As Christians, we have committed to live under the authority of Jesus Christ and have been sent to expand the community of women and men who recognize Christ’s authority. Christ has been given “all authority on heaven and earth” (Matt 28:18) whether we (or others) recognize it or not. Christ’s authority is a given…it isn’t up for debate. As such, in Serpents and Doves, I suggest, “Because ‘Jesus is Lord’ (1 Cor 12:3) is a true theological claim, it is also an authoritative political claim.”
If the claim “Jesus is Lord” is both theological and political, the Christian proclamation of that claim is both theological and political as well. By living under the authority of Christ and speaking the truth, we confront the governing authorities God has established (Rom 13:1) with the delegated nature of the authority they exercise. They serve at Christ’s pleasure.
Unfortunately, the governing authorities of the day have a way of claiming more authority than they have been given. At times, they do so without us noticing. For instance, sociologist Robert Bellah notes that American civil religion “borrowed selectively from the religious tradition [Christianity] in such a way that the average American saw no conflict between the two. In this way, the civil religion was able to build up without any bitter struggle with the church powerful symbols of national solidarity and to mobilize deep levels of personal motivation for the attainment of national goals.” The subtle incorporation of language mimicking Christianity and the application of a select set of biblical passages to the United States has allowed the lines between Christianity and American civil religion to be blurred.
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