Let's just say it, Republican Christianity is Idolatrous Heresy

I am done pretending that Republican Christians are biblicists.

They often parade themselves as those who "judge any candidate's beliefs against the absolute authority of God’s Word."[1] But this is, to use Paul's word, skybala--rubbish, bullshit.

81% of white Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump.[2] They didn't do this because they judged which of the two candidates were the more biblical. They may say this is the reason, but it's just not true. It couldn't possibly be true, because everywhere the Bible talks about an ideal leader, it describes someone entirely unlike Trump.

So how did they decide?

Before I get started, I want to clarify that I am not referring to Christians who are also Republican, but the hyphenated Christian-Republicanism, Republican-Christianity, the ideology that ties Republican values with Christian values, that fails to distinguish the two, and so claims a theological sanction for Republican politics.

Growing up in the world of Republican Christianity, I was taught the things they emphasize in elections, and this election turned out to not be any different.

Wayne Grudem captured just about all the angles in his three posts about voting for Trump. Referring to the prophet Jeremiah's teaching to "seek the welfare of the city" where God has sent you, Grudem said Christians have "to vote in such a way that will 'seek the welfare' of the United States." The question is then, "Which vote is most likely to bring the best results for the nation?"[3]

Jerry Falwell, Jr. similarly stated, "Jesus said render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. And that means be good citizens and choose who would be the best leader for the country."[4]

Their appeals to particular Bible verses might make it seem like they are trying to be biblical in their political thought, but beware lest you be led astray. Their assessment of the "Which vote" question is far from biblical.

Grudem asks, "Can I in good conscience act in a way that helps a liberal like Hillary Clinton win the presidency?" Or, he asks, should he taken the "unusual opportunity to defeat Hillary Clinton and the pro-abortion, pro-gender-confusion, anti-religious liberty, tax-and-spend, big government liberalism that she champions"?

The message is clear: liberalism is entirely contrary to Christianity. Liberalism is the enemy. The Christian thing to do is to "defeat" liberalism. Again, he quotes Scripture: "'Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin' (James 4:17)."[5]

Grudem then goes on to specifically address various key issues. The best candidate would appoint Christian-minded supreme court justices, oppose abortion, fight for religious (i.e. Christian) liberty, defend Christian business owners and Christian schools, and fight to represent Christian churches.[6]

This essentially captures the thinking behind support for Trump. The thread that runs throughout can be stated quite simply: political power for Christians. As Pastor Mark Burns stated, Trump "is going to make sure we as Christians are protected when he gets to the White House!" Similarly, he said Trump is "fighting for Christianity." Trump, he claims, “believes [Christian values] are one of the core values that has made America great and we need to get back to those values."[7]

Eric Metaxas echoes these sentiments. Liberals, he says, are going to make it illegal to say homosexuality is a sin, so we need someone like Trump to defend our religious liberty.[8]

Others, however, add others reasons as well. Falwell said that in Trump, "Evangelicals have found their dream president." In his justification for this, he said Trump appointed people of faith to his cabinet, fights to defend Christians in the Middle East who are being killed by radical terrorists, and also points to Trump's emphasis on securing U.S. borders.[9]

Metaxas also emphasizes borders.[10] This is due to his theological reading of the American nation. He says, "My earnest hope is that most Americans will learn again to love their country, and will understand that not to do so is like refusing to love oneself or one’s children." He says Americans are, "to use Lincoln’s phrase, God’s 'almost chosen people.'" America is "a beacon of hope and freedom to the world."[11] On this basis, he defends Trump's "America First" policy.[12]

Put it all together, and you essentially have three major points for Republican Christian political thought: 1) Liberalism is the enemy; 2) Christians need political power; and 3) America is theologically significant and so must be defended as such.

Nothing about any of these sentiments is biblical in the Christian sense. The first, that liberalism is the enemy, comes not from the Bible but from Republican politics. Grudem doesn't get his aversion to "tax-and-spend, big government liberalism" from biblical values. He gets it from Republican values. All kinds of attempts are made to defend it on biblical terms, of course, but, if we're honest, the reason why Grudem thinks this way has nothing to do with the Bible, but with Republican influence, with a tendency toward conservative politics the foundation of which certainly does not lie in Scripture.

The second concern, that of Christian political power, also has nothing to do with the Bible. Christianity has never had anything to do with demanding rights, with political power, or with ruling the secular world.

Paul says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition" (Phil. 2:3). The Greek word for 'selfish ambition' denotes one who demands his own rights, who "seeks to promote his own cause."[13] Instead, Paul says, "Let your benevolence be evident to all!' (4:5). The Greek word for 'benevolence' denotes a quality "that keeps one from insisting on his full rights … or from making a rigorous and obstinate stand for what is justly due him."[14]

The earliest Christians suffered injustice, they suffered persecution. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” He said, "Blessed are you when people persecute you and insult you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you on account of me." He said, "Rejoice and be glad! Your reward in Heaven" (Matt. 5:10–12).

Kierkegaard even went so far as to say, "let persecution come--that very instant Christianity again exists."[15]

When their rights were threatened, early Christians didn’t make it their goal to gain as much political power as possible in order to ensure their safety and comfort. Karl Barth was quite apt when he said, "Whenever the Church has entered the political arena to fight for its claim to be given public recognition," it has always been "an impenitent, spiritually unfree Church."[16]

Republican Christians, on the other hand, have become like the world in their pursuit of political power. They then completely neglect the rights and needs of others. But this is entirely opposed to the heart of Christian faith. Christians concern themselves with the needs of others or they aren't Christians.

If Grudem really wanted to get his political thought from Jeremiah, he would have payed attention to 22:16, where it says defending the cause of the poor and needy is what it means to know the Lord. How is it possible that defending the cause of the poor and needy has never been a part of the "biblically-minded" Republican-Christian platform?

The third concern of Republican Christianity, the identification of God with the American nation, is also entirely unbiblical. The Bible only recognizes one God, the God of Jesus Christ. This God is not revealed in this or that human group, or this or that human power, but alone in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

In his day Karl Barth blasted an idolatrous theology that put the German nation on par with God's revelation in Jesus Christ. One of his contemporaries, Emmanuel Hirsch, stated that allegiance to the German people and the German state could only be denied by disobedience to God. In this spirit, he supported National Socialism. He said of Hitler, "Not one people in the world ... has a statesman who takes Christianity so seriously. When Adolf Hitler ended his great speech on 1 May with a prayer, the whole world felt the wonderful sincerity of it."[17]

Compare these remarks to those of Falwell and Burns!

My point is not to equate Trump to Hitler, but to point out the danger of idolizing a nation and a leader the way Republican Christians have done. Against such idolatry, Barth insisted on the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Bible as the sole source of faith.

Republican Christians may pretend to be biblicists, but they do not believe in the Word of God as the sole source of revelation and faith. In practice, they place Republican values on par with Scripture, Republican enemies on par with the enemy of God, and the American nation on par with the kingdom of God.

In his third article on voting for Trump, Grudem considered the question, "Are there no limits to what you will tolerate in a candidate?" He remarked that this question troubled him, but ultimately he disregarded it, coming to the conclusion: "because I agree with his policies, Trump is the far better choice."[18]

And so he reveals his answer. As long as a candidate opposes liberalism, promises Christians political power, and protects America's all-so-sacred borders, he will vote for anyone, forgive anything, overlooking any sin and injustice. He would vote for the devil himself if the devil was so disguised.

I speak, not as a liberal in defense of liberalism, not as a lefty against right-wingers, not as a radical against the enemy, but as a Christian, as a student of the Bible, as one who seeks after Jesus Christ, as a witness to the Word of God. I do not act as if my political views comprise the biblical or the godly alternative, but I can certainly recognize idolatry when I see it.

Grudem, Falwell, Metaxas, Burns, and all others like them, reveal themselves to be the truest heretics. They have committed themselves to an idolatrous heresy, and have completely compromised both Bible and Gospel. They have abandoned the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

They have no business associating themselves with the Word of God. They would do better to stay home and stay quiet than spoil the integrity of the Word of God by representing it so miserably.

"They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, 'These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'" Exodus 32:8


References:
[1] https://answersingenesis.org/ministry-news/ministry/donald-trump-phenomenon/
[2] http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/how-the-faithful-voted-a-preliminary-2016-analysis/
[3] https://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2016/07/28/why-voting-for-donald-trump-is-a-morally-good-choice-n2199564
[4] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/meet-pastors-support-donald-trump/story?id=38406350
[5] https://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2016/07/28/why-voting-for-donald-trump-is-a-morally-good-choice-n2199564
[6] Ibid.
[7] http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/meet-pastors-support-donald-trump/story?id=38406350
[8] http://ericmetaxas.com/media/articles/eric-metaxas-bonhoeffer-brexit-backing-trump/
[9] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jerry-falwell-jr-dream-president-trump_us_5906950fe4b05c3976807a08
[10] https://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2016/07/28/why-voting-for-donald-trump-is-a-morally-good-choice-n2199564
[11] http://ericmetaxas.com/media/articles/wall-street-journal-promise-president-trump-eric-metaxas/
[12] http://ericmetaxas.com/media/articles/atlantic-evangelical-christian-defends-trumps-first-week-office/
[13] Karl Barth, Epistle to the Philippians, trans. James W. Leitch (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 55.
[14] Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians, Vol. 43 of Word Biblical Commentary, eds. David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Waco: Word Books, 1983), 182.
[15] Kierkegaard, Attack upon 'Christendom', trans. Walter Lowrie (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968), 177.
[16] Karl Barth, "The Christian Community and the Civil Community," in Community, State, and Church: Three Essays (Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004), 166.
[17] Quoted in Timothy, J. Gorringe, Karl Barth Against Hegemony: Christian Theology in Context (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 130.
[18] https://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2016/10/19/if-you-dont-like-either-candidate-then-vote-for-trumps-policies-n2234187

My Email to Regent University's Executive Leadership

Good morning,

I am an alumni of the Regent University College of Arts & Sciences. I am emailing Regent's executive leadership concerning the Trump rally that was held at the university last Saturday.

I am extremely disappointed in the University for failing to raise a voice of dissent against such a man as Donald Trump. In the news article accompanying the rally, the event is said to have been from a "desire to expose Regent students to a variety of thought-leaders within the political process." I understand the logic but ultimately think it falls apart.

First of all, a campaign rally 2 weeks before an election is not an exercise in exposing students to political thought and leadership. You gave Donald Trump a platform on which he could rally for support in the home stretch of his presidential run.

Secondly, you gave Donald Trump a platform. Donald Trump, who is play-acting as Christian in order to manipulate evangelicals to vote for him. Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual assault by over a dozen women. Donald Trump, who has continually been vulgar and childish, and has again and again advocated dangerous ideas, like the use of war crimes and extreme discrimination.

Regent inspires to raise up “Christian leaders to change the world." You do not change the world for the better by supporting a tyrannical, self-interested fraud. You do not change the world for the better by supporting a sexual predator. You do not change the world for the better by supporting a man who spits at what is godly and despises what is Christ-like.

Humility. Service. Compassion. Love. Self-sacrifice. These are the characteristics of Christ. Trump has clearly demonstrated that he doesn’t care about them at all. How can you possibly give a platform to such a man?

Even worse, you let vendors sell horrifying merchandise on the Regent campus--shirts that say "Trump that b*itch!", shirts that depict Trump urinating on Hillary's name, posters of targets over Hillary's face that say "Killary Rotten Clinton." That you can be a Christian university and give opportunity to this kind of hate culture is absolutely astonishing to me.

I am incredibly disappointed in my alma mater. The world is watching, and instead of raising up a prophetic Christian voice, you gave a demagogue a platform. I can only hope that there were students and faculty and staff who protested. If there weren't, then I can be sure that there was no Christian voice heard at Regent on Saturday, October 22, 2016.

Blessed are the Persecuted: Responding to Skeptics

After posting the previous blog (here), I received the same objection from several people. Thus, I would like to respond to it formally.

I stated that if it really came down to persecution of Christians or persecution of homosexuals, it would be the most Christ-like response for we Christians to choose our own.

The main objection I got goes something like this:

By standing against homosexuality, we are not persecuting them, but are rather declaring God’s truth, that they are sinning. Furthermore, we must be the responsible citizens who are going to stand up and fight for truth. It has nothing to do with persecution.

(If I could state it better, let me know and I’ll alter my wording)

You may not think it is persecution, but it is persecution in the eyes of homosexuals and of millions of others.

Sure, you could say that we are supposed to present the truth and they can call it what they like, but you’d be missing the point of ministry, and missing the point of God’s truth.

Would a good minister disregard how he/she comes across to those he/she is ministering to?

Paul knew the importance of presenting the Gospel in a way in which his audience could understand and appreciate (Acts 17:16–34).

Furthermore, Christ came to save sinners with his love, not to condemn them into following him.

I was watching a documentary about homosexuality and the church, and in it there was a real story of a Christian mother who found out her daughter was a lesbian. The mother was devastated and told the daughter that, though she would never stop loving her, she could never accept that and would always hate it about her (like “love the sinner, hate the sin”). This mother, in her eyes, was just telling her daughter God’s truth.

A few months later, her daughter committed suicide.
When I got to that part of the story, I couldn't help but cry. And I know Jesus also cried.

We have to learn how to better minister to homosexuals. We have to learn that the way so many Christians adamantly stand against homosexuality makes homosexuals feel persecuted.

When we put up our signs that say “Homosexuality is an abomination,” we are, in their eyes, persecuting them. Doing this will not only cause many to reject God completely, but it can and does make people feel horrible.

This is not at all what Christ looked like.

Not only did Jesus dine with sinners, but they were drawn to him! There was something about him they wanted to pursue.

This drove the Pharisees crazy, because they sought to be moral guardians. They were the ones standing against others because of their sin.

Christ knew how ineffective and unloving this was. Christ was someone who stood with sinners, not against them. 

Furthermore, Paul said, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside of the Church?” (1 Cor. 5:12).

If it isn’t our business to judge the sins of those who are outside the Church, why are we making it our business?

Christianity shouldn't inspire someone to commit suicide.
Christianity should be marked by a salvific, transforming love that inspires people to become disciples of the beautiful Christ.
For that to happen, we need to get rid of our moral guardian mindsets and stop making it our business to judge the sins of others.

Our job is to love sinners like Christ, and love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, not self-seeking, not easily angered.
Love does not delight in evil, and nor does love keep a record of sins.
Rather, Love rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres; and it never fails.

We should be focusing more on practicing these qualities towards sinners than trying to make their sins illegal (especially if we’re not willing to make our own sins illegal).

Blessed are the Persecuted: A brief note on Christians and Gay Marriage

"God will judge us not on how much we endured, but on how much we could love"

- Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured for Christ

A large number of Conservative Christians today believe that if gay marriage is legalized, it will be the beginning of the end of Christian liberty.
It will lead to persecution of Christians, including the prohibition of saying that homosexuality is a sin.
Though I doubt that it will be anywhere near that drastic, let’s say they’re correct and it will be.

If I had to choose between being persecuted as a Christian, or finding out about another homosexual committing suicide because of persecution, I would choose my own persecution!

If it really came down to our persecution or theirs, it would be the most Christ-like response to choose ours.

Though Christ was equal to God in nature, he emptied himself completely, made himself nothing, became a human servant, and then became obedient to death. And for this he was exalted. (Phil. 2:6-11)

We should seek to be like Christ (v.5).
We should be self-emptying, self-sacrificing, and other-focused.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition” (v.3). The Greek word for ‘selfish ambition’ denotes one who demands his own rights.
“Let your benevolence be evident to all!” (4:5). The Greek word for ‘benevolence’ denotes one who does not care about his own rights.

Rather than demanding our own rights, we should forget about ourselves and focus on the rights and interests and needs of others (2:3-4).
In our lives, we should look like Christ dying on the cross to transform people with infinite, salvific love.
Even if that means sacrificing our religious liberty and accepting persecution!

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when people persecute you and insult you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you on account of me.
Rejoice and be glad! Your reward in Heaven is great, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” - Matt. 5:10-12

The End of America as We Know It?

Obama's presidency is not the end of America as we know it.
In four years two other candidates will run for president just like all the other elections.
Sure, we'll see changes; perhaps even drastic changes. But Obama can only do so much; he can't take from us Jesus Christ.
Side note: Obama is not against religious liberty. If you're believing that, then you should probably do some re-evaluating.
But even if he was, would there be reason to fear? I suppose by the world's standards there would be; but we Christians do no live by the world's standards, do we?
We are citizens of another kingdom; followers of a different leader.
This government is not our hope. Romney was not America's hope. And America is not the world's hope.
Christ is the one and only hope for all of humanity, and he isn't bound to a president.
Don't spend your time fretting and complaining. Your God is bigger than Obama!
Don't spend your time predicting the doom of America. You have no idea what God can accomplish!
Don't spend your time ranting and raving. Would Christ?
Would Christ fear, complain, rant and rave about who is president?
What would he do?
What did he do?
His work was in the transforming of the world from the inside out, not from the outside in.
The world tries to change things from the outside in. Romney would have tried to, and Obama is going to try to. But that's not the way Christ does things.
He is in the business of transforming people with his powerful love.
Instead of fearing and weeping about who is president, you should, as Ghandi said, be the change you want to see in this world!
Instead of jumping to extremes like "I'm moving to Australia," go out and make a difference with the love of Christ!
Instead of complaining, pray for Obama. Don't pray in anger. Don't pray selfishly. But pray that he would see God and that God would become an influence in his decision-making. Is it not possible?!
Pray that God will invade the White House, and that all those who would listen to him will, and will be empowered to make a difference, not for the Republican party, but for God's will.
Pray for this country. Pray that God will make you a tool for the beautiful transformation he desires in America.
Pray for your attitude toward the president and toward the country. Pray that you will be the salt of the earth, the light of the world; that you would not lose your flavor nor hide your light under a basket, but that you would enrich the world and give light to all who see you; that by witnessing your good works they would glorify the Father in Heaven.
Pray that you would be a glimpse of Christ to all who see you. Pray that God would transform you into the kind of American that he wants you to be.
And TRUST GOD.
If everything the extreme conservatives are saying is true, would that mean that God is no longer sovereign?
Can God not take care of you?
I'm almost glad that Obama was re-elected. This will give Christians another chance to fully trust God and focus more on him than on the government.

Remember in these days to trust God, be the salt and light of the world, be like Christ, be transformed, and pray for Obama and for the country.

God Bless.

Scripture passages for reflection:

"Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save"- Ps. 146:3

"Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him." - II Timothy 2:3-4

"our citizenship is in heaven" - Philippians 3:20

 "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." - John 18:36

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities . . . Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. . . . clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." - Romans 13:1, 7-8, 14

"Abide in me . . . If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love . . . This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." - John 15:4, 10, 12

Christianity, Politics, and King Josiah's Reform

In ancient Israel, King Josiah initiated his famous religious reform as the collapse of Assyria assured freedom for Judah. Around this time, in 622 B.C.E., the temple law book was found. The finding of the law book gave direction to the King's reform. C. Hassell Bullock observes that the "early years of religious reform were marked by renewed hope for Judah, and the discovery of the scroll of the law in 622/21 reinforced and abetted the renewal."(1) This reform did a lot of good for Judah, but, as John Bright observes, it "produced no profound change in the national character."(2)

The prophet Jeremiah accepted his prophetic call the same year the temple law book was found. It is not clear what exactly Jeremiah thought about the reform, but the best explanation I have found is from Bright. He concludes that, though he did not participate in the reform, Jeremiah was in favor of it. However, Jeremiah did not formulate his opinion concerning the spiritual state of Israel merely on the fact that an official reform initiated by the king was taking place. Indeed, that would never satisfy Jeremiah. He would only be satisfied by “a sincere and heartfelt repentance, an inner change in the national character, a wholesale turning on the part of the people to loyal obedience to Yahweh—and this the reform did not produce.”(3)

King Josiah's reform was a good thing, but the people of Israel needed more than a legislative reform. They had sin written on their hearts (Jer. 17:1). No law of man could change that. The reform they needed could only be initiated by God. They needed Him to heal their incurable wound (30:17) and create in them new hearts with His law written inside (31:33).

So many Christians today want King Josiah's reform more than the reform of which the prophets spoke.

Our nation needs more than legislature imposing Christian moral values on all people. Our nation needs more than a law that says homosexuals cannot get married. Our nation needs more than a monument of the Ten Commandments in every school in the country.

The people in our nation need a thorough reform of the soul. They need God to change them from the inside out. They need the gospel. They need the love of Christ to be expressed to them in the deepest way.

Christians today are too busy fighting for moral laws, getting offended by what people do and say, and kicking & screaming every time people make a move away from Christianity.

Why do people move away from Christianity?
Intolerance? Narrow-mindedness? Hypocrisy? Rejection? A lack of love?

Surely none of them would leave because of an exposure to too much love!

Even if Christians could claim power over our nation and establish moral laws that line up with Christianity, would it even be a good idea?
Can you give me a situation in church history when it was a good idea?

How about Calvin's Geneva? Under Calvin, the city council decided that Servetus deserved to die for denying the doctrine of the trinity.
How about Zwingli? He and the city council sentenced thousands upon thousands of Anabaptists to death by drowning simply because they believed that infant baptism isn't biblical.
How about the Roman Catholic Church? Need I say more about it?

Maybe power isn't what Christianity should be fighting for.

Instead of asking how we can help put Christianity in power, maybe we should ask how we can love people.
We need to change this nation from the inside out, not from the outside in with laws establishing our Christian values.
In our country, we should look like Jesus dying on the cross to transform lives.
We should not look like a bunch of angry citizens fighting to "re-establish" a "Christian nation".

The Greek word used for ministry is διακονίᾳ (diakonia) and it means “waiting a table.” It also carries the meaning, “‘discharge of service’ in genuine love”—service being “all significant activity for the edification of the community."(4) Christ is the bread of life (Jn. 6:35) and the Word of God (1:1). Ministry is the act of serving the Word of God to the world. We are to be waiters and waitresses serving the bread of life to our tables—our communities. How do we do that? LOVE  
The world will know we are Christians by our love! (John 13:35)

Notes:

(1) C. Hassell Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 192. 

(2) John Bright, Jeremiah (Garden City: Doubleday, 1965), XXVII

(3) Ibid., XCIV.

(4) Herman W. Beyer, “διακονία,” in Vol. 2 of TDNT, ed. Gerhard Kittel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Pub Co, 1964), 87–88.