Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 28

 

This post is part 28 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.

Today's reason why I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

I wanted to avoid tackling news headlines directly in writing these posts, but this one is hard to avoid. 

This week, the state of Louisiana passed a law requiring that every public school classroom have an 11"x14" display of the Ten Commandments. The proponents of the law have stated that it is constitutional because the value of the Ten Commandments is as a foundation for the rule of law, and "not solely religious."

A reminder: The Ten Commandments, found in Exodus Chapter 20, begin with the words, 

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me."

Do the Ten Commandments represent an early example of public law? Of course.

 But as someone whose job it is to teach young people that the core meaning of all ten of the Ten Commandments is, "we are to fear, love, and trust God above all things,"  to say their meaning is "not solely religious", is frankly an attack on my faith. 

I want my kids to understand that the Ten Commandments are first and foremost about their relationship with God, the Lord, who brought Moses and the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. I want them to see God's law as a sign of God's love, as a guide for free people, as a protection from evil, and most importantly, as a reminder of our need for God's grace and forgiveness, freely offered in Jesus Christ. 

I don't want to have confirmation students coming in with a head full of misguided notions about their own holy texts, that were forced upon them by public school teachers, who in turn had it forced upon them by legislators. I want, and I reserve the right, to exercise my office of teaching the Word of God. God's Church needs a lot of help in a lot of areas, but thanks anyway, Louisiana, we do not need a hand with that. 

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

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 27

 

This post is part 27 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.

Today's reason why I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

In article 13 of its draft social statement, the ELCA says, 

“religion can create divisions in civic life or can contribute to mending the torn social fabric and reconciling divided peoples. This church urges all people of faith to seek a constructive role that counters growing polarization, distrust, and ill will. Religious traditions can offer particular gifts of moral vision, inclusion, and compassion sorely needed in U.S. civic life.”

Christians should be people of peace, not people of division. In the letter to the Ephesians, the apostle writes that Jesus is our peace, because he has broken down the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles. In Christ, people from very different ethnic and religious backgrounds are one. 

Jesus is our peace, our unity. When we are trying to unite and reconcile our neighbors, when we are pursuing peace instead of mocking and belittling those with whom we disagree, we are acting like people of peace. We are acting like Jesus. When we act out of fear, loudly defending our faith and attacking our neighbors, we are showing people a face of religion that is nothing like the face of Christ. 

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

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 26

 

This post is part 26 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.

Today's reason why I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

In its draft social statement, the ELCA says in article 26, 

“The United States is not a ‘Christian nation.’ It was not founded on specifically Christian principles, though Christians and Christianity did influence its ethos. The premise of the Constitution and its ratification is that the sovereign is ‘we the people,’ not ‘we the Christians’.”

Just as the statement rightly points out that the United States was not founded on specifically Christian principles, the flip side is also true: Jesus himself did not send his followers out to found any new nations! 

His closing command in Matthew's Gospel, often called the "Great Commission," is to make disciples of all the nations. The language, culture, or form of government was not their concern. To say he had any kind of special concern for the land that would one day become the United States is totally unbiblical. What Jesus wanted was for each nation under heaven to have his baptized disciples in its midst.

Seems to me that the question Christians should be asking is less about whether our nations founders were disciples of Jesus, and more about whether we ourselves are.    

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

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 25

 

This post is part 25 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.

Today's reason why I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

A few days before his death, Jesus is approached by two Jewish groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians, and asked whether God's law allows paying taxes to Rome. Without delving too deep into first century history, suffice it to say that Pharisees and Herodians do not normally cooperate, and this question is meant as a trick: it will force Jesus to declare allegiance to a particular side of a political argument at the time. Jesus refuses to take the bait. "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and give to God the things that are God's." (Mark 12:17)

Article 34 of our ELCA's Draft Social Statement on Civic Life and Faith reads, “Christ’s church should not bless any particular political theory; no political system or theory is final or ultimate. To the extent that U.S. government is formed for the general welfare and guided by good principles, whether rooted in Christian ideas or not, it should be affirmed. It is for these reasons that our church objects to religious bodies endorsing or supporting candidates or parties, or exercising partisanship in any way.”

Jesus never joined any party in his own time, and the Church as the Body of Christ should never engage in partisan politics. We vowed at our baptism to "strive for justice and peace in all the earth," which does entail taking an active role in our communities and our political systems. As individuals, we absolutely should take part in the process, and maybe even run for office if the Spirit calls us. But as a church, we dare not, and we will not, say that God endorses only one party in our deeply flawed system. God is not a Republican or a Democrat. Full stop. 

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

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 24

 

This post is part 24 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.

Today's reason why I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

As summer begins, I'm finding a little more time to read and study. High on my reading list is a draft ELCA  Social Statement on civic life and faith. 

(Social statements are teaching documents designed to guide the congregations and other expressions of our church. They are adopted by a two-thirds majority of ordinary church members at our denomination's churchwide assembly.) 

I'm finding this document to be really useful in reflecting theologically on problems we're facing as a nation. 

Article 9 of the proposed statement reads, 

"To 'walk humbly' with God (Micah 6:8) must include welcoming and acknowledging the ideas, values, and contributions of all people, regardless of their religious tradition or worldview. Christians, as individuals or as the church, have no guaranteed higher or better reasoning than other people in religious or nonreligious communities."

Humility is a core Christian value found in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. To be in a relationship with God, we must acknowledge our human limitations. Christians do not believe we are wiser, more talented, more morally pure, or better able to know the mind of God than other people. In fact, a key part of our theology is that we are sinners, in need of God's grace. Therefore, we are called by God to listen to the ideas of others in conversations about public policy. 

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

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 23

 

Father John McGovern of Boston, MA, June 7, 1944

This post is part 23 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.

Today's reason why I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

Today, June 6, marks 80 years since the beginning of the Allied invasion at Normandy, France. This annual observance should always give us pause as we remember the soldiers from many nations, and of many faiths, who gave their lives to liberate Europe from the Axis powers. It should be remembered that there were also chaplains of many faiths, unarmed, offering pastoral care and last rites to the frontline soldiers. 

This commemoration marks twenty years since Gerhard Schröder became the first German Chancellor invited to attend the commemoration, a milestone for peace. Unfortunately, this year also marks the third year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which brought war back to the continent of Europe for the first time in many years. 

The prophet Isaiah declares that one day, 

[God] shall judge between the nations

and shall arbitrate for many peoples;

they shall beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation;

neither shall they learn war anymore.  

-Isaiah 2:4

Looking forward in hope to that day, we must also look backward in repentance for the many days when nations have taken up weapons against one another.

As a Lutheran Christian, I can't let this day pass without observing that it was Christian Nationalism in Germany--the "German Christian" movement, which proclaimed that supporting Hitler and the Nazi party was a sacred Christian duty--which created the need for D Day, and all the precious, irreplaceable children of God who gave their lives there. It was in "Lutheran" churches across Germany, where families were taught that their faith and their national identity were one and the same. 

In the name of peace--the Shalom of God's Reign, proclaimed by Jesus of Nazareth, who lived, died and rose again as a Jew, among Jews--I mourn the toxic spirituality that brought the world to war, and millions of Jews and other minority populations in Europe to annihilation.

In the name of Christ, I pray that the grief of hundreds of thousands of families of many nations and faiths on that day in 1944, will never be repeated. May God make it so. Amen.

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

 

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 22

 

Napoleon crowning himself king, in the presence of the Pope. 

This post is part 22 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's today's reason I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation.

The Prophet Samuel is very skeptical when the tribes of Israel request that he anoint a king over them, “like other nations.” God counsels Samuel to agree to their demand, but says, “they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Sam 8:9). Samuel warns the people of the many ways kings take advantage of their people, but the Israelites are adamant that this is still what they want. Samuel relents, and Saul becomes the first king of Israel. 

From the prophets’ perspective, any human king is at best only a stand-in for the direct Reign of God, and often a very poor imitation. Though some Christian nations in the past have anointed their monarchs as “defender of the faith,” from a Biblical perspective, we dare not entrust any human being with too much power or loyalty. 

There is a traditional Lutheran teaching about the "Two Kingdoms," which basically says that God reigns over us in two ways. On "the left hand," God reigns over our society through secular governments. On "the right hand," God reigns over our spirits through the Gospel, by means of the Holy Spirit and faith. The Lutheran reformers warned that these kingdoms should be seen separately.

No government will ever have God's full "stamp of approval," because governments are made up of people. Thankfully, the Reign of God can happen anywhere and everywhere there is faith, hope and love. 

In upcoming posts, I will begin to address a proposed social statement for my denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, on Civic Life and Faith.  You can find the draft statement HERE.

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