Should The Church Contribute To The Nanny State?

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Throughout the life of the Church, piety has been an important element of Christian devotion. 

A proviso to this post. When I talk about Law I am not talking about the law’s that are set up by governments rather, I am talking about what people believe the Bible says on how we should live.

Jesus encountered many groups of people during his ministry. However, it was the Pharisees that prided themselves on living a life that reflected the Torah. For them to receive the Messiah they felt they had to live a Torah based life. This however, extended outside of their own personal piety and was enforced in the larger social unit. They had people who would make sure that no offences were being committed and if they were, punishment would be dished out accordingly. One of their main areas of contention was the keeping of the Sabbath. The day had to be a non-work day. However, instead of becoming about keeping the law in order to receive its benefits, it became about how do we change manipulate the law. How do we stop ourselves from being caught? 

An example of this is as McGriff says: " One law, for example, ordained that a devout Jew could not travel more than a short distance on the Sabbath. However, if a man needed to make a trip he could leave a small chair under a bush the allowable distance from his home, then perhaps some eating utensils a similar distance, and so forth, until these various items reached the desired destination. On the Sabbath, the man could walk the allowable distance to his chair, sit a while and establish residence, then walk to the utensils and eat some food, once more establishing residence, and so forth. This way, the man could circumvent the law."

This is what makes Jesus so interesting. He knows people have broken the laws (the women caught in adultery, Zacchaeus, the eating of the grain in the field, etc.) yet in these moments he tells people not how bad they are but rather tells them that they need to reinterpret the law. The law for Jesus should always bring life. It should never be a case that it is used as a form of oppression. Where we wiggle out of it by looking for loopholes. When we look for loopholes we are in essence, not living a pietistic life but rather a legalistic life. 

In the middle ages, there was a push for a more pietistic life. The Catholic Church during this period became an engaging force for social cohesion. People fell under the control of the supreme leader "The Pope" and devotion was found in the works that people did. I do realise that, that system ultimately imploded on itself and caused the reformation. However, Luther and Calvin still held the idea of piety is strong regard. This was a vital cog in the reformation wheel. 

The Moravians relied heavily on piety. This understanding was to influence John Wesley who developed a piety based form of Anglicanism called Methodism. Wesley encouraged people to live lives of piety that changed the face of England. Central to his idea of piety was the formation of groups of accountability. People were held accountable for their actions. 

I do think that current Church history has also been based on piety. Various groups are encouraging their communities to live pietistic lives. Lives that show God based on scripture. Part of the various "conservative" movements have been tailored to this understanding. However, I also think that "progressive" movements have had a form of pietism as well. They have tried to live lives that have reflected what they feel reflected God and scripture. 

I guess what I am trying to say is that Pietism is a various personal thing. It comes down to the individual as to how we understand and interpret God. 

Now part of me is ringing with the dissonance of understanding that we need laws to govern us otherwise it becomes a free for all. A big question is where do you draw the line? How do you hold people accountable? 

I think for me relationship is key. I think what Jesus, the early Church, the Catholic Church, the Reformers, the Moravians, the Methodists, the Progressives, and the Conservatives were/are trying to achieve is not the nanny state. I don't think that it is helpful when we become so dogmatic that we lose sight of the reason for the law. 

Life abundant. 

A life that makes humans the best that they can be. I think that sin could also be classified as not being present to the full human experience. Not being able to see why you need to take a Sabbath. Not seeing why living a certain way is not helpful. But also, not realising why we need community. A community that shows how our lives cause dissonance when we live out of sync with our common values. A community that hurts by the actions that are before them. I also think that a community can sin against a person. They can also stop a person from being fully alive. 

So... I guess this a long-winded way of me saying that no we don't want a nanny state in our church but we do want close relationships. Relationships that bring life to each other. Relationships that protect all members. So, that we live in with the law not in a way that brings oppression and loophole digging but rather brings us closer to the full human experience.