I don’t pretend to have all the answers, especially on such a touchy topic of defining what it means to be a Christian.
I think there are a range of answers to this question.
But I also think there are some basic tenants that go into defining what it means to be a Christian.
Like this: Being a Christian means that one has identified themself as a follower of Jesus Christ. Even that might be a bit tricky since we need to define what it means to be a follower. In this sense, a follower is someone who is committed to a way of life and teachings of someone else. They aren’t just a fan or have an interest in something, but have actually committed time, energy, and other resources towards the person or cause they are claiming to follow.
So, if this is true (And that’s debatable), then what would it mean to be a Christian?
I would say that it would be someone who does their best to follow the teachings and commands of Jesus. Like the Sermon on the Mount. Like the end of Matthew 28 which calls on Christians to go and make disciples and baptize. Like John 6 which calls on Christians to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Like Matthew 25 which implores us to take care of those less fortunate like the hungry. And many more examples throughout the bible. Like Luke 9 in which Jesus calls on us to pick up our cross and follow him.
I don’t see how Christianity means to dedicate oneself to the path of domination and acquisition of power. I don’t see how Christianity means advancing a partisan political party, leader, or cause. I don’t see how Christianity is about lining up your faith beliefs with that of your political convictions and finding they match up perfectly. But I could certainly be wrong. I welcome people showing me how Christianity is actually about this – show me where Jesus talks about this. Show me how Jesus wanted to advance the Empire in order to advance God’s kingdom. I welcome those references. I’m not going to hold my breath waiting though for those references.
Roger and I feel blessed to have known and been advised by a lawyer turned politician, Steve Bloom, Rep for 199th District. He is embodied by the Holy Spirit which guides him daily in his work in the House…… very unusual, I admit, which is why we feel blessed to know and support him. He is going to run for U S House of Reps…. very lucky for all of us.
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“I don’t see how Christianity means to dedicate oneself to the path of domination and acquisition of power. I don’t see how Christianity means advancing a partisan political party, leader, or cause. I don’t see how Christianity is about lining up your faith beliefs with that of your political convictions and finding they match up perfectly. But I could certainly be wrong.”
Matthew, I certainly don’t think you are wrong. The trend you describe makes no sense as a form of following Jesus. In fact, the good news of the kingdom Jesus shared with us shows that the kingdom of God can never be totally comfortable with secular government as their objectives are always in conflict to some extent. The kingdom of God is always a subversive force to governments. ‘Jesus is Lord, and Caesar is not.’
However, our current blending of Christianity and politics does have a source–dominionism. I am sure you are familiar with Rushdooney who promoted dominionism in the 1970s. He was successful; it is working. And Jesus is being ignored as a result.
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I am not familiar with Rushdooney, but I am familiar with the history of the 1970’s. He may have been successful in dominionism, but success in that realm isn’t success in the kingdom of God, as you know. Thanks for pointing me to this info. Blessings.
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I misspelled his name; it is Rushdoony. And his views are more properly called Christian Reconstructionism. His influence on current conservative evangelicals is vast.
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No worries. I’ll look him up. I’m sure it will be quite interesting.
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I just read a bit about him. He’s full of contradictions. And I’m not talking in a saint and sinner Martin Luther kind of way either. How can he claim to be a Christian libertarian and yet want to impose Old Testament law through state sanction? That’s completely opposite in thought?
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The unimaginable, crazy thing is how he (and his followers) were able to infect the Evangelical movement to such a large extent with his extreme ideas.
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That’s typically my reaction when I read things about the Rapture theology.
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