Faith After Christendom

I feel like I've been a bit more candid on this blog lately, causing me to dig into the Bible a bit, as well as my unorthodox theology and political views. I guess the gloves are off, but I think I'll try to be a bit more discreet today... That being said, let's talk about Christendom.

A few months ago I had a long conversation with a friend who tried to persuade me that Christendom, and particularly Constantine and the U.S., was and is the greatest thing that has ever happened since Jesus, and because it was/has been allowed to last so long, it is obviously God's will that it happened.

I don't want to get into the whole issue of what is and isn't God's will (maybe later), but I do want to talk about Christendom. I believe that the most important issue at the heart of this is the differentiation of the old and the new covenant. Most people who talk to me about Christendom speak in Old Testament terms, such as "It is our divine duty to uphold God's moral standards in this nation," or "It is an obligation on our Christian nation to punish those who would violently attack God's people," etc. I think we in the U.S. are lucky that we really aren't God's chosen nation. Israel was God's original chosen people, and he judged them very severely when they disobeyed Him. As the richest country in a world where millions are starving, we should thank our lucky stars, if not our God, that we are not a chosen nation.

The truth is, God is not the God of any particular nation even if every person in that nation claims otherwise. YHWH is not a tribal deity, but the creator and sustainer of all living things. When a nation claims any sort of right to God, creating a Christendom of sorts, it sets itself up as judge. The problem is, Israel committed war as an act of worship in which God directed the people specifically how to act. No nation since has recieved a direct order from God concerning who and how to attack another nation. Instead, we have recieved Christ's direct order to love, judge not, and turn the other cheek. Moreover, he stated that we should not be like the kings of this earth who lord their power over others, but must instead become everybody else's servants. That's much different than the Christendom model.

I guess what I am trying to say is that every nation that has claimed to be "under God" has stood directly against everything God really stand for. When a person commits a terrible act and then thanks God for His help, this isn't a righteous act but a self-righteous act.

A God-fearing nation in the post-resurrection world would choose to cancel the debts of poor nations, donate medicine to those who need it, and have only the neccessary army to defend those who cannot defend themselves.

Christendom was and is a joke. It is like the baptism of a turd. Think about that...

Peace,
Matt

Currently Reading: The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton.