Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 33

 

From All In: Luther, Christian Faith, and the Public Sphere, by Francisco Herrera, Ph. D.

This post is part 33 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.

Today's reason why I want to be a Christian in a multi-faith nation: because government policies tend to make people worse at authentically being Christians.

That's an insight from Martin Luther's Temporal Authority: to What Extent it Should Be Obeyed (1523). My good friend, Francisco Herrera, reminded me of this text and shared with me his excellent paper on this topic. 

Martin Luther lived in Germany in the Middle Ages, when the line between Church and state was much blurrier, and secular rulers to passed religious laws all the time. Yet even in the 16th century, when the very idea of a secular democracy, much less a Constitution enshrining freedom of religion, was still centuries off, Martin Luther made a point that still stands today. You can't force a person to have faith. If you try, you'll only make them lie about their faith, which, arguably, is worse than not having faith to begin with.

The fatal flaw in the idea of a "Christian Nation" is that the Christian faith cannot be shared through laws and mandates. Even if you could force every public school day to begin with a prayer, you wouldn't be filling schools with students who pray. You'd be filling schools with students who pretend to pray, which is worse than not praying at all. 

While we can't necessarily pass laws to make more Christians, that does not mean Christians should have no part in making laws. Though it is ineffective to make faith a policy, we who have faith are obligated to show love for our neighbors when making policy. A Christian can not be neutral when others are suffering. 

Herrera writes,    

"Therefore, if your neighbor is a victim of racism, though you yourself may not be, Christian love dictates that you must act on their behalf “as much as you can” to fight the systemic sin which they have suffered. Similarly, if a coworker is being harassed because of their sexuality and gender, even if you yourself are no such victim, Christian love dictates that you must act on their behalf, so that '[they] may have peace and that [their] enemy may be curbed.'" -All In, p.4

Can we make a Christian Nation? Martin Luther says "no!" Can living out our faith make our nation better for everyone? Luther, and the Bible, say "yes!" 

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 32

 

This post is part 32 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.

It's getting to be time for me to wrap this series up. I'm thinking 40 is a nice, round, biblical number. Truly, it's a much higher number than I thought I would reach, but it appears the Bible has a whole lot to say on the topic of nationalism.

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

In the conclusion of the Ephesian letter, an author talks about a topic that makes many Christians squirm: spiritual warfare. He begins this conversation by reminding his readers that this kind of warfare is just that: spiritual. It's spiritual because the enemies of God are spiritual. Even though flesh and blood human beings do all manner of things that make God sad and mad, they are not God's enemies. They are God's children. The enemies of God are spiritual: rulers, authorities, cosmic powers of this present darkness. God has not and will not call disciples of Jesus to make war on other children of God. 

I'm going to say that again. God has not and will not call disciples of Jesus to make war on other children of God. 

But what about the Old Testament Holy Wars? Well, Joshua was not a disciple of Jesus. 

But what about Just War theory? That's a longer conversation, but to me that is never a "calling" from God. "Just war" happens when people are backed into a corner and forced to choose the least egregious way to disobey God. They are not fighting enemies of God. They are fighting God's children. 

What does this have to do with living in a multi-faith nation? 

In a single-faith nation, a nation with just one spiritual perspective, when an enemy of the state arises, Ephesians 6 goes right out the window. The enemy of the state is very quickly portrayed as God's enemy, and the armies of the state very quickly eschew God's armor for real, literal armor. This has happened to predominantly Christian nations throughout Christian history. From the Crusades to the American Civil War to the present-day conflict in Ukraine, we have seen Christians killing Christians believing those other Christians are somehow the enemies of God. 

God does not have human enemies. God's enemies are spiritual. 

Worse yet, in our increasingly polarized culture, you are starting to hear Christians of one party declaring Christians of the other party to be enemies of God. This is not orthodox Christian teaching, and it must not become the norm. 

That's it. That's the post. Nations have human enemies; God doesn't. The end. 

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 31

 

This post is part 31 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.

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

I talked a bit about the First Commandment in my June 20 Entry, but to avoid giving the whole spotlight to current events, I want to revisit this passage from Exodus 20. 

When I was 12, my dad, a newly ordained Lutheran pastor, took my confirmation class to the mall. In 1993, before online shopping and social media, the mall was still a central gathering point both for commerce and socializing. 

He told us to pretend we had a million dollars, and make a list of everything we'd buy. 

During our discussion afterward, he said the things that get most of our attention, that take a  central place in our lives, that we wake up thinking about and go to bed thinking about, that we trust in when times get tough, that we would spend our hypothetical million dollars on...those can become our "gods."

Luther writes "we are to fear, love and trust God above all things." Anything other than God, which takes an ultimate place in our lives, should be suspect on the face of it. 

Laying my cards on the table here...I think in the United States of America in 2024, many of us have put our nation--or more specifically, our vision for our nation--in God's place. If we put our idea of what America should be above anything else, if we decide our friends and enemies based on that alone, if we trust our political ideology, or those who share it, will save us from any harm, if we filter every single message we hear, even the Gospel message, by whether it supports or challenges our ideology, then it is very possible our ideology has become our god. 

This is always a concern for Christians, but especially at a time of fear and uncertainty, we have to be vigilant. Luther believed our ability to follow every other commandment hung on our ability to follow the first. 

In my state, today is primary election day. I almost didn't remember, because in our society where partisan politics has become 24-hour "entertainment", every day feels like election day. Voting with our conscience is a way we can show love for our neighbor. But voting is not worship. That is for God alone. 

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