Evangel - soon to RIP?

Well, not really.  What he said was:

Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of he vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.

Having said all that, the folks at Guinness have taken the first saying all the way to it’s conclusion - you will never see such a reenactment of Genesis in a commercial, I am willing to bet…

But this is the best blog post ever on the topic of christian involvement in Politics, and where our focus should be.

Here’s what I think: for 3 centuries the Christian church suffered unto death for its faith in a Lord and Savior who rules now and in the life after life after death — and it got so far out of hand for the pagan, idolator rulers that they had to do something other than kill these people. They couldn’t kill enough of them because their deaths were a greater testimony to truth than any law enforced by the sword.

The testimony of scripture is that our love should exceed all demands of the law, and that we should not be ashamed that we are persecuted in a gonna-lose-your-life way, and that this is how we live as ambassadors to Christ. And when we do that, we are bringing the Shalom of God – we bring real peace, and real reconciliation, and real hope that there is a way to end the injustices of this life. The plea, then is toward the Gospel so that men do not enslave those in God’s image, and that women are seen as divinely-given helpers and that we do not forget the orphan or murder our own children for the sake of mere comfort and wealth.

Government is reformed when men are first reformed.

And many of the other posts there and elsewhere are substantive and contributing to the conversation (had to say that), in a truly great way.

Snagging a number of the most interesting bloggers, if not necessarily the most famous, has become the place for other bloggers to come, read, and then write on their own blogs about, either about the blog or the content.  It has even started some little firestorms (Doug v. Jared, for example - btw, Jared is right)

My concerns are

1.  Keeping up the rate of quality postings - some really good stuff there

2.  Increasing the  number of comments - so far this seems to be kind of an “in” crowd thing, but not a lot of non blogger’s commenting.

3.  Keeping the comments on track - it says they are moderated, but mine have always posted.  Crazy comments can truly derail a blog, but the level of moderation is key - allowing divergent viewpoints like here, or stepping on people like here.

I hope for the best - it has been very interesting.

Here’s why:

1. Its expectation is foolish.
Whether you believe America was ever a Christian nation or not, it is theologically naive and demonstrably false to think laws or policies make anyone a Christian. You cannot create or recapture a people for Christ by illegalizing sin. (Which, by the way, is not to say that certain sins shouldn’t be illegal. It is only to say that, for instance, outlawing gay marriage or repealing Roe v. Wade won’t make anybody a Christian, much less make America “a Christian nation.”)

2. Its medium is moralism, not gospel.
It makes kingdom militancy about religion, not gospel. It seeks a Christian coercion of others toward better behavior, not an incarnational sharing with others of the better Way.

3. It is theologically naive.
It is the height of weirdness to expect people who don’t know Jesus to act like they do.

4. It is often hypocritical.
It is the height of weirdness to expect people who don’t know Jesus to act like they do especially when we can’t get our own house in order. So long as large numbers of Christians continue contributing to the divorce statistics, the porn industry, and more acceptable sins like gluttony and gossip and greed, we have zero business telling the world how to act. Judgment begins at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17).

5. It battles against flesh and blood.
We’re not supposed to do that. (Eph. 6:12)

6. Its treasure is temporary.
I am not overly concerned with the culture war because it is a battle for something that doesn’t last. Culture is temporary. I am far more interested in the transformation of peoples through the transformation of people than I am in the subduing of culture through the modification of behavior. Nobody ever got into heaven by acting better.

7. It makes idols of comfort and safety and propriety and power.
The culture war is largely driven by fear. We’re afraid our public schools will ruin our children, we’re afraid gay people will ruin our families. We’re afraid a Democrat will ruin our country, we’re afraid liberals will ruin our neighborhoods. Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to protect our family, and safety of course is not a bad thing. But neither is it a biblical virtue. Ditto comfort.

8. It has no root in Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus knew heart change didn’t come through political power, cultural pressure, or zealotry, so he was keenly disinterested in those things.

9. It mangles mission.
The culture war sets the Church above and against the world, rather than in but not of the world. It turns us into picketers and politicos. It makes us suspicious and speculative and sensationalist. It takes relationship completely out of the missional equation. It turns us from peaceful ambassadors for Christ into pontificating warriors for Christianity. It does not ask us to serve and sacrifice, which are non-negotiables for Christian mission, but to maneuver and argue.

10. The culture war is carried out for our name’s sake, not Jesus’.
I am not a fan of gay marriage or Roe v. Wade, and even though I would vote to outlaw the former and repeal the latter, neither of those actions in themselves will make a single unbeliever say “How wonderful Christ is!”
The bitter truth is that the Christian culture war is not carried out for Jesus’ glory and renown, but for ours. It makes “Judeo-Christian values” the end-game, the treasure of our mission. And that is idolatry. Nobody was ever legally or argumentatively or even culturally convinced to believe in Jesus. But millions have been loved and served and submitted to into believing.

Dying for somebody says a whole lot more than debating them.

I choose the gospel. Come hell or highwater, come a liberal administration in Washington for the rest of my life or actual suffering. My treasure is not Christianity, but Christ. My hope is not a Christian nation but a Christ-saturated universe. I trust not in princes but in the King of Kings. I choose war on hell and death through the liberating power of Jesus in the glorious gospel of the grace of God.
For the glory of God.

Via John Shore

In olden days they crowned the king and tied a cap and bell on the court fool; today we crown the fool and tie a tin can on the king.

The court fool, as every reader of history knows, was a professional jester or comedian retained at court to provide the king some comic relief from the serious and sometimes dangerous business of ruling the country.

This ancient jester, or fool, occupied a unique position which he won by his quick wit and his talent for amusing people. He was loved for his ability to convulse a dignified assembly with his sidesplitting humor, sometimes aimed at one of the great men present or even at the king himself, though it was a bit risky to make the king the butt of a joke, for the jester never knew whether his majesty would accept it good-naturedly and laugh with the rest or have him whipped and thrown into prison for his impertinence. At best he was treated with the affection shown to a house pet; at worst he was kicked and cuffed about, either because his wit was too pointed or because he couldn’t think of anything funny when his royal boss called for it.

Seeing that we humans were once created in the image of God and that we have by our sin fallen into a state of spiritual blindness and mortality, I would rather be a serious-minded dolt concerned about eternal life than to be an overpaid jester with nothing better to do than to make men laugh and forget that they must die and come to judgment

We must escape the slavery of words and give loyal adherence to meanings instead. Words should express ideas, not originate them.

Several observations -

- KJVO seems to be the natural result of “slavery of words”, as well as many of our arguments about bible translations.

- Bibliolotry also seems comes to mind. The Bible is the method of communication - not the purpose of the communication.