God's Politics

Is God a liberal? A conservative? A traditional Catholic will say neither because Vatican teachings are on both sides of the liberal/conservative divide. I am not a traditional or Vatican Catholic, but disagreeing with that position is not the point of my post. I want to disagree with those who respond by suggesting that that God is God, not a liberal or a conservative or anything in between or outside, that God has no politics. For Catholics, traditional or not, this strikes me a dead wrong. If I am a Christian liberal, I believe that God favors liberalism. If I am a conservative, I believe God favors conservatism. If I do not, I am a strange Christian. Christian liberals and Christian conservatives both think the other has bad politics and bad theology. They might both be humble about their conclusions, be tolerant of the other side, and recognize that they could be wrong. But to be a liberal is to reject the politics and theology of conservatism and vice versa (though they may share important views, e.g., the Apostles Creed). It is, of course, possible to believe that God created the world and has no views about social justice or how to achieve it, but  I do not see how that is in the Catholic tradition. It is possible to believe with Stanley Hauerwas (I do not) that Christians should stand outside the state, not participate in democratic governmental politics, and instead simply participate in Christian communities that witness a Christian way of life -- but that too is based on a conception of how God wants Christians to relate to the state. In no sense is it a conclusion based on divine indifference.