Monday, November 17, 2014

The American Dream, Christianity, and the Promise Land

Christians have a bad reputation.

More often than not, Christians, especially conservative Evangelical Christians, are viewed as narrow-minded, mean-spirited, angry and defensive holier-than-thou types, whose political power must be curbed in order to prevent the imposition of a Christian agenda upon everyone else.  On the other hand, Christians are also readily dismissed as naïve and out of touch, and therefore as irrelevant and insignificant in terms of today’s real world issues.  Why is this?

Perhaps we Christians are much to blame for our bad reputation.  If so, where did we go wrong?

Might it be because we have confused the American Dream with the Biblical “Promise Land,” as if we Americans are the real Chosen People of God and North America is the actual Promised Land?

From its inception America has seen itself as a kind of Biblical Promise Land, a sweet place of plenty brimming with milk and honey, a land of prosperity and happiness.   We are even constitutionally “guaranteed” that America is the place where we can freely pursue happiness.

And, until fairly recently, America has seen itself as a “Christian” nation, unapologetically embracing a Judeo-Christian heritage and ethos.  For many this is changing, indeed already has changed.   As a collective people, we can no longer assume a Judeo-Christian ethos or heritage or set of values for all Americans.  Some might argue that this was never the case anyway.  If so, it is now more so, than at any other time in our history.

And here’s where it gets ugly.  Seeing the weakening of Christian power, the dilution of Christian influence, and the retreat of assumed rights and privileges for the Christian faith, Christians have responded with a declaration of war: We are to fight against heathenish secularism, battle against humanistic paganism, and give a call to arms against heretical religious pluralism!  This is in line with the spirit of the Old Testament when God’s chosen were led into the Promise Land and were told to take it over with a call to arms.

How should a foreign people live in a foreign land?  What rights and privileges do a foreign people have in a land that is not theirs?  What kind of power and influence should a foreign people have while living under foreign rule?  This is what American Christians need to ask themselves—if, that is, they are to take their own faith and theology seriously.  “MY Kingdom is NOT of this world,” says Christianity’s Lord and King, Jesus the Messiah—the Anointed One of God.

Peter writes to fellow Believers saying, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world…” (my emphasis).   He calls us “aliens and strangers” or as other translations put it, “aliens and exiles,” or “temporary residents and foreigners.”  We are not at home.  This is not our homeland; for we are a people on The Way to a greater homeland, the Kingdom of God.  That being said, it requires us to have a very different kind of attitude and response toward the people of this earthly land with whom we live, while we are passing through.

Proactively embracing our sojourner status, are we ready to deal with the fact that this present land, along with its government and the value system by which it is ruled, is a foreign rule to us who have given our allegiance to Christ and His Kingdom?

If so, we need to be more interested in inviting the natives of this earthly land, as we once were ourselves, to join us in our journey to the real Promise Land, than in trying to get them to run the place as if it were already Heaven’s land.  That being the case, we also then need to refuse to take up arms against our hosts, those in power, and rather seek and pray for their welfare, peace, and salvation: “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7).

In short we need a completely different attitude and a different premise from which to address our new situation.  America is not a Christian nation.  And Christianity is losing the privileged status it once had in America.  Traditional Judea-Christian principles and values are no longer the guiding norms for many of this nation’s people.

That may be bad for America but good for Christianity within America, meaning that Christianity in American can get back to Kingdom work, Kingdom witness, and Kingdom living and journeying.  That is, there is much good and much love, and grace, and peace that we Christians can still bring to this nation.

But first we must re-embrace our sojourner status and Christ’s call for us to be a light to the world and the salt of the earth.  We must see ourselves as strangers and aliens living in a foreign land whose allegiance is to a greater Kingdom and a greater ruler—a people of love, grace, and mercy, a people of loving kindness, gentleness, goodness, peace, patience, and integrity, nothing more and nothing less.

In short, we don’t own the place.  And so, we should not be interested in controlling the place.  We are simply passing through.  For, we are heading to a better place.  What we do need to be concerned about is being a loving and redeeming presence while we are passing through, and hopefully we can bring along as many with us as we possibly can as we approach the true Promise Land.

No comments:

Post a Comment