The Campaign: Good News for a Partisan World

By Michael Hudson

"Hope and Change" or "Make America Great Again," these are just some of the recent promises political candidates have campaigned on to get elected. The temptation to put our trust in politicians and political parties is great. After all, there have been some great men and women who have run for office and done good things. Yet, even so, we have an expectation that one day someone will come along who can really fix things. Election after election, we keep waiting for that day to arrive. But what if that day has already come? What if that candidate has already come on the scene? What if someone ran for the highest office and was able to keep his campaign promises? Would you vote for that person? What would that campaign look like? Turns out, it would look a lot like the Gospel of Mark. The Campaign: Good News for a Partisan World looks at the Gospel of Mark like a political campaign. Mark comes complete with everything you need for a high-stakes contest. It has a reform candidate, primaries, slogans, campaign rallies in different towns, grassroots support, campaign promises, a party platform, opposition from the establishment, debates, false accusations, bribes, election eve sabotage, an assassination, and of course, a vote. Read this book and decide for yourself if The Campaign is really good news for a partisan world!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098013622

Michael Hudson

Michael Hudson is an economist who has worked for Chase Manhattan Bank, Arthur Andersen and Co., and the Hudson Institute. He has taught at New York University and the New School. He is author of Global Fracture (Pluto, 2005) and Super Imperialism (Pluto, 2003).

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The Campaign

Good News for a Partisan World

Michael Hudson

Copyright © 2019 by Michael Hudson

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Announcement

Vetted

The Stump Speech

Opposition

The Nomination

The Platform

The Endorsement

The Root Issue

The Final Push

The Debates

Predicting Doom and Gloom

Election Night

The Vote

The Election Results

The Transition

For my mother,

whose prayers led me to vote,

and

for my wife,

whose encouragement keeps me on the campaign trail

Introduction

This Just in: Jesus Is Still Lord.

That was the message on our church sign Wednesday, November 9, 2016. It was the day after the most surprising presidential election in American history.

Needless to say I received an e-mail from someone (not a member of our church) who had seen the sign and was upset. She assumed the sign meant that God had answered our prayers with the results and we were gloating. I told her that I could see how she could interpret our sign in that fashion, but I assured her that is not what it meant.

She was angry, angry at the results of the election, angry at the church for being involved, angry that people she considered evil had won and understandably so. She, like so many others, had their hopes crushed. Their faith in a good future appeared to be ripped out from under them. And while some may have felt that the election results were an answer from God, others couldn’t believe God would allow such a thing to happen.

Both political parties today think they are good and the other is evil. (I don’t use that term lightly.) Both sides see no common ground and that they have a moral imperative to resist anything the other does. I understand people have different views on issues—that’s why we have different political parties—but the absolute lines that have been drawn between them and the vitriol that now exists is at a dangerous level. It is a powder keg waiting for a spark.

How did we get to such a place?

I am convinced that the reason so many people on both sides are so polarized when it comes to politics is because both sides, ironically, have something fundamental in common. Both sides are looking for a leader who will provide peace, security, justice, and prosperity. In short, everyone is looking for a Savior. And political campaigns promise them one.

As long as people have been able to choose their leaders, those leaders promise what the people want. So we get campaign slogans like:

Vote Yourself a Farm from Abraham Lincoln in 1860, Patriotism, Protection, and Prosperity from William McKinnley in 1896, and then for re-election in 1900 A Full Dinner Pail.

In 1916 Woodrow Wilson’s slogan was He Kept Us Out Of War. After Wilson’s slogan was short-lived because of World War I, Warren Harding promised a Return to Normalcy in 1920. Before the Stock Market Crash and Great Depression, Herbert Hoover promised in 1928 A Chicken in Every Pot and a Car in Every Garage. More recently in 2008, we had Barrack Obama promise Hope and Change We Can Believe In. And, of course, Donald Trump promised to Make America Great Again.

So people cling with fierce loyalty to their saviors and political parties because that is where they have put their trust for hope and happiness, significance and security. As the New City Catechism points out, doing so is nothing but good ole’ fashioned idolatry. Has any candidate ever been able to deliver on their campaign slogan? These promises and politicians will always leave us empty, frustrated, angry, and unfulfilled—especially when they lose the election. Idols do that. You would think we would have learned that lesson by now.

Psalm 118:8–9 gives us some ancient advice that we would be wise to heed today. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. The temptation to put our trust in our politicians and political parties is great. After all, there have been some great men and women who have run for office and done good things. Yet, even so, we have an expectation that one day someone will come along who can really fix things. We keep waiting for that day.

But what if that day has already come? What if that candidate has already come on the scene? What if someone ran for the highest office and was able to keep his campaign promises? Would you vote for that person? What would that campaign look like? Turns out, it wouldn’t look much different than the campaigns today.

The Gospel of Mark can be read like a political campaign. Read through this lens, Mark comes complete with everything you need for a high-stakes contest. It has a reform candidate, primaries, slogans, campaign stops in different towns, grassroots support, campaign promises, a party platform, opposition from the establishment, debates, false accusations, bribes, election eve sabotage, an assassination, and of course, a vote.

You might be thinking to yourself, Why read Mark’s Gospel like a campaign when most people believe religion and politics should be kept separate? For starters, everything that happened in the Gospel of Mark and to Jesus happened in a highly politicized context. Everyone who heard Him, heard Him with political ears. He used kingdom language deliberately. And He wasn’t talking about a spiritual kingdom in the sweet bye and bye. Indeed, if you miss the political context, you miss much of what Jesus is doing and saying. Perhaps a look at a classic Christmas passage may give you a taste of what I am talking about. See if you can find any political references in it.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s