Karl Rove, Joe Wilson, and the Body of Christ

Last night I caught a short part of CNN's re-run Larry King interview with former Ambassador Joe Wilson, one of the people at the heart of the Plame-Libby affair.  In it Wilson noted that he and Karl Rove go to the same church (I think it's Protestant but am not sure), although to different services so they don't see each other, and needless to say they aren't reconciled as fellow Christians.  It just struck me as a particularly visible scandal of Christian disunity and "un-community" that (1) these two fellow church members are on opposite sides of such an intensely public fight (not just a good-faith disagreement), and (2) that it didn't seem even in the realm of options that their clergy would play any particular role in reconciling them and/or in calling one or both of them to account as Christians.  (I have my own view about who looks more out of step with Christian norms in this and certain other matters, but that's not my point.)

Back during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, theologian Stanley Hauerwas wrote a chapter in this book arguing that Christians should be more concerned with whether Clinton was disciplined by his church than whether he was impeached.  I'm not a fan in general of Hauerwas' theological ethical approach, but I do think that it properly reminds us to ask questions about whether the Christian church is playing any public role as a "polis" or "society" itself, rather than merely commenting on what goes on our civil polis or (even more inadequate) serving as an escape from the civil polis or society.  I realize that there can be things happening out of the public limelight in any situation, and that any such efforts can also be hampered by uncertainty as to the facts, by the consequences of pending legal investigations or proceedings, and simply by the recalcitrant will of one or both of the persons involved.  Nevertheless, this just struck me as a particularly visible example of how we, and American society in general, don't really expect the Christian church to play this role.

Tom