a different set of politics

Across the world people have recognized Christianity as a religion just like most…desiring peace through force and violence when necessary. Some would think that Christianity has done the same damage of Islamic radicals or any other religion. Violence has been a part of our roots, but I say this in great shame. If we truly hold the shattered mirror up to ourselves in America we may find the image a little more disturbing that most are aware of.

Since Constantine and the Roman Empire Christianity has become more than just a movement with some sold out fishermen, it has become a popular governmental banner. When Constantine began advancing the gospel (I say advancing very loosely) at the expense of the sword the very values and movement that was started by Jesus began to fade and a new movement arose. Shane Claiborne a strong activist and follower of Jesus said in his book Jesus for President, “Christianity is at its best when it is peculiar, marginalized, persecuted, and alienated, and it’s at its worst when it becomes popular, common, commercialized, and government run.” I love this statement because it is so true. Another fascinating concept he talks about in his book is that he (while living in the heart of Philly) is approached all the time about the concern for violence and crime in the inner city. His response is that he would take his chances with the people in the city over the temptations and comfort in suburbia.

Jesus never endorses violence but instead commands his followers to love their enemies, care for those who persecute you, and to turn the other cheek. If this way of life is truly lived out I believe our politics would change as well. The typical idea of protecting the unborn life is common among conservative Christians, but if we truly value life we must realize that there is a world that has been violently pushed into a corner of democracy and duplicating the American government. Innocent lives are killed in Afganistan, Iraq, and all throughout the world at the hand of the iron fisted empire we call “land of the free.” For a Christian to support the wars and bloodshed in the Middle East but yet stand against abortion and advocate protecting the lives of the unborn is a disgrace and an embarrassment to the gospel. The war machine we call the United States military is not so different from the Roman Empire we read about in history books, stories, and the Bible. There are such strong comparisons that even tax dollars are used in such a way as the Roman Empire used to advance their world. Almost 50 percent of our tax dollars go towards the military in America and almost exactly 50 percent of the Roman taxes were used to advance the militaristic Roman Empire. This is just one statistic but yet the principle can be seen if looked at with an open eye. This so-called “great nation” is not founded on the Bible or any true sense of Christianity as Jesus meant, but rather the comfortable, conforming, and violent ideas founded in the Roman Empire. Many of our ideas of government, holidays, calendar, etc. come from Rome and the Caesars whom were known for their consumerist, violent, and self-absorbed society.

So may we no longer compromise under a “Christian nation.” May we truly follow Jesus with our lives that model out the foolish ideas of a carpenter. May we be peacemakers.