Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 5

 

This post is part 5 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:

Martin Luther once wrote to a German prince, “it is out of the question that there should be a common Christian government over the whole world or indeed over a single country or any considerable body of people, for the wicked always outnumber the good.” (On Temporal Authority, 1523). Luther believed that before establishing any kind of “Christian government,” it was necessary first to fill the world with true Christians by sharing the Good News of Jesus and teaching people the way of Christ, without forcing anyone into faith. This was written in Europe in the Middle Ages, when virtually everyone was baptized and a Christian, at least in name. I suspect Luther would be even less optimistic about establishing a “Christian nation” today.

Luther believed that the heart of Christianity was faith: faith alone. He thought that creating more religious laws would not increase religious faith. I agree with him. 

For a reflection on the prophet Jeremiah and how to live faithfully without any political power, 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.

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 4

 

 

This post is part 4 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 biblical reason why I want to be a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

Psalm 33:12 says, “Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,” and people often use that verse to prop up the idea of America “turning to God” and becoming more of a “Christian nation.” But in context, the verse continues, “the people whom he has chosen as his heritage,” meaning Israel, God’s chosen people. The previous verse in that psalm says “the Lord brings the counsels of the nations [meaning Gentiles] to nothing.” This psalm refers only to the historic people of Israel. At the time that it was written, it would never have occurred to any Israelite poet that any nation other than Israel would have Israel’s God as its god. It’s just not what the verse means.


You could do many lengthy Bible studies on the logic of the Hebrew Bible lifting up Israel (not the modern state, but the historic descendants of Jacob) as "chosen as his heritage." It's not always an easy job. Israel's biblical role is to be "a light to the nations," and show them God's faithfulness. But this much is clear: it is a status that belongs to Israel alone. It is non-transferable. Nowhere in either the Hebrew Bible or New Testament does any writer suggest that any nation other than Israel can be "chosen as God's heritage." That any nation could be "chosen" in Israel's place, or that any would even want to be, is utterly foreign to scripture.


For a look at Martin Luther's thoughts on Christian Nationalism, check out Tuesday's post.

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 3

 

This post is part 3 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 biblical reason why I want to be a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

The apostle Paul writes, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20). Paul himself was a citizen of the Roman Empire, but he prized his citizenship in heaven above his national identity. At no point did Paul ever advocate for a Christian Roman empire, even though that happened a couple of centuries later.

In writing to the Church in Philippi, Paul is likely writing to some very patriotic Romans. Though the city itself is in modern-day Greece, at that time it was a Roman colony and military outpost. It is probable that some in this congregation were also Roman citizens, and some might even have been Roman military veterans. This only adds to the impact of Paul's statement that their first and most important "citizenship" was to the kingdom of Heaven, whose only ruler is Jesus Christ.

For an alternative reading of the often-quoted Psalm 33:12, "Happy is the nation whose god is the Lord," 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.

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 2

 

This post is part 2 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 biblical reason why I want to be a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

  Jesus’ first sermon, and the core of his message, was, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ (Mark 1:15).

 Many of Jesus' parables concerned the Kingdom of God. Yet at no point did he make plans for any kind of earthly kingdom. He resisted the temptation of the devil, who promised him all the kingdoms of the earth (Matthew 4:8-10). Rather than raising an army, he cast out unclean spirits. Rather than raising money, he fed hungry people. Rather than praying to be king of Galilee or Judea, he taught his disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10).

The Kingdom of God is not, and was never meant to be, a certain piece of land, a certain nation, or a certain form of government. It's the people in every land and nation who seek to do God’s will. 

For the Apostle Paul's teaching about "Heavenly Citizenship", 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.

Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 1

This post is part 1 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 biblical reason why I want to be a Christian in a multi-faith nation:

Jesus says, “My kingdom is not from this world.” (John 18:36)

When Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, asks Jesus, "are you a king?", this is his response. For the entirety of Jesus' ministry, there were expectations that he would raise an army to challenge Rome and win back the territory of Judea and Galilee for the Jewish people. People expected him to attempt to found a government in Jerusalem, with himself as king. Jesus disrupted this expectation at every turn.

If Jesus had wanted a kingdom on earth, he would have told his followers to fight for one, and he never would have willingly gone to the cross. We Christians believe and teach that Jesus going to the cross, rather than any earthly throne, is, to put it mildly, rather important for the world.



For more about Jesus' teaching about "The Kingdom of God", 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.

 

New Series: Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation)

 

It's been quite a while since I posted in this blog, although I've been sharing some devotions on my Facebook page in recent weeks. A lot has happened in my life, both on a personal, family, and professional level. In the fall, my wife received a diagnosis of breast cancer and began treatments. In January, I accepted a call as pastor of Messiah Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bay City, Michigan, and we moved to the east side of the state. The kids are all in new schools. It's been hectic, to say the least. But now that I'm able to come up for air, so to speak, I think it's time to start writing again.


Almost five years ago, the presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Elizabeth Eaton, released a Statement Against Christian Nationalism, which affirmed that "America has no second-class faiths" and that the government "should not prefer one religion another religion or nonreligion." This statement was rooted, not in any political platform, but rather in our commitment as Christians to love our neighbors as ourselves.


During that time, I wondered if such a statement was really necessary. In the U.S.,  we already have "separation of church and state," and the First Amendment, which says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."


Still, over the last five years, I've seen more and more little signs that some Christians would rather the entire country be Christian: and not just Christian, but their specific kind of Christian. I've had people walk into our church buildings wanting to distribute newspapers bearing a cross and American flag together, and offering partisan political talking points next to prayers. I've heard from pastors serving in towns whose school boards were pressured to allow Christian groups to pick up students during the school day and teach them Bible lessons (from a particular Christian perspective) rather than art or music. I've fielded phone calls from local organizers asking our congregation to say the Pledge of Allegiance as part of our worship service. (What our pianist at the time, who is a Christian and a South Korean citizen, would have made of this, I don't know.)

It's little things like these that make me think it is time for Christian leaders to offer more teaching on Christian Citizenship.

Before I start, I want to make clear: I believe that faithful Christians can also be strong, passionate patriots in the nations where they live. In my work with the Boy Scouts of America, I have met many people who fill both categories admirably. I just think that mixing our nationality with our Christian faith, so that we think of Christians as "more American" than non-Christians, or that all Americans should be "more Christian," is harmful for both our faith and our nation.

And my thoughts on this don't come from my reading of our constitution or of American history. Those are not my areas of expertise.

I resist Christian Nationalism because of what the Bible says.

Merging our faith with any one nationality, treating it like the same thing, is both unbiblical and un-Christian.

So in the coming days, I'll be making my case in this blog. The series will be called Christian Citizenship, or Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation.
I hope you will join me for this discussion.

 

Isaiah 43:8-13 "I'm It. I'm All There Is."

 

Observation: In the midst of the Babylonian exile, where the Jews are surrounded by idols of Babylonian gods and myths, the prophet makes a startling claim. Not only is the Lord of Israel the strongest, most powerful, and sovereign above all gods (that was a standard claim...every nation claimed its god was "the best"). The Lord of Israel is, in fact, all there is. "Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior." The people of Israel were always monotheists in terms of only worshiping one god. That's different from saying there are no other gods. Contrary to what the Babylonians would have you believe, these other gods simply do not exist. Interestingly, centuries later the Jews and Christians were falsely labeled "atheists" by the Roman authorities because they denied the existence of any Roman gods.

Application: So God is it. God is all there is. So what? I don't feel much societal pressure these days to acknowledge Marduk, or Jupiter, or Zeus and Athena. 

But we do feel a lot of pressure to give our time and talents, our "worship," to things like our economy, our national identity, our chosen political platform, our cultural standards of beauty, and whatever advertisers want us to spend money on. We even feel pressure from well-meaning religious folks to worship their version of the God of Israel, who fits neatly into the cultural categories they set up, who celebrates what they celebrate and hates the same people they hate. Even our ideas of God can become idols. 

We do sometimes get scammed into worshiping gods that do not exist. Maybe they don't want to be called "gods". But if we worship them--if we give them our time, our money, our loyalty above all else--that's what they are. The rest is just semantics. Yet God gives us the reality check. These aren't just minor deities, squabbling over souls. These things do not exist. They have no consciousness. They do not care for you because they can not care for anyone. They cannot save you because they have no will, no mind, no inner life. They are ideas in your mind. You might just as well appeal for help to Han Solo or Captain Jean-Luc Picard. You get the idea. God is it. God is all there is. And God loves you and wants to save you. Thanks be to God. 

Prayer: God, you are it. You are all there is, not just in my life, but in the universe. Help me become an "atheist" regarding all these other fictional saviors we chase after, and put my full faith in you. In Jesus' name, Amen.