the Church REPENT its gross spiritual foolishness !!