Point 5: Economy

I heard a sermon awhile back at a church where a pastor preached a sermon on the commandment of stealing. You could tell that the man was referring to taxes and that he was implying that the taxing of the top percent of Americans would be stealing. I wasn’t sure how much to agree with him. Sure, taxing is not exactly stealing until you talk about those poor who have been oppressed by stealing, but for the top percent of the country, I’m sure that they have much to spare.

That got me thinking. How does the church view economy and money. I can’t help but think back to acts and the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 and how many of us find our feet on the same cliff they were on. Do we give it all, or try to keep some for ourselves? And if we keep some, do we lie or come clean with what we have kept?

How many times have we done that?

How many times should we have died at the feet of God’s throne?

I do believe that the gospel counters much of what any government is. Most tend to say that they will bring hope and change for the better, but with the Christian, that is God. Obama has said “Yes, We Can,” which can be pushed to a level that equals the Tower of Babel at times. But we must remember Bush as he stood on the debris of the twin towers and vowed vengeance, which landed us in two wars, one which most think we should not have stormed into, and a prison which suffers from human rights charges. Being a Christian, I would say that although I voted for both of these men, they have come short in many ways. (I don’t mean to bash them too hard, but I do want to point out the reality of humanity.)

Maybe we should be more attentive to God’s will. You hear many saying this or that about taxes and the economy, but the truth is that our country is struggling, and the Church has a potential for greatness. Crisis has an element of chaos, but also of opportunity.

Where are our old saints who opened hospitals and orphanages?

I hate to say this out of enjoying Capitalism, but the first century Church had some ideas that would lean toward socialism (Though at other times, seems very much like a democratic republic). I think it’s funny that Christians are yelling that they are scared of Obama because he is a socialist, never mind the social security check they will be cashing in (assuming that it will still be there in the future). Plus, they would probably have yelled the same about Peter and the decisions of the early Church for spreading the wealth.

I just think that the Christians need to open their eyes to suffering, and they might not yell so much. Disagree if you like, but there needs to be a solution discussed immediately.

I end by recalling the Rich Man who had an overabundant harvest (Luke 12:13-21, Luke has a tendency to critique the rich). He decided to build bigger barns to hold ever bit of that grain. We must remember that the first century Jew would know to be appalled at this since the man was supposed to keep the same barn and actually leave some grain for the widow, the orphan, the poor, and even the alien. So, in layman’s terms, if the rich find ways to get richer while the poor get poorer, or even cause them to get poorer (remember that we must never look at resources as endless) than something is wrong. And it becomes quite obvious whom God will vindicate when he comes to judge.

Grace and Peace to you all.

 

Point 4: Marriage and Homosexuality

Here is another point. I listed it due to the intense focus of the Church on the issue. I can’t help but think that the Church has an unhealthy fixation on the issue compared to other sexual issues. Not only that, but it tends to place it’s views on America. I think it probably has to do with this view that the Church and the state have made the distinction between the two fuzzy. Biblically speaking, the world (which includes America) is something that is not quite what Heaven (which includes the Church) is. Such an idea leads me to search Christianity. The Church is it’s own political entity with it’s own agenda. The Nation is only included when we consider that it will one day fall under God’s rule, but that is not yet. In the church we follow God, but in America, the constitution and the leaders of the nation are the rulers.

Most solid Christians have to admit that Israel was a nation under God, the only geo-political nation to ever attain such a title. But the faith has changed its course. Since Christ rose from the dead, we no longer fight for a geo-political entity. We know that at Christ’s return, and the resurrection of the saints, the geo-political entity we wait for will be made reality. In a sense our politics are already existence, but not on the scale of what will follow the Judgment.

If you read Scripture, you will see a motif of a people who, although they mean no harm to current powers of the world, they oppose them and their anti-Christ agendas (which is more tied into thoughts of men over the ages and is not some crazy being in the future, Revelation doesn’t even mention the word anti-Christ).

Now to the topic at hand, marriage and homosexuality. I start with marriage, since I hold a highly Christian view of it. I believe marriage between male and female is sanctioned and protected by God as a means of survival (Deuteronomy 22:16, 25:5). However, I think that is a Judeo-Christian ideal (I also admit other religions have the same view). To place this expectation on the people of the world I think is a little ludicrous. (A side remark on marriage in heaven [Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; Luke 20:34-35], marriage is used to mock the Sadducees. I don’t think that marriage is the point here. I also think that maybe any point on marriage is that it will not be needed, since marriage is a custom/law issue for people who would not remain with those whom they promised to be with, and those evil people will not inherit heaven when it come here.)

What people need to realize with these verses is that the institution of marriage is not the primary recipient of protection, the people that are married are. That means that the ones currently taking advantage of the marriage situation are just as guilty as homosexuals are…no…they are more guilty. Oppression is always more devastating than simple sexual deviance from the law.

Homosexuals are obviously not highly favored in Scriptures (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Many use the Sodom and Gomorrah and tie in homosexual motifs (Jude 7; 2 Peter 2:6 [this one is an example of when that is not done]). It is usually a later development. The first writers, and the writer of 2 Peter, probably had bigger issues with taking people out of their homes to rape them, and homosexuality was the straw that broke the camels back. Ancient Israel would have looked at the creation account and said that since God’s first creation was between man and woman, and since there is a command to multiply, that homosexuality defied God. They saw God as moving them towards life, and homosexuality was not a move toward life. Since Christ rose from the dead, furthering the point that death is the enemy, Christians would have kept that point, and should still do so today.

But since we don’t use death or move towards death, we do not bring death to our enemies, since we are enemies to death…PERIOD.

The end of Revelation is explicit about letting the evil do what they must. We know that vindication will come. And what if God was to change his mind in the end? Although you can’t condone here on earth what they do, should you not be kind and admit their worth before God? What if America was to allow homosexual marriages? Is American a nation of God? No. There can only be one nation of God, and that is the Kingdom of Heaven, which is represented by the Church.

If you want to follow God, worry about how we are following His will.

Don’t commit adultery.

Don’t seduce and rape young women or men.

Stay away from incest, beastiality, and prostitution.

Don’t steal what’s not yours.

Do not murder with the gun or the tongue.

Do not split apart a community of God with your agendas.

Do not hold money higher than God.

Do not take in excess when others have nothing

Follow his will as is expressed in the Law, the prophets, Jesus, and others.

If you follow His will you will inherit heaven.

But if you willingly oppose him, you will inherit hell.

And surprisingly, some of the ones condemning homosexuals to hell, since they are not faithful to the terms God has listed, or probably closer to hell the any self-respecting gay person.

Grace and peace to all of you. I love you all, even my friends I don’t agree with in lifestyle.

(This is derived from the NRSV Bible, IVP Bible Dictionaries, and The Anchor Bible Dictionary)

 

July 4th (America and the Church)

I wanted to post on this again, since we just got past the Fourth of July. I struggle with the idea that America is the nation of God. It doesn’t seems to make much sense to me. I have been looking at references to the Kingdom of God/Heaven in the New Testament and there are a few things that stand in the way of calling this nation the nation of God.

1) America wasn’t around during the time that scripture is spoken of. If Jesus was representing the Kingdom of God, Heaven (which is defined as the place where God dwells), and America had not been born, then it would have to follow that there might not be parallels. The events leading to America started much later in world history. Jesus also was speaking to the only political entity to ever be given such a title, which was Israel. The title has changed, since Israel is not necessarily the nation of God, since that has fallen to the Church, which has opened the membership to everyone across nations, kinships, races, etc. God has merely favored America, but the frightening question is why He has done so.

2) The Kingdom in the times referred to in the Bible is ruled by God. There is nothing in the founding documents, or in current American law that gives God the ruling of President of the USA (God can actually only be totalitarian since His rule is conditioned on the complete obedience of those under him).

3) The Prophets, Jesus, and the writers of the letters continually mention or reference the kingdom coming. If the Church has fulfilled the messianic hope of the new kingdom, then it must follow that America can fall in line and recognize our commissioning by God (my apologies to the Republican platform). Although I am American, I must say that when it come to representing either this country or the nation of God, I choose God.

This is not a post of rebellion, but of perspective. I do not condone anyone seeking to use God as an excuse to defy what is not evil in itself. God has told us that governments are meant to promote order and peace (though they fail, and that is the exception) in Romans 13. Although it is assuming the correct actions of the governing, it still stands as a testament against fulfilling your selfish desire for anarchy or pointless liberation.

In Revelation 21:24, John shows us that God is not about destroying the nations, but having them follow him (and that would mean one world government ordained by God for the ones who thing one world government is evil). Also in 22:1-7 states that the end times are a time of healing the nations, which means that we should be about healing the nation with the healing we have to offer. If a nation is being heavily taxed, lets offer advice of mercy. When it is oppressing, let’s bring words of challenge. When the people are violent against their rulers, let’s offer creative consequences that teach and do not kill. And remember…

The Church

Not America

is the Nation of God,

and we will see vindication and glory.

So go out and do the gospel to the world. I hope we see many great things in these end times (which, to clarify, has been that last 2000 years, give or take).

Grace and Peace.

 

What Are We?

I watched Lions For Lambs last night. Not the award winning type, but it is intriguing as a point maker. It made me think about the country I live in and how “Rome is burning” as Robert Redford’s character in the movie put it. It seems as if we might have been easily decieved by the media’s quest for sensational and America’s quest for the status quo. We do not care about what is important, instead we want things that chill us or light us up. We are arrogant, stupid, and apathetic.

This is our country. You turn on the news during the day, and it is not about how we have failing cities, a surprising amount of poor or unemployed folks, or even about how the war is really going. It is about mortgage, pop stars, and scandals. The real important stuff is usually scrolling on the bottom of the screen on CNN or Fox News. Every once in awhile we hit a good story. But the next day, its back to the status quo. We do not dialogue about the issues, we usually want to ignore them, and even when we do try to dialogue, we usually rant and rave. We are more concerned with things looking alright than answering, or at least living in, the problem. Immigration is a great example. This is a complex issue, but we usually only see one side of the coin. Why? Because inconveniences us. “They took our jobs!!!” as South Park would say it. So what do we plan to do. We want to build a wall. But what we don’t realize is that that is not answering the problem. It only sends it away so that we cannot see it. To really understand this, go study the economy and lifestyle of the country of Mexico.

TV is not going to answer our problems. Do you really think that watching TV is inspiring? I beg to differ. When we think we’ve been inspired, we are not. We are only made to think, or dare I say wish, that we were good, bad ass, manly, kind, or loving. And instead of actually being what makes us feel good and exploring the potential, we let the movie be something while we waste away to nothing. This is exactly what the world would want, or better yet, what the American Empire would want. If you think I’ve gone too far in calling America an Empire, there is a reason why I have done so.

The funny thing about empires is this: they conquer, establish their military presence, and then put in the person the deem fitting into the power system they have place over the area. This vaguely familiar to Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet we still look at the other forms of governemnt as the evil. I’m not going to call America evil, but them doing this empirical act does seem at the very least rash, if not arrogant. We fight these wars for control, since aggressive violence is merely a way of establishing your control over something or someone. And as far as establishing military presence, why do you think some of the countries don’t like us. And to further their dislike, we would spend an entire blog session on how many countries we’ve established our own government and our favorite rulers in.

I have a proposition. A form of the separation of Church and state that might be new for some people. The separation would be the means to an end. Let’s cut the umbilical chord as Christian. Jesus prayed for the Kingdom of Heaven to come down to earth, so let’s be citizens of Heaven. Sure, you are in this country, and I’m not saying riot or revolution, that is not what Jesus taught. But our separation is to make us a discernable entity. Once we become something different, we will be able to hear God’s voice telling us to feed the poor, and end the need for food stamps. Adopt the orphan, and end the need for abortion. Practice hospitality, and end homelessness. Practice grace and peace, and end violence and selfishness. What I am saying is that when we look at our loyalty as not to the American Flag, but to the Flag of God, we will serve this nation and point out its faults. We will be able to be heaven here in America and hopefully attract the country to do the same.

So stop being apathetic, and just pay attention for a change.