The Myth of a Christian Religion Read online

  RETURNING TO THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS

  Jesus was born in politically hot times. The Jews of his day were deeply divided over, among other issues, how they should respond to the oppressive Roman government that ruled them. Time after time people tried to get Jesus to weigh in on one side or the other. But Jesus always refused.

  For instance, when one man tried to get Jesus to side with him on what he thought was an unjust inheritance law, Jesus basically said, “Who made me your lawyer?” When the crowd tried to elicit Jesus’ opinion on the divisive issue of taxes, Jesus in essence said, “Why should we who bear the image of God fight over what to do with coins that bear the image of Caesar? The only thing we should worry about is giving God everything that bears his image—namely, our whole self.” 2

  Jesus refused to let the Kingdom he came to establish get fused with the political squabbles of his day. He never so much as commented on the pagan political leadership of his day, despite the fact that they often acted in cruel and perverse ways. Not only this, but Jesus invited both Simon, a zealot, and Matthew, a tax collector, to be his disciples. Though zealots and tax collectors were at opposite ends of the political spectrum, Jesus never mentioned this difference. It shows that even the most extreme political differences between people are rendered inconsequential whenever people be long to the Kingdom Jesus established. For Jesus’ Kingdom, again, is “not of this world.”

  Jesus kept the Kingdom holy by how he lived, and we are called to do the same.

  At the same time, every aspect of Jesus’ life—including his death—confronted some aspect of the polis (Greek for “society”) and was in this sense political. In fact, while Jesus didn’t utter a word about politics, he was a subversive political revolutionary. His life, ministry, teachings, death, and resurrection revolted against every unjust and oppressive aspect of the polis. This is why Jesus was a threat to the religious and political authorities—and ultimately why they felt they had to crucify him.

  We who have pledged our lives to following Jesus are to be political revolutionaries in this same way. Rather than putting our trust in how we vote every couple years, we’re to follow Jesus’ example and vote with our lives, day in and day out.

  Following Jesus gives us no special wisdom on how to resolve complex political issues—issues that divide the polis. On these matters Christians are on the same footing as others. But if our pledge to follow Christ means anything, it means we have a unique willingness to individually and collectively sacrifice our own time and resources to serve people afflicted by the divisions in our society.

  For example, following Jesus gives us no special wisdom about what the government should do about poverty. Intelligent, caring people can and do disagree on this. But our pledge to follow Jesus must make us willing to sacrificially care for the poor—because this is what Jesus did. Nor does following Jesus give us any special wisdom about when and how government should use violence against those it regards as a threat to its well-being. But our pledge to follow Jesus must make us willing to love and serve those who threaten our well-being rather than use violence against them.

  Jesus followers aren’t to posture themselves as Caesar’s wise advisors, for Jesus never did this. Some claim the Church is supposed to be “the conscience of government,” but there’s absolutely no basis for this claim in the New Testament. Rather, we’re to position ourselves as society’s humble servants, for this is what Jesus did. Our sole responsibility as Kingdom people is to live the way Jesus lived and revolt the way Jesus revolted. Every aspect of our life is to manifest the revolting beauty Jesus manifested.

  If a significant portion of Jesus followers lived like this, the Church might actually become “the conscience of government” in the sense that our contrasting lifestyle would draw attention to the injustices of the state. Our service to the poor would expose government’s lack of concern, and our ability to break cycles of violence by loving enemies would expose the folly of government’s reliance on violence.

  Sadly, the Church has failed so miserably at displaying its unique power to transform society that most Christians today can’t even imagine this happening. The only kind of power they see accomplishing anything is Caesar’s. So instead of working together to do what Jesus did, we often waste time fighting each other over what Caesar should do.

  THE DANGER OF POLITICS

  Does this mean that Jesus followers should never participate in government? Not necessarily.

  Certainly followers of Jesus aren’t to think we have a duty to participate in government. Our one Lord is Jesus Christ and our sole duty is to him and the Kingdom he came to establish. We cannot serve two masters. Our Lord commands us to submit to government, insofar as this is possible, and to pray for our leaders so that peace and justice may reign as much as possible. These are the only “duties” Jesus followers have toward government, and we only have these because God requires them of us, not because we owe government anything.

  Along the same lines, it’s clear from the New Testament that Jesus followers aren’t to place any hope or trust in any government. We might at times approve of a particular person or policy in government, thinking they will be good for society. But we must always remember that Satan “controls the entire world” (1 John 5:19) and owns the authority of all governments (Luke 4:5 – 7)—including the ones we approve of. And we must always remember that governments and militaries are “less than nothing” to our sovereign God (Isaiah 40:15, 17) and are all destined to pass away when the loving reign of God is fully established on earth.

  Having said this, I cannot concur with those who go further and argue that we have a duty not to participate in government. Paul didn’t hesitate to humbly speak to political authorities and take full advantage of his rights as a Roman citizen when it made sense to do so (Acts 21:37 – 39; 22:25 – 30). He obviously wasn’t expressing any trust in the Roman government to bring about the Kingdom. Nor was he trying to fix the governmental system of his day. But he was taking advantage of some say-so that he had as a Roman citizen. In democratic societies we get asked our opinion of how the society should be run, and I see no reason why one can’t give it, if they feel called to do so. 3

  In fact, while most political issues are ambiguous enough for decent and intelligent people to disagree about, there are exceptional circumstances that arise from time to time that require all decent people—and therefore Kingdom people—to confront unambiguous evil by all means possible, including affecting the political process. One thinks, for example, of the rise of Nazism in Germany, of apartheid in America and South Africa, and of the ongoing child-sex slave trade in eastern Asia and elsewhere. To refrain from using every means available to confront unambiguous evil on the grounds that there is no precedent for it in the ministry of Jesus is pedantic and against the spirit of the New Testament.

  Yet even with unambiguous situations such as these, followers of Jesus need to take great care to preserve their distinctive Kingdom perspective and lifestyle. We must always be on guard against the seductive lure of the “power-over” regime—and we must never compromise our call to love our enemies.

  Whatever limited good we can accomplish by political means, we must remember that the hope of the world doesn’t reside here. It resides in God using surrendered people to usher in his Kingdom through self-sacrificial acts of love. Our focus must not be on resolving political conflicts but on individually and collectively looking like Jesus. Our sole confidence must be in God who uses the foolishness of our self-sacrificial love to bring about his Kingdom—which, let us never forget, is “not of this world.”

  THE REIGN OF THE POWERS

  The Kingdom is “not of this world,” and neither is its warfare. Jews had always believed that God confronted spiritual opposition in carrying out his will on earth. In the Old Testament these evil forces were usually depicted as cosmic monsters and hostile waters that threatened the earth. 4 For a variety of reasons this belief in spiritual warfare intensified si
gnificantly in the two centuries leading up to Christ. Many Jews came to believe the earth was largely under the control of evil forces. Many also believed that in the near future God was going to bring this demonic oppression to an end by breaking into world history, freeing Israel, and liberating creation. This intensified understanding of evil and this new view of history is commonly referred to as the “apocalyptic” worldview. 5

  There’s no question that Jesus and the revolution he inaugurated were steeped in this apocalyptic worldview. This is evident throughout the New Testament. The unprecedented authority ascribed to Satan, the frequent depictions of illnesses and deformities as demonically caused, and the general characterization of this present epoch as evil and as approaching its end all reflect this worldview. 6

  Most important for our purposes, however, is the way the New Testament reflects an apocalyptic worldview in speaking about evil. We find references to Satan, rulers, principalities, powers, and authorities, along with dominions, cosmic powers, thrones, spiritual forces, elemental spirits of the universe, gods, and a number of other spiritual entities. For the sake of brevity I’ll refer to this entire realm of cosmic forces simply as “the Powers.” 7

  Understanding this dimension of the apocalyptic worldview considerably deepens our understanding of the revolution Jesus inaugurated, for it means that Jesus’ radically countercultural ministry wasn’t first and foremost a form of social and political protest, though it certainly was that. It was, rather, most fundamentally a form of spiritual warfare.

  If understood in its original apocalyptic context, it’s apparent that Jesus’ deliverance ministry wasn’t the only way Jesus confronted evil. Every aspect of the Kingdom of God Jesus manifested revolted against a corresponding aspect of the kingdom of the Powers. In Jesus, and in the movement he came to establish, the long expected apocalyptic battle between God and the Powers was—and still is—being waged.

  When Jesus revolted against the oppressive religion of his day, for example, he was engaging in warfare against the Powers that use religion to oppress people. So too, when Jesus refused to live in accordance with his culture’s assumptions, laws, and social taboos regarding nationalism, race, gender, class, and wealth, he wasn’t just waging a social protest; he was engaging in warfare against the Powers that oppress people by empowering these things.

  Paul reflects this point when he informs us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” From a Kingdom perspective, if it’s got “flesh and blood”—if it’s human—it’s not our enemy. To the contrary, if it’s got “flesh and blood” it’s someone we’re commanded to love and thus someone we’re to be fighting for—even if they regard us as their enemy.

  We may profoundly disagree with their political, ethical, and religious views. We may find their lifestyle disgusting. They may in fact be criminals that need to be locked up behind bars. They may threaten us and our nation. Still, from a Kingdom perspective, our struggle is never against other humans. Our struggle is rather for them and against the evil that works to oppress both them and us.

  The primary way we wage war on behalf of others, including our enemies, is by imitating Jesus and refusing to buy into any aspect of the Powers’ oppressive regime—including the universal tendency to make other people our enemies. Whereas earthly wars are fought with pride, strength, and violence, the Kingdom war is fought in humility, weakness, and love. Any aspect of our own life, our society, or our global community that is under the Powers’ influence and is inconsistent with the loving reign of God as revealed in Jesus is something that we are called to revolt against.

  BEING THE KINGDOM

  Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Though Gandhi didn’t consider himself a Christian, he was here advocating a profound Kingdom truth.

  Often people want to change the world before they themselves are changed. It never works. In fact, I’d argue that nothing damages the world more than damaged people constantly trying to fix it. The best thing anyone can do for the world is to follow Gandhi’s advice and simply be the change they want to see in the world.

  Our job as Kingdom people is not to fix government, society, and the world. Our job is not to position ourselves as Caesar’s wise and morally superior advisors. Our job is not to come up with the smartest, most practical, most caring solutions to the world’s problems. As individuals and as a tribe, our job is simply to be the Kingdom. Our job is simply to be the change God wants to see in the world. Our job is simply to be faithful, however impractical and irresponsible this may look to people who put all their trust in the power-over efficiency of laws, policies, technology, bombs, and bullets.

  This is our call. This is our identity. And this is our warfare. To live faithful to the reign of God is to live in revolt against everything that is inconsistent with this reign. To be conformed to the will of God is to revolt against the Powers’ pull to conform to their ways.

  This is the revolution of beautiful servant-love Christ unleashed into the world.

  In the chapters that follow we will explore twelve beautiful aspects of Jesus’ life that represent the heart of this revolution and that revolt against twelve ugly aspects of the world under the oppression of the Powers.

  Viva la revolution!

  CHAPTER 3

  THE REVOLT

  AGAINST IDOLATRY

  Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

  1 JOHN 5:21

  Everybody’s got a hungry heart…

  BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

  CONFESSIONS OF A BEWILDERED DEMON CHILD

  I wasn’t the best kid growing up. Actually, I was pretty terrible. I suspect I had what they today would label a “behavioral disorder.” I have a pretty good alibi though. Really. My mom died of leukemia when I was two, and, I’m told, I never seemed to get over it. After my mom died, my dad often traveled for weeks at a time, leaving my grandmother to raise me and my siblings while he was gone. I was hyperactive. She was old and cranky. It didn’t go well.

  In first grade my dad and stepmother sent me to a very strict Catholic school, which only seemed to make things worse. Back then nuns didn’t use fancy words like “behavioral disorder” or “hyperactive.” Kids like me were just plain possessed, and the nuns had ways of kicking the demon out of you. At that time nuns could still use “corporeal punishment” (translation: “beat the crap out of you”)—and they did. (I suspect the chronic soreness in my neck and back to this day is at least partly due to being repeatedly whacked on the head with a huge Bible.)

  I would regularly be sent to the Mother Superior’s office—the head nun who had the temperament of a starving pit bull and the build of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. She would ask me why I did what I did, and I would always mutter back, “I don’t know.” This only made her more angry, but I was telling the truth. I had no clue why I put tacks on teachers’ chairs, pulled girls’ hair, threw spit balls, and made farting noises. Fast forward to eighth grade and I still had no clue why I started a massive food fight during lunch, why I picked fights with tough guys, or why I helped set a science teacher on fire.

  Since then, I’ve come to realize that most don’t really know why they do what they do. They may have great psychological insights into themselves, and these may all be accurate. But I don’t think most people have any more idea than I did as to what drives them at the core of their being.

  THE HUNGRY HEART

  To begin to get at what drives us at the core of our being, see if you can discern what all the following behaviors have in common.

  • A couple with two kids purchases a bigger and more luxurious house than they need, even though it means they’ll both have to work more and see each other and the kids less.

  • A Hindu woman prays to a shrine of Vishnu three times a day.

  • Despite failing health, one of the world
’s 950 or so billionaires continues to work fifteen or more hours a day and rarely takes vacations.

  • A middle-aged man leaves his wife of twenty years to move in with a woman half his age. He also starts smoking cigarettes and driving a Harley.

  • A perfectly normal-looking middle-aged woman spends a year’s salary on breast implants, a face lift, a tummy-tuck, and thigh reductions. She then becomes unsatisfied with the size of her lips and nose.

  • A “Christian” group carries signs like “God hates fags” as they picket the military burial of a gay Marine.

  • Despite having a sexually transmitted disease, a young woman compulsively engages in sexual intercourse with virtual strangers on a regular basis.

  • One teen stabs another at school in retaliation for being publicly insulted.

  • A pastor habitually gossips about others.

  • A husband and father puts his family in financial distress by continuing to pursue his gambling addiction behind their backs.

  • An eighth grader splashes a flammable liquid on a science teacher, knowing full well his friend has matches and is crazy enough to use them in just such a situation.

  Do you see the common denominator?

  While there’s always a multitude of psychological and social reasons why people do what they do, I submit that there’s one driving motivation shared by all these people.