As longtime readers of this blog know, I have been challenging various ministries for their preoccupation with current political and cultural issues. It has been my contention that it is inappropriate to use our pulpits in this manner. Over the last few years, the blog Banned by HWA has also published a number of posts by me - dealing with the same issue within the Armstrong Church of God culture. In fact, they recently published a post entitled CGI Canada's Freedom Convoy. And, as I was reading over the comments there, it became clear to me that a number of the folks who had read the post had still missed my thesis about the inappropriateness of this kind of messaging. As a consequence, I summarized my thesis for them, and I decided to share it with my readers here:
Paul said that Christians should not get entangled in civilian affairs. We are to be "strangers and pilgrims" on the earth - nomads who are inexorably moving toward the Promised Land. We are supposed to be citizens of the Kingdom of God, NOT partisans of human parties, ideologies or systems! It is NOT our job to support and perpetuate the beast or the Babylonian system. We are supposed to be on the team that overcomes and supplants it! Those who try to ride the tiger usually end up in its stomach!
The commission which Christ gave to his disciples is very straightforward. He said: "go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." (Matthew 28:19-20) NEWS FLASH: We are NOT Ezekiel, and the English-speaking peoples of the world are NOT Israel! Our work and message should be the one that Christ gave us - It is NOT our job to warn America away from its sins and save democracy and capitalism (whatever their merits compared to other systems of governance and economic activity, THEY ARE STILL HUMAN SYSTEMS)!
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