Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 20

 

This post is part 20 of a series on Christian citizenship, and why I believe mixing Christian identity with American identity is bad for both. I hope to give you little bite-sized thoughts, which represent themes you'll find throughout the Bible and historic Christian teachings.

I hope they make you think.

Here is today's reason I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation.

In Isaiah 61, the prophet declares, “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners…” Jesus chooses to read this scroll in his very first sermon in Luke 4, stating the core of . Both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament show God’s priority to be helping the oppressed in our society. That is a priority shared by many different faiths, as well as people of no faith. 

For Christians hoping to align our own nation’s values with God’s values, the good news is: non-Christians want to help! As Ronald Reagan famously said, “It’s amazing what you can get done when you don’t care who gets the credit.” It’s very possible that we could get more of Jesus’ priorities done in our land, if we didn’t mind not having Jesus’ name on them.

For a word on genuine faith from Martin Luther, check out tomorrow's post.

For more background information read this statement from the ELCA's presiding bishop, or learn about Christians Against Christian Nationalism.