From the perspective of political theology, the issues of climate change and gun control are related in two ways. The first linkage is that progressive Christians need no promptings on these issues. By massive numbers they know that God is calling on them to enact laws to control guns and to take actions that help to wean the country away from carbon producing energy.

These issues also tell us something important about how many Conservative Christians think about political issues. Climate change deniers point to the first three chapters in Genesis to argue that only God can control the climate. If the planet is warming, humans have nothing to do with it. Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, holds that view. According to Representative Paul Brown (R-Georgia), “God’s word is true, but evolution, embryology, and the Big Bang Theory are lies straight from the pit of Hell.” (1)

These men believe the world was created by God in six days and is 9,000 years old. 46% of Americans believe in the literal version of the two creation stories in Genesis. A similar number attribute the increased intensity of storms and flooding as evidence of the biblical end times. Their bedrock commitment to the literal truth of scripture prevents them from seeing that in fact there are two stories of creation in the first three chapters of Genesis with no common elements between them.

The consensus among Old Testament scholars on this issue is impressive. The first difference a careful reader will notice is that the initial conditions of the earth prior to God beginning her work are different. The setting for the first story is a vast ocean, a desert is the setting for story number two. The order of creation in the two stories differs with God creating light first in story number one, while in story number two man is created first. There are two different concepts of God in the two stories, and two different philosophies. Every thing is good in the first story, including human beings who are created in God’s image, while the second story is more complex with Adam and Eve seen as original sinners. There are several other significant differences between the two stories, but the point is clear. If you believe that Genesis provides an historical account of creation, at minimum one of the stories is fictional.

When I read the teachings of Jesus and the prophets, I get goose bumps. These great biblical figures inspire me and challenge me to live differently. But as the brief discussion of Genesis above suggests the Bible cannot provide us with a literal roadmap when it comes to contemporary political issues. Remember that Jesus was convinced the end of the world was coming in the first century, a belief that surely impacted his teachings. Heaven existed for first century Christians as a physical domain not too far beyond the clouds. Disease was caused by Satan taking control of one’s body not the breakdown of certain biological processes. Guns did not exist, 90% of the people worked in agriculture and were dirt poor, and communications were primitive. The point is that the belief systems, social conditions, and the political environment in first century Palestine have nothing in common with twenty-first century America. As a result, the New Testament, a late first century document, has little literal relevance for guiding political decision making in the contemporary world.

Conservative Christians cannot see this point because they are blinded by their rigid acceptance of the inerrancy of scripture. Thirty years ago I attended a Bible study class over a four year period with fundamentalist Christians. From that class I learned that these Christians do not read the Bible, they Google it. They scan it in search of passages that support their preconceived beliefs. What is important is that God created the world in six days. The Bible tells me so. They then proceed to blend the two stories together and ignore the subtle differences between them. Their method begins with a political belief and then looks for a passage to support it. The sad truth is that when used in this way the Bible can lend support to any political position one chooses to take.

Moving to gun control, when I read about gun violence and see images of grieving relatives on television, every fiber of my being says this is wrong. When I think about the issue and its many victims, thoughts of goodness and love bubble up into my awareness. These bubbles scream out that ownership of guns for purposes other than hunting is evil because it places in danger so many innocent people. Conservative Christians who worship the NRA must not get the same messages. Sadly their religion is all about ideology, beliefs, which are so strongly held their closed minds are not receptive to messages from God. Religion is all about correct belief rather than about expanding the heart in ways that make it more receptive to God’s message of goodness and love.

You see this same dynamic on other issues such as immigration. Their church tells them to love Christians who believe like they do. People who are different, especially if they come from a different faith tradition like Islam, are not children of God and should be ignored at best, demonization is perfectly acceptable. They reject the inclusive example of Jesus who welcomed all comers to his table.

Fear stemming from cultural change and the perceived loss of social status, a closed mind, and a rigid belief system all work together to drown out their better angels communicating God’s goodness and love. All that matters is personal salvation, the idea that Jesus loves me, that I will be united with God in heaven despite my sinful nature. Religion is primarily about me. Political issues are defined in the same way. It’s all about me and how I will be affected. Restricting Medicaid coverage for the poor will lower my taxes which is a good thing because I have excellent health insurance through my employer. Make America great again. America first: these are the collective expressions of this self-centered worldview. Sadly, such a narrow perspective prevents them from joining with God to work for others in making the world a better place.

(1) Francis Flannery and Rodney A. Werline, editors, The Bible in Political Debate, (New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 20126), pp. 61-63.