Paul's Passing Thoughts

Did you know that evangelicals presently operate a theocracy in America? That’s right. In fact, according to them, the manifestation of it can be seen more and more in current events; namely, any and all natural and man-made calamities. Yep, whether tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, or terrorist attacks, God is judging America for not obeying His authority on earth, the church. And unless America “repents,” the Chief Shepherd will utterly destroy those who dare snub their noses at God’s anointed. Of course, it is framed in context of a direct insult to God, but who is the judge of that? Think about this: is not the assumption that any given calamity is an act of God’s vengeance utterly presumptuous?

Sure, it’s a theocracy only in their own minds constantly verbalized every time God smites America on their behalf because they are suffering under what many of them call the “satanic system of democracy,” but it is also a stark reminder of how these guys would govern if they were able to get in bed with the government. Let’s face it, 99.999% of all evangelicals think it would be absolutely wonderful if America was run by Christians as in the good ole’ days of colonial Puritanism. This displays a stunning ignorance of American history and biblical metaphysics.

And the beat goes on: they invoke the Bible, but in fact, the Bible states that “judgment begins in the house of God.” Sooooo, at what point in history did God judge the church? These guys never fail to make me think about jumping off of a bridge; if some guy goes into a church and shoots the place up, or if a church gets burned down, that’s “persecution,” or the devil’s work.  But if the same happens to the world at large, it’s God’s judgment. Calgon take me away! We have a large evangelical church here in Xenia, Ohio that was recently flattened by a tornado and unfortunately rebuilt (as if we need yet another functioning Western style Hindu temple littering the landscape). What do you want to bet that not one soul in that place would disagree that terrorism is God’s judgment on America?

I will close this post with a thought. This thinking comes from the Reformation idea that God’s kingdom is on earth. If Christians would just thoughtfully read their own Bibles for themselves, they would undoubtedly be shocked to find out that God’s kingdom is not presently on earth. And this bad idea, actually false idea, is why evangelical leadership wants us to invest so much in the institutionalization of Christianity.

But it is all totally wrong-headed.

paul