We Protestants, with our focus on the Bible, don't like to admit to doubting it, but think of all the passages that trouble us, that we either ignore or use elaborate interpretations to make them say something other than what they actually say. How many of us believe that wealth is one of the single biggest obstacles to following Jesus? How many of us believe in turning the other cheek? Much has been said about how few Christians regularly read the Bible, and I wonder if this isn't a strategy for avoiding those "I'm not sure I believe that" moments.
I've said this before, but I increasingly feel that the end of Christendom, our culture's unwillingness to continue propping up the Church, is a huge gift. When Christianity became wedded to the state, it had to become compatible with the state. It had to tone down those teachings of Jesus that made people in power uncomfortable. It had to ignore those teachings that undermined the national, military, colonial, economic, or other ambitions of the state. And while Christian faith often mitigated some of the state's worst tendencies, very often the state did more transforming of Christianity that the other way round. And the Church compromised on modeling the ways of the Kingdom to the world.
But the culture has realized that it no longer needs the blessings of the Church. It no longer is willing to send us members, shut down activity on Sunday morning, or augment Christian Education in the schools. And so we are free. Our contract with the state has been broken. We no longer need sell our souls for the culture's promise of preferential treatment. We can be the outposts of the Kingdom Jesus calls us to be.
And that brings me back to those "I'm not sure I believe that" moments. What if our discomfort with many biblical teachings is rooted in that deal Christianity made with culture all those centuries ago? And if so, don't we need to reexamine our discomfort to see if it's nothing but old cultural residue that seeks to distort the faith for the culture's benefit?
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Thanks for the post; excellent points. Residual discomfort from a deal gone bad? Well, possibly. People's associations with the state seem not very well distinguished from those they have with "organized religion", even for many Christian 'faithful'. What, in fact, was Jesus saying about rendering unto Caesar, and to God? The fullest expression of Christ's thick, multi-layered, and oblique statements are often lost, or receive very slanted and partial resolutions.
ReplyDeleteBoth state and religion grow out of practical needs for social control, as well as protection from the "evil ones". The concept of salvation is inseparably tied to our motives for physical survival; the latter programmed into us at the level of the individual cell. Before the kingdom on earth is realized, we will need a far deeper understanding of salvation, and separated from military associations.
Should Christians in these times, declare ourselves free to become a collective credible threat to the state, as early Christians were? If we were to do so, and wade back into the fray for "truth, justice, and the ... way", I would rejoice. What shall we propose as our "timetable for withdrawal" from subordination. When shall we get underway, and not just stand in the way.
A strong clear vision to distinguish the movement from the anti-government brand of flag waving, nominally Christian [Palinist] fascism will have to come first. Standing behind the Goliath of the state is a far more entrenched and older structure of power and influence for which the state often serves as a rear projection screen.