This post is part 9 of a series on Christian citizenship, and why I believe mixing Christian identity with American identity is bad for both. My intent in sharing these short Biblical reflections is not to "prooftext", or just compile a list of unrelated Bible verses to support my argument. Rather, I hope to give you little bite-sized thoughts, which I believe 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:
The “beast” of Revelation 13 is interpreted by most scholars to refer to Roman Emperor Nero, whose title in Jewish gematria (a code assigning each Hebrew letter a number) amounted to the number 666. John, the author of Revelation, was saying that being faithful to Christ, the Lamb of God, will sometimes bring violent opposition from one’s own government and nation.
I am very, very hesitant to ever follow John's example and identify any leader or government with "the beast." Far too much blood has been spilled throughout Christian history by identifying one's foes with "the beast" of Revelation. It's too easy to dehumanize others using apocalyptic language.
Yet John's coded reference to the Roman Empire, and maybe all human empires, is a stark warning never to identify our religious faith with our nation. Sometimes, the two come into conflict.
For some thoughts on welcoming foreigners from the law of Moses, check out Monday's post.
For more background information read this statement from the ELCA's presiding bishop, or learn about Christians Against Christian Nationalism.
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