January 6, 2021 – the date of a failed coup, an insurrection, a large mass of delusional Trumplicans storming the Capitol building in the name of “democracy.”
I have a lot I can say about this, but I also realize I am not knowledgeable of everything. In actuality, I’m largely blissfully ignorant of the workings of the government. I know people are claiming rights are being violated for their voices being silenced on social media platforms (aka private companies, not government entities). But much of what I want to say about any of that has been said in ways much better than I could ever express.
But as a Christian, mostly apolitical observer, I have things to say regarding the “faith” I saw demonstrated at this attack on the Capitol and through the subsequent impeachment hearings.
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The gospel we claim, “saving souls for God,” is shallow and I argue, not the Gospel. Let’s look at the Greek word for gospel – euangelion (εὐαγγέλιον). The word itself means ‘good’ (eu-) and ‘message’ (angelion). In the First Century world, this word would be applied to royal births, a new King/Emperor/Caesar, victories in battle, etc. Good news for the citizens of the realm/kingdom. If the good news is “Jesus came to save your soul!” what is left, then, but a shallow theology in which you can claim Jesus and still act in anyway you want? Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21). it’s not “fire insurance” to save us from hell, but a message of hope for ALL people (Luke 2:10 uses euangelion for “good news”). The Christian tradition of hell started with… *drumroll* Augustine! (We can also thank him partially for our society moving from honor/shame to innocence/guilt.) It’s further perpetuated with the classic literature of Milton and Dante. But that leaves us with the question: What, then, is the Gospel we are supposed to preach?
Jesus is King who defeated the two biggest enemies of humanity from the Garden of Eden (sin and death) and will return victoriously.
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The Bible starts with the creation of the Earth. In Genesis 2-3, we have the story of the Garden and how sin, and consequently death, enter the story, forever plaguing mankind. The Bible ends when Jesus returns (although I think the Left Behind series and the subsequent fanaticism of end times skewed this message a lot) and deals the final blows to the Adversary.
I say this as someone who has been steeped in this culture, and also as someone who has studied and discovered a bigger depth of the gospel than I had ever been taught in church. The American Church largely promotes a gospel that is White Supremacist and Nationalist in nature. Instead of serving others to demonstrate the crazy victory of Jesus and living a life in which sacrifice (see Ro 12:1-2) and serving everyone (cf Mt. 9:35-38), the church has decided that political power is the same as spiritual power. In doing this, we’ve neglected the craziness of the upside-down kingdom in order to do what the world has deemed appropriate, but is against the Kingdom order that Christ presented (Last being first, etc).
I’ve learned the Gospel and subsequently, sin, has a lot to do with the posture in which we honor others and the image of the divine within them. I am not saying that humanity is divine. Here is what I mean. In Genesis 1:26-28, we have what amounts to be the cornerstone of the remainder of the Bible. God creates humanity in His image, male and female. The guys at the Bible Project say this so much better than I can in their podcast series on God’s Family (take some time and listen. It’s good stuff!). Basically, humanity is supposed to represent the Creator to all creation. We are image bearers of God, and like priests, we are to point back to Him. But throughout the Bible and human history, we fail so much. So. very. much. In fact, I’d argue the Bible truly is the story of God wanting to show that His forever, chesed love trying to restore a right relationship with us.
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Back to the Gospel. The Gospel isn’t saying, “Ok, Jesus. I’m sorry. Here’s my heart.” It’s also living in humility in the idea that His love is the reason we exist to glorify Him still. Our lives are to be representative of His chesed/agape love to everyone, but especially to the ones that do not fit into our idea of “us.” The Laws in the OT, the ones we struggle so hard to live by despite that Christ came to fulfill them, speak to how we treat others and how we look to God in worship. It’s also about our heart posture. What I see from the American church is reminiscent of Constantinian Christianity when Constantine had a “come to Jesus” moment, and subsequently, took all the power of the church to further the Roman Empire. When the church is in a place of political power, we lose. We were never to work that way. We were never supposed to be the power players. We’re supposed to be humble, gentle, loving people who consistently point to God as the power behind us to stay in those humble, gentle, loving places with our enemies and the “other.”
Our unity isn’t having a faith that looks identical to the person beside you, but in celebrating all that used to divide us as being a beautiful aspect of God. It goes back to Genesis. He created humanity… ALL humanity… in His image. Throughout the narrative of the Bible, His chosen people mess up, and those outside the Abrahamic covenant sometimes save Israel from destruction as the hero. It has never been us (the church) against the world, but us for the world. When Jesus returns, He’s not destroying the world He created, but bringing it back to it’s former glory, recreating it for us to commune with Him unhindered by sin, death, and the consequences of sin and death. It is going to be multiracial, multiethnic, multinational, and not at all like the Christ of white colonialism missiology. Many people will exalt Him in ways that seem foreign to us, and that’s ok, because God did not create Humanity to be uniform and identical. He did not say “they will know you love me when you act (insert racial identifier here).” He said, “they will know you’re my disciples by your love one for another.”
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This love? it’s supposed to be a love with absolutely zero conditions. It’s not a love that says “you have to pay it forward!” but a love that invites others to join in preparing. It’s a love that invites the songs of the oppressed to become songs of victory. It’s a love that shows the powerful that there is more to life than wealth and power and living above the rest of society. It’s a love that invites action, but does not demand it. It’s a love that says, “I love you.” no conditions, no fine print, no coercion to continue “loving.” We, as humans, can’t do this on our own. We have to depend on God for this love. This love says to those corrupt with power, “you are still loved and made in the image of God.” This love says to the people experiencing homelessness, to those who only know violence, to those who want to see people fail, “I love you. period.” This love is supernatural and a part of the Family of God. This love is a major part of the Gospel message. This love is the invitation.
The gospel is more than Jesus saves. The Gospel is Jesus is King and He will come again, and we get to partner with Him in preparing the earth and all humanity for that return
It’s so much bigger than heaven or hell. That is the good news. That is the Gospel.
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