During the pandemic of 2020, it is obvious that the Lord is shaking down the idols of His church. I pray that I find the words to share only what Jesus would have me share. The truth is I am not qualified to say or write or speak, but I feel like the Lord has given me something to share that must not be held back.
What are some of the idols exposed?
- Politicization of Christianity
- Post-modern truth
- Racial reconciliation
- Qanon stuff and conspiracies
- Masks
- Patriotism
- Most of these are symptoms of one big one – the politicization Christianity
Our American society is falling apart and at the heart of this, the church has to see themselves as a vital player in the events going on. The pandemic has exposed the hearts of believers everywhere.
What is happening within the American church
Before 2020, a trend was happening in the church — many believers were choosing to leave the church. All along the way, I’ve said that something is amiss in the way we disciple believers in the church. People do not turn away from the true Jesus once they’ve met Him. But recently, I’ve been given more understanding about why it happens. For some, it is the same hypocrisy they see without and within the church itself. The church is supposed to be holy and provide answers, but many times, it has offered a false Gospel, leaving people lifeless and hopeless, degrading the Jesus they profess. Of this, we should be greatly ashamed and repent. We haven’t allowed people to taste and see the real Jesus so they search for other things as they question for themselves.
Two sides: evangelicalism and progressivism
The evangelical church falls short under scrutiny, but it stands firm in refusing to humble itself and repent. This led to the birth of progressive Christianity. The two facets of Christianity are highly politically charged. Progressive Christianity was born in attempt to answer questions evangelicalism refused to think about, and thus came about a more liberal Christianity. The progressive state often represents a progressive mind. Often Christians into social issues like homosexuality and racial reconciliation and social justice fall into this camp. These Christians often leave Christianity altogether.
While evangelical Christianity failed to recognize these issues or questions to take survey of its sins like spiritual and sexual abuse in the church, progressive Christianity fails because it does not have the solid foundation evangelicalism has. True to its name, progressive Christianity is ever evolving, ever changing with no real grounding principle. With an ever changing truth, it quickly devolves into universalism — the belief that God is everywhere in everything and loves all things all the time. Nothing, not even social justice Jesus, keeps progressive Christianity firm and unchanging.
The Bible challenges any philosophy that is easily tossed to and fro over and over again, and the Bible itself becomes fluid for the progressive camp. But biblical Christians are to be a people who stand firm in the chaos and storms of life.
The truth is the Jesus’ presented by both evangelicalism and progressives are two sides of the same coin. The Real Jesus cares deeply about justice and righteousness. Justice is the prevailing progressive thought taken too far and righteousness is the prevailing evangelical thought not taken far enough.
Westernizing the church
Add to this the Westernization of Christianity. Westernizing Christianity makes Christianity all about me. I am a central figure in Christianity. Any time I am the centralized figure, idolatry is in play. Americans love to seek the American dream. While it worked for us as a nation, it does not work for us as Christians. The American dream seeks to fulfill itself at the expense of others. It is selfish and self-involved and these are not Christian principles. Christians are to be self-sacrificial and loving of others.
Due to the Westernizing of Christianity, we make the Bible about us and we make ourselves bigger than we should be. The Westernizing of Christianity is how the prosperity gospel plays into our Christianity. If one reads the Bible, one sees that we should be ever growing smaller and less self-focused not more.
The Westernization of the gospel is so prevalent, we often do not recognize and refuse to see how we idolize and read the Bible from a me centered approach. No longer are we a collective body in the Western model. We actually function as if an “ear” can and should function on its own. It is so ingrained in our concept of Christianity we almost never think to separate it or notice how we lean only on ourselves and not the bigger concept.
The Eastern concept
Paul used the analogy of a body for the believers, and it would have been easily understood by Jews. Americans are individuals, but most other Eastern cultures are people groups and don’t identify so individualistically. This may be the reason we’ve allowed for various other new identities that used to be non-existent (genders, etc). Eastern cultures identify as one within their people group. This model is what Paul was saying we should be as a church, but our American identity has corrupted us within the people group of the church.
There is a meme going around about how the wailing wall most models the Holy of Holies and Eastern thought. Not only is Eastern thought collective, it centers God and makes room for emotions, which seemed lacking in evangelicalism.
Contemplative Christianity
There is another facet of Christianity and it is the one I identify with most: contemplative Christianity. I will be less apt to see its faults, though I am sure they are there, but it is the model I see as most attempting to see Real Jesus.
If evangelicalism is hard, progressivism is soft, and contemplative Christianity models both. Like the Eastern model, this form of Christianity models curiosity and questions and attempts to be a collective, reading the Bible asking what does this teach me about God, not just about me, but about loving my neighbor who is one with me. This model leaves room for mystery, and space for God to be magnified, not small and kept in a box on a shelf. It allows for discipleship of the mind and emotions. It is grounded in truth, without being so cemented that it cannot think or repent.
Politicization of Christianity
When we back up and look at some of the idols that this pandemic season is tearing down, we see the politicization of Christianity. This is why there has been mask outrage. This is why Qanon theories are popular. We see the interspersion of post-modern truth, which is not truth at all, with political belief. People are turning to a groundless hope which is no hope at all, rather than seeking the Real Jesus. Real Jesus never aligned with a political power. Why did He need to do so? He was the King. We must ask ourselves why we need a political power figurehead. Is it really about social issues, like abortion, or more about power and greed? About a hidden prosperity gospel we hope to achieve?
Like the Jews who yelled, “crucify Him,” Christians are unwilling to separate themselves from their political devices to see the True King. Instead of being able to see and seek Him in His word, they take the easy route and follow baseless theories instead. Because they are individuals instead of a collective, they see a mask as threat instead of an act of love. Yes, there are exceptions to every rule, like women who were raped and truly cannot wear a mask because it reminds of trauma every time they attempt to put it on.
Then there is racial reconciliation, and I feel inept to address it. But I can tell you about the drama triangle. In the drama triangle, there is a victim, a hero, and a villain, also known as the victim, the rescuer, and the accuser. In the drama triangle, you can look at Christianity like this:
Whites who love racism tend to accuse. Whites who love to be the savior tend to rescue. But no one wins, not whites, not blacks, not Western American Christianity. Rescuers never meant to rescue, self destruct, accusers stay angry, and the issue never changes. Sometimes they shift roles and have role reversals. Blacks abuse, whites feel victimized, and someone tries to save the day (blacks and whites). But the drama triangle never wins.
Our True Hope: the Real Jesus
There can only ever be one Rescuer: Real Jesus. This Jesus is the hope for racial reconciliation and all other social justice issues. He is the Jesus that sees, truly sees hearts and minds and the whole soul.
Real Jesus calls sin a sin while holding a hand out to help someone come out of it. He accuses and rescues. All the while, the hopeless one has to learn to take responsibility for his or her own actions aligning his or her beliefs with His truth. I as the victim must confront my shame and accept the help out of it that Real and True Jesus offers me. Instead of a triangle, this looks like a Cross.
Jesus is a balanced scale of accusation and rescuer. He balances both righteousness which is how one feels accused and justice which is how one finds freedom and rescue.
These Christian systems have been developed because grace has been misunderstood. Grace is a mystery too good to be true. Jesus is too good to be true so we make Him less than what He is, focusing on only one of His aspects: evangelicalism on legalism also known as judgment and righteousness and progressivism on license and liberty and rescue.
Jesus is not a one-sided coin. He is mishpat (justice) and tzedakah (righteousness) all rolled into one. When it comes to coins, a few things from Jesus come to mind. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and onto God what is God’s. Until we as Christians recognize that righteousness and justice are a work only God can do, we’ll keep wrongly rendering unto American gods or political figureheads works that only the church is meant to do. Our treasure will never be found in the next President, only in Jesus. So let’s open our hearts to his expansive grace, open our eyes to see and hear from True Jesus alone. Only He is the justice and righteousness we need.
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