By Dr. Richard J. Mouw
I recently spent a stimulating evening listening to a presentation by a Muslim diplomat from Indonesia. After hearing him speak two years ago, I was glad to receive an update on efforts by Indonesian Muslims to articulate a “Middle Way” understanding of Islamic political thought.
In many ways, Indonesia has been a well-kept secret for those of us in the West. The country has the largest Muslim population in the world, with a constitution that explicitly promotes religious freedom. Its leadership sees itself as offering the world a clear alternative to the kind of Islamist ideology encouraged by Pakistan and many of the Arab nations. The visiting speaker spoke candidly of the increasing influence of what he described as dangerous Wahhabist ideas in his country, and he described the efforts by both political leaders and Muslim scholars in Indonesia to articulate a Middle Way perspective that is grounded in what they see as the more “holistic” perspective of the Quran.
In the discussion period following his presentation, several of us pushed him on how best to share this perspective with a younger generation of Muslims who are often drawn to the more radical Islamist ideologies. In his attempts to respond to our questions, he spent some time describing the problem in more detail. The younger generation is fed these ideas by charismatic Muslim imams whose preachments are readily available on the internet. Frustrated with existing social conditions and disillusioned with the inroads of secularism in their own Muslim communities, these young people find the vision of a highly disciplined lifestyle based on an unnuanced articulation of “true Islam” to be highly attractive—even quite exciting.
We pushed him for more. Yes, we said, we can see all of that, but what is the best way to get them to embrace virtues of the Middle Way? Here he appealed to the importance of careful educational approaches and said that Muslim scholars in the universities need to do a better job of “enlightening” the younger generation about the real, and more complex, teachings of the Quran regarding toleration and the other virtues of democratic thought.
I find much wisdom in his Middle Way approach and I am encouraged by the fact that there are Reformed Christians in Indonesia who work closely with their Muslim friends in promoting a political framework characterized by a commitment to religious freedom and interfaith cooperation.
I came away from this conversation, however, with nagging questions about how to inspire others to embrace Middle Way commitments. Reflecting on the efforts of my Muslim friend forces me to think about my own approach. In the American political context, I more often than not come down in Middle Way territory, which is not to say I endorse a consistent “middle of the road” politics. I vote Democrat quite a bit, but I have strongly supported fine Republicans in the past: Chuck Percy in Illinois; George Romney in Michigan. Mark Hatfield of Oregon was one of my heroes, and I was thrilled when I was asked to write a speech that he delivered in the Senate. And these days I also spend much of my time advocating for such things as principled pluralism, civility, public justice, and lawful change.
“We are not called simply to be activists—God invites us into a life of being disciples of Jesus.”
The problem with all of this is that it is an outlook that is not as exciting as the alternatives. President Trump’s “drain the swamp” approach has a clear attraction to those who are impatient with the way things are going. On the other end of the spectrum—and this also is challenging for me—how do you make an appeal to Middle Way thinking compelling to people who are convinced that Jesus calls them to a “radical counter-cultural” public engagement?
It certainly is not very helpful in most cases simply to encourage folks to read some more books. Or to recommend that they take some political science courses at Calvin University or Wheaton College. What, then, could be effective? Here I think we have our work cut out for us. How do we preach the need for the kinds of things often associated with a Middle Way type approach in a way that people find it spiritually compelling? I use the word “spiritually” here intentionally. The alternatives on both the left and the right have the advantage of generating a kind of spiritual passion. Is there a way to instill that same passion in calling people to cultivate, for example, the spiritual virtues of patience, love of neighbor, respect for differences, and the like, in public life?
Clay Cooke and Steven Garber point us to an interesting strategy in their discussion of 19th century Dutch journalist, Prime Minister, and theologian Abraham Kuyper’s many devotional pieces—meditations that he wrote for his newspaper on a weekly basis for over four decades. Many of his loyal Christian readers were relatively uneducated and, as Cooke and Garber write, were unable to “grasp the fine points of Kuyper’s theology, or all the details of his public speeches, but even the most basic of thinkers could connect with his heartfelt meditations.” As Cooke and Garber observe, by means of these mediations Kuyper succeeded “rallying people to faithful public action.”
As Al Wolters and others have pointed out, many of us in the movement shaped by Kuyper’s thought have often denigrated “pietism” as a way of making the case for what Nick Wolterstorff has nicely labeled “world-formative Christianity.” I am convinced that we need to take a new look at the importance of spirituality in our address to issues of public justice. This is why I am enthusiastic about the Center for Public Justice’s new Political Discipleship curriculum. We are not called simply to be activists—God invites us into a life of being disciples of Jesus. For our political lives this means acting out of hearts that have been shaped by prayer, study, and mutual sharing with others on the journey of discipleship. The curriculum is designed for this kind of formation, with a strong focus on participation in discipleship groups.
A healthy program of political discipleship must be grounded in spiritual formation. Discussing Kuyper’s meditations is certainly one way to proceed, but we can also look to other sources: the biographies of folks like Dorothy Day and Dietrich Bonhoeffer; praying the Psalms together; discussing worldviews that are given expression in political party platforms; drawing on the wisdom of sisters and brothers in Christ from other tribes and peoples and nations. And we can even benefit from some relaxed conversations on such matters with some Muslim friends!
Richard J. Mouw (PhD, University of Chicago) now serves as professor of faith and public life after twenty years as president of Fuller Theological Seminary. He has written over twenty books on topics of social ethics, philosophy of culture and interfaith dialogue, including Uncommon Decency, The Challenges of Cultural Discipleship, Praying at Burger King, The God Who Commands, Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport, The Smell of Sawdust, and Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals.
A leader in interfaith theological conversations, particularly with Mormons and Jewish groups, Mouw served for six years as co-chair of the official Reformed-Catholic Dialogue and as president of the Association of Theological Schools. For seventeen years he was a professor of philosophy at Calvin College and in 2007, Princeton Theological Seminary awarded him the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life.
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