The Social Principles of the UMC

One of the things that drew me to the United Methodist Church was the way the church understands Jesus, and particularly the Social Principles that develop out of that understanding.

I grew up in a tradition that was well acquainted with what I would call the ‘Spiritual’ side if Jesus. Throughout the New Testament we see ample evidence that Jesus spent considerable time talking about what we might think of as spiritual matters- mainly those things that have to do with our personal relationships with God.

But the tradition I came from often seemed to be unaware that Jesus had more dimensions to his teaching and life. They presented what I would call a flat, or ‘one dimensional’ Jesus. But the Jesus we meet in scripture is much more complex than that. Yes, he certainly speaks to our personal spirituality, but like a cut diamond, he and his ministry have many sides.

In addition to the spiritual Jesus, there is the Jesus who teaches in the tradition of the wisdom teachers, men and women who focused on what we might call everyday wisdom. We see this in several of Jesus’ parables: The Wise and Foolish Builders (Matt 7- 24- 27; Luke 6:47- 49) comes to mind.

There is also the revolutionary Jesus often described best by those we call ‘liberation’ or ‘feminist’ theologians. In several places through the gospels we meet a Jesus with a bit if an edge to him. His gives advice that relates directly to resistance against the powers and power structures of this world, and particularly the Roman government. And of course, the Romans crucify him as a revolutionary and a traitor.

And then there is Jesus the Jewish Prophet, standing in the long line of Jewish prophets, rebuking the religious leaders and the people of Israel for the ways they are living out injustice. Here we meet a Jesus who teaches and performs prophetic acts that point to the way we are to care for the oppressed, the out casts, etc… Jesus the prophet stands against those who would oppress the poor, and champions a God who is unrelenting love toward all people. One thinks immediately of Luke 4.

All of these various streams come together into one God- man that we as Christians believe is both the Jewish Messiah and the Savior of the world. And it is in the struggle to understand this complex person of Jesus that we as a church develop principles to guide our lives together within our societies and our world. These principles are the Social Principles.

Because the life, teaching, and spirituality of Christ can be challenging, if not out- right difficult to grasp at times, our Social Principles do not always resonate with every United Methodist. We continue to struggle with what it means to have the mind of Christ, and sometimes that struggle is seen in our statements about how we should live in the world. The Social Principles represent a living and changing tradition in our United Methodist Church. They represent the best answers we have at any given time to the more difficult questions that face our social world.