God in America - Episode 6
Unbeknownst to me prior to writing Politics and Religion, God in America (see below) is a documentary that was first aired by www.pbs.org some years ago (2010). You can watch the full series on the PBS website by following this link.
These documentaries give fantastic insight into much of what I write about in Politics and Religion, and I believe they confirm much of what is said there.
To me they point out the grave dangers of Christians trying to orchestrate any one particular social or political agenda. The short history of America, not unlike the history of Europe and other parts of the world, shows that, though well intended, the pursuit of the Kingdom of God through political organizations or kwazi-political organizations not only leads to disappointment, it eventually loses sight of the end goal - "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven". Now history does not dictate the future but it is a good indication of what may lie ahead.
Christians should be all about the Kingdom of God, which is a present and future spiritual domain, not a physical domain nor a social domain nor a political domain. Christians are called to this spiritual domain even if it means hardship and/or persecution:
"Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (Romans 5:1-5).
I see no encouragement in the Bible for Christians to change the social and/or political landscape apart from changing the hearts of people. Thus, I do believe this is the model to follow:
"First cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also." (Mattew 23:26)
The Kingdom of God is about the inside of people - their hearts - before it is about anything else. Now Jesus says, "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness". That means that the Kingdom of God should be the first priority. That's why I believe we as Christians should, above anything else, seek to change the hearts of people towards God.
Click on this link for Episode 5 of God in America.
God in America - Episode 6:
Last update: April 2012