I'm not afraid, should I be?

 

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,

    an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

In the Empire Strikes Back, young Luke Skywalker is trying to convince the Jedi Master Yoda to train him, a task that Yoda deems both too late and unwise due to Luke's rashness.  Luke tries to change his mind by claiming, "I won't fail you, I'm not afraid."  After a nice long dramatic pause, Yoda replies, "You will be...You...will...be."

Here's the thing, I'm against 'Christian' Nationalism and embracing strongmen/autocrats to solve our nation's problems, not because I'm naïve like Luke, but because I'm sober-minded enough, and grounded in history and theology enough, to know better.

I will never embrace solving America's problems by abandoning the democratic process in favor of a 'savior', not because I don't love America as much as those advocating such a drastic move (see for example: Eric Metaxas and Rod Dreher), but because I know human history.

Autocracy has never saved a democracy.  

Power always corrupts, the greater the power the greater the corruption, do you really think that one person wielding the power of the American military and economy without checks and balances, without elections and judicial review, would be a force for good in the world?  We've seen how much evil has been done with the power Xi Jinping wields in China, do you think an American strongman would be any different?  Only a fool would think this plan disconnected from both human nature and world history is anything but a national suicide pact.

Immorality has never helped the Church

I will never embrace 'helping' the Church by utilizing evil as a tool, not because I don't love the Church as much as those advocating such a Faustian bargain, but because I know the nature of God.

Many of those not quite willing to abandon our democratic rights have nevertheless been convinced, or have chosen to convince themselves, that the 'greater good' and the urgency of the moment demands that we abandon the luxuries of Truth, Honor, Integrity, Kindness, Mercy, and the like in favor of Realpolitik, 'might makes right', and 'win at all cost' means and measures.  Only a fool would think this plan disconnected from both the nature of Evil and the Holiness of God is anything but an act of faithless rebellion.  Evil is never the path chosen by God for you or for us.  Choosing evil to confront threats to the Church instead of righteousness is not realistic, it is cowardly, it is faithless.

I'm not afraid of the present, there's nothing new under the sun.

I'm not afraid of what comes next, God is always in control, my faith rests in him.

I'm not afraid of the future, God's final victory is assured.

The Early Church was a tiny minority living in a hostile pagan Empire that would soon be torturing and murdering the disciples of Jesus.  And yet, the Apostle Paul never even hinted at trying to overcome evil with evil, in fact he specifically rejected it {Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.}.  If the disciples of Jesus, who watched their Lord be brutally murdered at the hands of evil men, and the early generations of his followers, who faced the mightiest Empire the world had ever known, were told to not lost heart, to not compromise their character, but to serve and sacrifice with righteousness and love, what on earth makes 21st century American Christians so important that our fears, real or imagined, allow us to not follow in their footsteps?

Yoda also said something else that is appropriate here, "Fear is the path to the Dark Side."

I'm not afraid, my God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, why should you be?

See Also: The downward spiral of Bonhoeffer biographer Eric Metaxas

The Bible doesn't mandate that Christians support Democracy, BUT preventing the Evil that Autocracy would unleash in America does

The Watchman Decree: 'Christian' Nationalism's 'name it and claim it' dangerous prayer

Sermon Video: The insanity of: "Let us do evil that good may result" Romans 3:5-8

Sermon Video: "we are those who have died to sin" - Romans 5:20-6:7

Having explained that we have died with Christ, and been raised together with him to new life, the Apostle Paul explores how we then should live now.  The first question is: Should we go on sinning?  To which he answers, "By no means!"  Why not?  Because we have "died to sin", it no longer has the mastery over us.  With the Holy Spirit's power, we can have victory over sin.  It won't be totally removed in this life, but that 'old self' is gone and buried.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #22: Luke 4:5-8

Luke 4:5-8     New International Version

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”

How many Lord of the Rings references have I made over the years?  Too many to count, and with that in mind, here's one more:

Toward the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo offers the Ring of Power to Galadriel, and elven Lord who has taken a leading part in the war against evil (first Morgoth, now Sauron) for thousands of years.  What will she do if given the chance to end the fight, to take in her own hand sufficient power to put aside all doubt and fear that Evil might triumph over Good?

 “And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!”

She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illuminated her alone and left all else dark. She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad.

“I pass the test”, she said. “I will diminish, and go into the West and remain Galadriel.”

Galadriel passed the test.  She chose to reject the power of domination and subjugation in favor of trusting in the hope that Frodo can somehow destroy the Ring, "a fool's hope" as Gandalf describes it, but better than the folly of embracing evil to fight evil.

Jesus, of course, does the same thing.  He resists the easy path, the one without sacrifice, the one that has a deal-breaker of a caveat (worshiping the Devil), choosing instead to continue on the pre-ordained path of the Suffering Servant until the brutal end. 

How then does this apply to 'Christian' Nationalism?  A straightforward application, indeed.  'Christian' Nationalism's premise is that it can serve the purpose of God by dominating the kingdoms of this world, to do so it chooses to utilize the tools and methods of this world, crushing and subjugating all opposition, and somehow in the end hoping to create a nation that honors God.  It would be laughable if it were not so deadly dangerous.  It won't work, it cannot work.  Galadriel was wise enough to see the folly of trying to overcome evil with evil, Jesus wasn't about to entertain it, let alone try it, so why have so many self-professed Christians today decided that they can get the better out of a deal with the Devil?

Sermon Video: Death and Life, from the one to the many: Adam and Jesus, Romans 5:12-19

Paul compares how death spread from Adam to all of humanity, with all of humanity joining Adam in sin, to how life can spread from Jesus to all who put their trust in him, sharing in his righteousness.

Listen to the Word of God: 62 Scripture passages that refute 'Christian' Nationalism - #21: Mark 8:36

 

Mark 8:36     New International Version

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Hard to go wrong with quoting C.S. Lewis, so here goes:

“Let him begin by treating patriotism…as a part of his religion.  Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part.  Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely a part of the ‘cause’, in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments it can produce…once you have made the world an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing.” (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 1942, letter 7)

The whole world isn't worth a soul, how can America be?

Are you willing to walk away from living like Jesus in order to 'save' America?  Willing to lie, cheat, steal, bully, use violence, accept gross immorality when it comes from 'our team', embrace what-about-isms and hypocrisy, and on and on?

If you are, you're a fool.  

Satan is more than happy to trade your usefulness for the Kingdom of God {which any Christian gives up when they embrace immoral behavior, for whatever reason} for such a comparatively worthless prize.