A Shout Out to America!

Back in the early and mid 1970s it was fashionable within the Christian circles I called home to color our world in dark and depressive colors. The theology that most of us uncritically embraced played an important role in shaping our view of the world. 

We believed that the end of time was so near we could smell its breath. 

We read the Scriptures in ways that supported our view of a world spinning out of apocalyptic control, a world on a cataclysmic trajectory towards fiery extinction or nuclear holocaust. The most popular topic in our church was the one that drew the largest crowds on Sunday: “The End Times.” 

One could count on a full house when the pastor announced he was preaching on the Second Coming or the Great tribulation or the Thousand Year reign of Christ! The energy in the sanctuary leading up to the sermon was electric.

We listened to those dark and predictive sermons as we awaited the anticipated sermonic punch line: “Jesus is coming soon!” 

Which in the language of the time meant that we Christians were going to be rescued from earth and thus leave a world headed towards global disaster. 

“Praise the Lord” was our mantra, “Jesus is coming soon!” 

Ironically we believed that the world had to get worse because the worse it got the sooner Jesus would come again. In some sick way we prayed for the world to become a dark and depressive place so that the Biblical prophecies we so passionately believed in would be fulfilled sooner rather than later. 

Looking back on it all now I realize that our view of this dark and depressive world was as sick as the theology that helped shaped it. It took many years for my theology to get reprogrammed in accordance with the joyful and hopeful message of the Gospel, which means by the way, “Good News!” 

There’s nothing dark and depressive about this Good News. But that’s another story for another time I suppose.

Why are people so naturally attracted to dark and depressive narratives? What is it about negativism that attracts so many people, whether it’s in the political or religious arenas of life? What is it about negative storylines that energize people into action—action that often leads to violence?

I was reflecting on all thus during my walk this morning and having just read an opinion piece in the Washington Post entitled, “Don’t let the naysayers fool you: This is the best period in recent U.S. history,” by Gerald S. Rose. (October 26, 2016).

Given the negative atmosphere of this current presidential election and most of the opinion pieces written for our nation’s newspapers, Rose’s article was a breath of fresh air. Rose begins his opinion piece by stating: “A significant segment of Americans see this nation in decline, if not free fall. Never has the United States been in such bad shape, they say, and it is getting worse.” I must say that these words have a familiar apocalyptic ring to them.

But then Rose asserts: “Nothing could be further from the truth.” 

Of course Rose acknowledges that our nation is not totally free from many nagging social problems, such as racism. America is not perfect but what nation is? Yet Rose’s insightfulness is impressive. He claims: “The world is going through a revolution similar to the Industrial Revolution.” Yes it is and the tensions caused by this revolution are too easily expressed or perceived in negatively dark ways.

The oft-repeated mantra of so many naysayers is: “Let’s get back to the way it once was.” 

I prefer a brighter and more hopeful outlook for our nation and our world. Theologically speaking I have now embraced a theology of hope that lifts my spirits out of the doom and gloom of all the naysayers. Yes we have issues and we have problems. But as a nation we have the potential to collectively transcend all that is perceived as dark and depressive in this country.

I am hopeful because I have embraced the Good News that is the centerpiece of my religious faith and my worldview. My theology will not allow me to paint my world in dark and depressive colors and predict cataclysmic outcomes that run counter to the Good News that has shaped most of my adult life.

I refuse to embrace any dark and depressive narrative but instead embrace the hopeful Good News of my faith.

I choose to see the proverbial glass as half full rather than half empty. Yes we have problems in America but none so grave that our immanent demise is just around the corner. We can and we must rally together in the days ahead to continue building one of the greatest nations on earth, if not for ourselves but also for our children and grandchildren and their children.

So here’s my shout out to America:

“Let’s be hopeful!”

It’s a better option for the future.

Should We Can the Word "Evangelical"?

I remember taking a course in college on the history of modern English. I was surprised to learn how much our English language has changed over the years and how dynamic it really is.

For example I learned that the word “marshal” back in the 17th century was defined as a “cleaner of horse stables”. I am sure Marshal Matt Dillon would have appreciated that bit of trivia.

The word “pot” for many of us was what mother cooked her homemade soup in but I am sure Willie Nelson has another use for the term today. There are many more examples of how words change in meaning but I hope these two will suffice to prove my point:

The English language is not static; it changes and evolves over time to be sure.

So here we are nearing the end of the 2016 Presidential election and one of the questions we might want to ask ourselves is this: 

Is it time to dispense with the word “Evangelical” to describe a good portion of American Christianity?

In other words, does the word “Evangelical” have any real meaning these days? Biblical meaning that is?

Let us assume that if we define an “Evangelical” as one who espouses high moral standards, who stands firmly against Secular Humanism, who instructs young people to abstain from sex until married, is a proponent of healthy family and marital values, whose moral compass is pointed in the right direction, then I would suggest in light of this Presidential election it is time for us to can the word altogether.

Quite frankly I no longer know what it means to be an Evangelical. I am confused and like many I am conflicted over whether I want to identify with being an Evangelical. I apologize to my Evangelical friends but this is the place in which I find myself today.

Perhaps it is time to find another word to describe those of us who have invested our lives in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

But wait a minute, isn’t that what Evangelical means: Good News? Gospel? 

In the Gospel of Luke Jesus is reported to have said that God sent him to proclaim the “Good News” or “Gospel” to the poor. Good News and Gospel come from the same Greek word, evangelion, from which we get the term “Evangelical” and "Evangelist".

So an Evangelical is one who has embraced the Gospel or Good News of Jesus Christ. So what is the Good News for us today? It is a term describing what Jesus came to do for the world, to free us all from all sorts of bondage (a new Exodus): Sin, economic, addiction, political, and sexual bondage.

He came to liberate us from those things that imprison us and rob us all of being fully human. Anything that places us in any sort of bondage is indeed antichrist. This is perhaps the meaning behind Jesus’s words: 

“The thief enters only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest.”

Of course this is what it means to be an Evangelical: One who has trusted in the saving and liberating work of Jesus’s death and resurrection in order that one might live a life free of all sorts of bondage (not to mention the eternal life benefit). Being Evangelical is to have had one’s humanity restored by God’s grace.

But I am not so confident that when the word “Evangelical” is used today folks hear this particular meaning. Today the word might better be associated with the anti-abortion movement or with a nationalist movement or with a Conservative movement. It is rarely used today with reference to Liberals even though 16th Century Evangelicals were considered liberal (Erasmus for example).

You see, the word has changed its meaning more than once. Rather than evolving however, it seems to have devolved since at least 1980 (the years the Regan Revolution and the Religious Right joined forces).

So with that said, I no longer will refer to myself as an “Evangelical”. Further, I won't even refer to myself as a “Progressive Evangelical.” There has to be a better word to describe those of us who have staked out our lives on the truth of the Gospel—for now it can no longer be “Evangelical”.

I am afraid that many so-called Evangelicals today have sold their soul for a pot of political pottage. They have abandoned many of their sacred values for the sake of embracing frightening political philosophies that comes nowhere close to identifying with the Gospel. They have sold out their Evangelical birthright for the sake of winning a political battle that cares very little about that birthright. Time will bear this painful truth out. 

In the post 2016 election cycle Evangelicals are going to be faced with some hard decisions regarding their identity as Christ followers. This isn’t going to be easy and could in fact be quite painful (assuming some soul work is done in the first place).

I love the Biblical term Evangelical. But for now I think the healthiest thing we could do is quit using it for a season—a season that will cleanse and heal it from its unfortunate foray into American politics.. For now it is just too toxic.

I am sure time will heal it to some degree. Perhaps a generation will have to pass for it to be resurrected and used in its truly Biblical sense. But for now it has devolved into something I personally don't recognize.

So please do not refer to me as an "Evangelical Christian" because as of now I no longer fit that description. 

Pearls, Pigs, and Politics!

I don’t believe we have ever appreciated what Jesus meant when he told us to pray for God’s kingdom to come to earth. 

The actual wording from the King James Version is: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

I believe we also miss his point when he told those who were trying to trap him over whether or not to pay taxes: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 

In the first quote we too often have allowed Platonic philosophy to obscure the real meaning of heaven for us. In the second quote we  have misunderstood Jesus to be saying that our allegiance to God and country is a 50-50 deal.

Both of these misunderstandings have caused considerable confusion among Christians concerning our relationship with both heavenly and earthly realities. So allow me to clear the air and offer a more Biblical explanation of these two sayings of Jesus and then apply them to our context today.

First, regarding heaven. Most Christians have an image of heaven that does not originate with Jesus but rather with the Greek Philosophers Plato and Plutarch (a younger contemporary of St. Paul). Both of these brilliant men envisioned heaven as a far off celestial place inhabited by disembodied spirits (sound familiar?).

Most Christians today believe this version of heaven is both orthodox and Biblical. The problem is that it is not the image of heaven we find in the New Testament in general nor in the teachings of Jesus in particular. 

Heaven, according to Jesus, is the new world created for those resurrected to a new life in Jesus Christ. John the author of Revelation envisioned a “new heaven and a new earth” descending together to become the new reality for all God’s children (Revelation 21:1-4). Put another way: Heaven comes to us and not the other way around. 

Jesus didn’t come so we could escape this world in order go to heaven as a disembodied spirit, but rather that we might become eternal resurrected residents in God’s kingdom living in a redeemed world recreated for resurrected people. 

How we have missed this is startling given the clear teachings of the New Testament. It would absolutely horrify Christians to know that their image of  heaven as a place for disembodied spirits is more pagan than it is Biblical.

Second, regarding Jesus’ teachings on paying taxes. It is often assumed that Jesus was teaching a 50-50 loyalty to both God and Empire (half to God half to Caesar). Nothing could be farther from the truth. Jesus was very clear in teaching Christians to give to Caesar the things that are his and to God give all of ourselves. God wants all of us, not 50% of what we have to offer him.

Caesar (Empire, the USA, or any other government today) does not have exclusive ownership over any of God’s children. We simply don’t belong to Caesar (a fitting metaphor for government) but rather we belong to another whose kingdom is not of this world but of God. 

So where am I going with all this?

I believe once we get our understanding of these two sayings of Jesus straight we can then see more clearly our role in the current political mess we find ourselves today. America is not the kingdom of God but rather the kingdom of Caesar (metaphorically speaking) and we should be extremely cautious when jumping in bed with any human political system.

As Christians you and I have a much larger agenda to promote, a grander vision to spread, and a heavenly kingdom worthy of our full support. 

It has not been fully revealed, God’s kingdom, but enough of it has to inform us that we belong to a governing realm that originates with God and not Washington. Thank the good Lord for this truth.

If this 2016 election has taught us anything it should have revealed to us just how broken and debased human politics is and can be. 

Jesus’ warning seems apropos for the times: “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.”

God’s kingdom is not America; God desires all of us and not some reduced percentage of ourselves; and more importantly, mixing politics with the Gospel is akin to casting the sacred before dogs and throwing pearls at the feet of pigs.

Does God Care Who I Vote For?

Please, let’s leave God out of this election. Give him and us a break!

I’m not so sure the Almighty wants his name invoked in support of either presidential candidate, especially in this campaign of mud slinging and character debasement.

As Christians we are not doing our brand any big favors by using it to support candidates that are imperfect and deeply flawed. Do I prefer one candidate to the other? As a citizen I do but I have intentionally avoided giving God the credit for my decision.

Quite frankly I am amused by those who tell us God wants this particular candidate to be president or that God told them he wants such and such candidate to be president. Bull! That’s the kind of insane certainty that gives all Christians a bad rap.

Actually for Christian leaders to make such outlandish claims is a form of dangerous manipulation. It’s as bad as churches passing out voter forms in church services telling parishioners whom they should vote for. This is outrageously arrogant behavior. Please celebrity preacher, stop being a divinely appointed surrogate for your candidate. It’s beneath your calling.

God, I don’t believe, really cares who you vote for in this election. He may not even care that you vote at all, which may surprise some. So please, stop attributing your political choices to God’s will—you nor I simply don’t know enough of what God really wants to make such a definitive claim on his behalf.

I recently saw an article suggesting that we even drop the name “Christian” given how we have polluted our brand so much during this election cycle. The idea was at first appealing to me and perhaps we may need to do just that sooner or later. But I like the moniker “Christian” in spite of all the historical baggage it carries—and it does carry quite a lot of nasty baggage.

It’s a good name if only Christians would stop warping its real meaning. To be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ, not Donald J. Trump or Hillary Rodhman Clinton. To be a Christian even trumps being an American (no pun intended of course).

Your namesake indicates where your true loyalty ought to lie, doesn’t it?

Making the decision to vote for a particular candidate on November 8 is your decision and yours alone. God really doesn’t care whom you vote for anymore than he cares what you eat for your next meal. Really he doesn’t.

To claim that he does is also making the claim that those who vote differently from you are voting outside of God’s will. To blame God for your vote is evading any responsibility your vote may play in who is elected president.

So here’s the deal my Christian friend: Just know that God had nothing to do with how you vote—he doesn’t care who you support. He does care about where or in whom your true allegiance lies.

So I don’t try to defend my candidate relative to God’s assumed will. I do not align my candidate with what I perceive to be God’s will for this election.

I don’t send out calls for us to forgive my candidate of choice for his or her behavior: Forgiveness requires more than just an apology, sincere or otherwise. So I leave forgiveness up to God.

I also don’t make the insidious claim that God can use flawed individuals to carry out his purpose in the world as a means to justify my candidate's inappropriate behavior. Again, that’s saying that you know something about God’s will that others don’t know, which is arrogance my friend. So please stop making such arguments.

Yes I have a preference but I also have a more overwhelming allegiance and it’s not to any one political candidate. I do believe that the candidate that I’m supporting is better suited for what America needs at this time but I refrain from aligning that decision up with the will of God.

I also do not assume that any of the nation’s leaders are in office as the result of divine fiat. They are in office because we voted them in office and that’s that, Divine approval notwithstanding.

So please Christian, quit assuming that you are on the inside track of knowing what God’s will is in this election. 

Simply put: You don’t know any more than I do and we just might be on opposite sides comes November 8. To assume that God has a will for who is elected president will make one of us wrong and outside that will.

Plus, throwing your support behind one of the candidates and pretty foolish to say the least. It’s no wonder that so many people are fleeing from our churches these days. We are our own worse enemy and the way we are acting during this election cycle is proof in the pudding.

So cast your vote. Your vote is yours to make. Take ownership of it and live with the consequences. But please, stop claiming God is on your side and the side of your preferred candidate.

Just leave God out of the voting booth and vote your conscience.