Christian Citizenship (Biblical Reasons Why I Want to Be a Christian in a Multi-Faith Nation) Part 37

 

This post is part 37 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 I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation: Because the teachings of my church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, are at odds with Christian Nationalism. 

In a draft social statement coming up for a vote next summer, our church says, "The ELCA understanding of civic life and faith is at odds with Christian nationalism because the latter seeks to fuse the exercise of political authority with a selected set of supposed 'Christian' ideals. It also asserts that Christianity should be a privileged religion in the United States...Christian nationalists pledge allegiance to their version of the United States, first making the U.S. into an idol and seeing God’s plan in U.S. society as including only those whose religious beliefs fuse with a certain view of that society.” (article 37)

"Christian Nationalism" is a term being used a lot more in the last 5 years than ever before. But that doesn't mean it only began recently. It's been around for a long time, and it has never been faithful to scripture or Christian teachings.

 When we attempt to fuse our Christian beliefs with our political ideology, and when we suggest that God has a special plan for the United States above other nations, we are committing the sin of idolatry. We can't both know Jesus as Lord, and give divine status to our own vision for our country.

God is the Lord of all nations, and God's plan is to make peace with the whole creation through Christ. No nation comes first or last in that scheme: the shortest distance to peace with God is not over any country's border, but the one step in our hearts, to the foot of the cross. 

Learn more about our draft social statement and provide feedback HERE. 

 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 36

 

This post is part 36 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 I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith nation: because Christians have enough to worry about in keeping watch over our own souls, let alone the soul of a nation. 

Colossians, a letter attributed to the Apostle Paul, warns readers not to fall into a long list of bad habits of thought, word and deed, which believers had before they became Christians. Christians today tend to focus on sins related to sex, but right next to "fornication", the letter lists "greed (which is idolatry)" and "anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive language from your mouth."

The letter's point is not that Christians never do these things--we wouldn't have a letter asking them not to if that were the case--but that seeking Christ helps renew our souls in order to live a new way. 

As I read this in my daily Bible readings, it occurred to me that just focusing on renewing my own soul in Christ is more than a full time job. If I were serious about that, I wouldn't have time to worry about how any local, state or national policies are favorable or unfavorable to Christians, because my main concern would be whether I myself am acting like a Christian. And I would venture a guess that if Christians focused first on our own thoughts, actions and most of all words, we would have more impact on our communities, and our nation, than any law or court case ever could.      

 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 35

 

This post is part 35 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 I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith world:
because Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. 

Yesterday, September 11, commemorated a tragic day for our country and our world. 23 years ago yesterday, nearly 3,000 lives were lost due to an act of terrorism committed by religious extremists. As people of faith, we have to come to terms with the truth: religious nationalists committed this attack. The men who carefully planned and carried out this act of violence against their perceived enemies, did so out of what they thought was religious devotion and national pride. 

Bear in mind, as I say this, that the vast majority of their fellow Muslims were just as horrified by this violence as the rest of the world: maybe even more so, because they knew better than others what a vile perversion of the Islamic faith Al Qaeda believed and taught. These attackers were so committed to their vision of a world in thrall to their narrow interpretation of Islam, that they saw everyone who did not agree as an enemy, deserving of death. 

Jesus' teaching was the opposite: rather than wishing death on our enemies, we are commanded to pray and wish blessings upon them. Islam, as practiced by most Muslims across the world, has similar teachings. Faith does not grow through violence or political coercion, full stop. In fact, the very moment when we begin to use violence in service to our faith, Jesus teaches, we have stopped living according to it.

I continue to stop for a moment every September 11, and grieve the many lives lost. I also say a prayer for the future, that the peaceful way of Jesus would prevail, first and foremost in the hearts of his followers.   

  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 34

 

Revelation 21:3-4

This post is part 34 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 I want to live as a Christian in a multi-faith world:
because nations are temporary.

During the 20th century, American Christians had a lot to say about the end times (eschatology, if you want the fancy term). This isn't new at all: many of Jesus' first followers believed he would return to reign over the world in their own lifetime. Martin Luther in the 16th century suspected it would happen in his own time, too. Needless to say, everyone so far has been incorrect. Often when the pace of change in the world picks up, so do speculations about what the Bible says about end times, and whether there might be clues that "this is it!"

During the Cold War and the following years in America, Christians turned to some of the cosmic battles portrayed in Revelation, and wondered what role the US and its allies (and adversaries) might play in these conflicts. Even in my (still kind of short?) lifetime, preachers have recast Revelation's "beast" many times, from the Soviet Union, to Al Qaeda, even to American political adversaries. While the "bad guy" has conveniently shifted over time, the "good guy" in much of American theology has remained constant: usually the modern-day state of Israel, and, not surprisingly, the United States. 

Bear in mind, before I say anything else, that I love our country very much, and I am thankful to God for the blessing and profound responsibility of being a U.S. citizen. That said, if you're reading Revelation properly, no human nation, not even Israel, is the "good guy." That role is permanently reserved for Jesus, the Lamb. And you can't cast any one human nation as "the Beast," because "the Beast" in Revelation stands in for how every human empire acts: using economic and military power to get what it wants, no matter the consequences to God's children. 

At the end of Revelation, John, the author, sees a new heaven and a new earth, centered in a new Jerusalem, which is open to people from all nations. God will dwell with us, to establish justice, and to wipe every tear from our eyes. The need for earthly divisions based on language, ethnicity, race, class, or nation, will be at an end. 

Why do I want us to be careful in connecting our nation and our Christian faith too closely? Because anything to do with our nation is transient. Impermanent. It will fade away, like a dream, as we wake to eternal life with God. Let's not confuse temporary things with eternal things. 

  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 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.