It Was Never a Christian Nation
Let's start off with this notion that America was founded as a Christian nation. I remember thinking this as I grew up. But as I learned about the history of our nation I came to realize that the Christianity that founded our nation was a cultural Christianity. People went to church and read the bible because that was the culture of the day.
I am not saying that there were no Christians when this nation was founded. There certainly were. But many of the people we think were great Christian leaders were really just deists. They believed in a god, but not the God of the Bible. Thomas Jefferson (yes the guy we credit with writing the Declaration of Independence) cut out the parts of the Bible he did not like.
The Pilgrims left because they were oppressed by Christians with political power. When they got political power they used it to oppress others.
Even if we claim that these men were Christian, it is hard to say they acted on Christian values during the revolution. We often think about the American Revolution as a great achievement in history. And it was -- but not for Christianity. Both Peter and Paul tell us to respect the authority put over us. They tell us that authority is put over us by God. Paul even tells us to give taxes where taxes are due -- the most known issue the revolutionaries had with England.
A History of Christians in Power
Some of you may argue that we can't change the past. That is true. But we can learn from it. In the interest of knowledge let's take a brief look at some of the history of the church in power.
We begin in the eleventh century with the crusades. This one most people will know because it gets used against Christians often. As a student of history I recognize that it is very often not as simple as we want to make it. People have reasons for what they do and the issues in Europe were complex. Nevertheless this marks a significant point in Christian history. This is perhaps the first time that the church sanctioned a large scale military assault against a people group. The church was able to do this because it WAS the political power in Europe.
We skip ahead to the seventeenth century and to the Thirty Years' War. It is after the Protestant Reformation. We now have two (really three, but I won't get into that) major sects of Christianity. Both sects have political power in various nations and neither really likes each other. What erupts is a bloody three decade long war sparked over religion. This war occurs because Christians have political power.
I could get into the atmosphere in Europe that caused Christians to come to the new world, but lets just say the war didn't end. Because of this conflict we have people coming to the New World. (Pilgrims were a religious sect.) Yet when they got to the New World they refused to give other Christian denominations freedoms. The Pilgrims left because they were oppressed by Christians with political power. When they got political power they used it to oppress others.
American Christians know all to well how the Bible was used against slaves. There is a long and dark history in this nation of slavery. Sadly some of the major supporters of slavery were Christians. (There were many who were not.) These supporters often used passages like the one from Peter above to prove that slavery was ordained by God. Christians with power used the Bible to keep that power and subjugate an entire people group.
From the foundations of our faith Christians have been persecuted. What we forget is often that very persecution spreads Christianity.
No one likes Nazis, except the church in Germany. During World War II the Protestant Church in Germany sided with Hitler. It had a history as a pillar of society and did not want to loose it's status. The church condoned mass murder because it did not want to loose it's political power.
The Persecuted Church
In contrast to the church in power is the history of the persecuted church. There are far too many martyrs too recount them all here. I opened this post with some of the stories from the Bible. From the foundations of our faith Christians have been persecuted. What we forget is often that very persecution spreads Christianity.
When Steven was stoned to death, Paul was there holding coats. The persecution that Paul brought to Jerusalem forced Christians to spread throughout the earth. It was the faith of Paul in prison that saved a jailer and his whole family. These are just some of the stories from the Bible about persecution. And they don't included the nearly two thousand years of religious persecution.
This persecution still happens today. Each month 322 Christians are killed for their faith. Some of the most hostile nations to Christianity are in the middle east. You can go to Voice of the Martyrs to hear stories of persecuted Christians today. I do not share these statistics with you to make you sad. Rather I share them to let you know that there are Christians all over the world who spread the gospel in spite of, and often through, their persecution. This is because weakness is a direct path to power.
Its About Power Not Justice(s)
Enough history. It's time to talk politics. The Christians in this nation that condone the horrible character of Trump do so on grounds that he will be better for Christians then Hilary. Last week I talked about how this kind of mentality is the result of politics becoming an idol. In that article I touched on the idea that perhaps we need persecution not power. Here I want to deal specifically with the idea of supreme court justices.
Justice does not come at the end of a sword or in a ballot box. Justice comes through sharing the love of Jesus with the world.
The claim is that if conservative justices get put on the supreme court then Christian values will be preserved. The blunt truth is that we no longer have the cultural Christianity of the past. Many think this is a bad thing. But I think this is a beautiful thing.
The notion that a conservative justice will bring about moral justice is a farce. Not only has the history of the Church shown that power corrupts Christians, but in our nations own recent history we see this to be false. Christianity is about caring for the oppressed. You will be hard pressed to find theology of power in the Bible. Yes, we will be more than conquerors, but that is because of Jesus not some political party. And that power is given to us at the second coming not some November 8th election.
If we truly want justice then we need to give up this notion that we can bring it about through politics. If we truly want justice then we need to bring it the way Jesus did. The Jews thought the Messiah was going to be a military general. They thought that he would come and give them victory over Rome. Instead Jesus came and died the death of a traitor and an outcast. And yet, that is how God defeated sin, death and Satan. Justice does not come at the end of a sword or in a ballot box. Justice comes through sharing the love of Jesus with the world.
Christians Need to Repent Not Vote
On the evening of November 7th my church is having a prayer meeting. We are praying for our city. We are praying for our nation. We are praying for our politicians. The next day is the election and our nation is going to need prayer. But I am going for another reason. I am going because the church needs to repent.
Brothers and sisters, we need to accept the hurt that we have done in the name of God. We need to repent of all the lies we have believed and propagated. We need to realize that we have done this to our nation. We have been so caught up with power that we have forgotten what it means care. Brothers and sisters, stop defending the oppressors. Stop making excuses for the evils that are committed in this nation.
On November 7th I am going to pray for our nation. i am going to repent for my part in the oppression of others. I am going to repent for believing that political power would save Christianity. I am going to pray that Christians return to their God.
May you come to realize that power corrupts. May you repent and turn from defense of the oppressor. May you believe that Jesus and no one else can save you. May YHWH hear our cry and heal our land.
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