The church is a political being. It functions as a political being, because the church is a community of people, who live in a different Kingdom, with a different ruler, with different ethical values. Aristotle defined politics (polis) as such: a creation of people who are better than they would be without the aid of the polis. The word for church in Greek is “ekklesia” which literally means “called out”. This word implies more than just an assembly of people. The word ekklesia was a political term not a religious term. In the church, Jesus is king and the Bible used the term “ekklesia” for a good reason. In fact, in classical Greek “ekklesia” meant “an assembly of citizens summoned by the crier, the legislative assembly.”
The church today, still has the same call, the same King, the same vision, and the same Gospel. However, the church has muddled its “politicalness” and is confused on what is primary in its methods to be a community that shows the world that is alien and foregin, and that the message she (church) bears is indeed Great News!
In the post “Gosple Credibility” I mentioned that the church, or some Christians, think that if we coerce the government into voting into some specfic Christian values, or elect more Christian officials, than we can change the world into being a better place for all or make it a bit more just. I believe, that we have ample evidence that this form of Christian politics is dangerous and wrong. For instance, today it appears that all people in America know what two buttons to push in order to get the church hot and bothered: homosexuality & abortion. It appears that this is Christian politics. If we can get the American government to vote our way, the nation will be more Christian. It is necessary to notice that in order to follow this line of thinking, many other Christian values are put on the wayside (poverty, unemployment, debt, war, school, medical, etc.). Read the rest of this entry »
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