It is a
complete and malicious falsehood that somehow the theology of non-violence, the
application of the Sermon on the Mount to ethics, that the separatist form of
Two Kingdom thinking means the Church just goes to sleep and allows the
Hitler's of the world to rise up. I was accused of this again just the other
day and I have to say I find this sort of accusation to be nothing less than
astonishing. Nothing makes me feel like I'm living in some Orwellian distorted nightmare
than for people to accuse me of being and allowing what they in fact are.
The theology
being espoused in these writings has for centuries borne faithful witness to
the murderous abominations of Rome. Later the Anabaptists most prominently exemplified
this theology in practice as they testified to the brutality of the Protestant
regimes and their descendants maintain the witness against state violence to
this day.
What these
slanderers mean is that we're not out engaged in guerilla warfare and
assassination, or rallying behind and putting our faith in some alternative
political leader and his plan for government coercion and militaristic
solutions. What they mean is that we don't embrace their Judaized political version of the
Kingdom, the very vision that led the Jews to reject and miss Christ's Kingdom.
No indeed.
We speak the truth regardless of political allegiance. Our only allegiance is
to the Spirit wrought Redemptive Kingdom of Christ. Unlike them we are not
obsessed with earthly thoughts and prideful aspirations but like Paul, we
insist our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3.17-21).
We denounce
the lies of the Christian Right, the evil of the United States, the EU, Russia,
China, Iran, Venezuela, Great Britain, France, the Vatican. We reject the world
and all its projects, but especially the False Church and its allies. It is
false theology, a theology that distorts the Kingdom and changes its ethics
that presents the greatest threat to the people of God and ultimately the
world. A theology that rewards wealth acquisition at the expense of others,
endorses selfishness, promotes coercive violence and war, and declares it to be
service to God is akin to a Christian or Spiritual version of the Third Reich.
And historically it's just as bloody.
Those that
falsely accuse of us such collaborative weakness, lack of vigilance and worldly
capitulation are enemies of Christ whose god is their belly, who think pride
and gain and power are fruits of the Spirit and marks of blessing. They think
the Kingdom is built with the sword, by focusing on earthly things, entangling
the Church in the affairs of this life, by being busybodies in other people's
affairs.
The theology
we espouse presents the greatest threat to their project. Standing on Scripture
we denounce them and their deeds. Politically they can defeat their foes.
Philosophically they can resort to sophism, obfuscation and manipulation. They
can distort history and change white to black before our very eyes. Their media
champions are masters at this aided by the ignorant masses who fill their
buildings on Sunday mornings. They love it so and would have it no other way.
Once in
power they can wield the sword to defeat their enemies. But what makes them
gnash their teeth is when someone comes along and calls them out with Scripture.
Their nakedness is exposed and they are right to fear. Words of truth topple
their Babel. We don't need to buy a politician or stir nationalistic fervour.
I've said it
many times but it must be said again. Constantinianism changed the ethics of
the Church. It changed how the Church thought about politics, violence, money
and power in general. This paradigm was not rejected by the Reformers. It is
Constantinianism and the later confusion of Christianity with Nationalism, the
very thing the Christian Right promotes that led to Germans confusing their
culture with the Kingdom. In the wake of World War I, the great fear was modernism,
communism, revolution and cultural degeneracy. Hitler demonized all these
forces and ideals and was happily embraced by the good Lutherans of Germany,
who for centuries had been taught to think that being a good conformist citizen
is at the very heart of what it means to be a good Christian.
The very
people who accuse us are in fact the most susceptible to this very thing. The
Christian Right came onto the scene pushing nationalistic militarism, equating
traditional white American culture with Christian virtue. Just like their
political opponents on the Left, they build cults around their leaders living
and fallen, and demand a unified civil religion. In the case of the Christian
Right it was ironic that they also turned to burning books. This has been
conveniently forgotten.
Constantinianism
and the theology of Dominion have long been fertile ground for fascist forms of
government. Not a few leaders in the Vatican supported Hitler and Roman
Catholics in general were quite eager in their support of fascist regimes. This
was true even after the war in places like Spain and all throughout Latin
America. It was only much later that groups of non-traditionalist Jesuits,
disgusted with the pseudo-Christian American Empire and its bloody policy in
Latin America, fully supported by the Christian Right and its political
institutions, began to resist the Establishment position. It seems to be
forgotten that they were in the minority often opposing fascist regimes and
death squads trained and backed by the US military.
The United
States also supported fascist regimes and was more than happy to work with
ex-Nazis on several fronts. Christians within the Heritage Foundation helped to
formulate the Reagan Doctrine which also included the backing of fascist
regimes in Latin America and dictatorships in Africa. They have a great deal of
blood on their hands in the policies they promoted.
Don't tell
me that Two Kingdom theology rolls over and plays dead in the face of fascism.
What would
we do about it?
We're doing
it. We're speaking out and condemning you, our demonic accusers, the forces
which have infiltrated and overtaken the American Church. We denounce the
Harlot Christian Right, its host of lies and its perverse union with the
American Beast. The very imagery of Revelation 17 is that which you believe to
be the Christian model. It is Dominion theology in a symbolic snapshot. It is
the False Church of Constantinian Christendom wedded to bestial power. It is
the Church of Sodom and Egypt masquerading as Jerusalem (Rev 11). You are the
agents of an ever-recurring Mystery Babylon.
When you
fall and your project is burned, heaven will rejoice (Rev 18.20).
Unfortunately
for us we have to deal with the fallout of your deeds as your enemies learn
your ways and the righteous suffer for your sins.
Repent of
your evil thoughts and deeds and God may yet open your eyes and hearts and
allow you to see the Kingdom.
