I have so many things that I want to write and share banging around in my brain. One of these days I will actually sit down and open that door and let whatever is in there out to play.
Until then, however, I want to share another piece by another smart person saying more smart stuff.
Pastor Brian Zahnd wrote this as a counter the mantle that too many Evangelicals have claimed for political leaders, specifically Donald Trump. I have to agree with Brian’s take on these things. He has thought through issues that many of us don’t really notice. He noted that this excerpt is taken from his book, “Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile.” I have not read the book, so I can’t recommend it. But, if this particular post is an indication of the book’s contents, I can say that it might be a good read for people unclear about a Christ-follower’s place in the world of politics.
Here is a taste.
“God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” -Ephesians 1:20-23
This is the rich Christology of Paul that should thrill our soul and inform our political theology. But if Paul’s rich Christological understanding of all authority belonging to the Lord’s anointed Christ isn’t real to us, then we are tempted to imagine God working divine purposes through politicians who we pretend are anointed by God. This mistake can at times be relatively benign, or it can be as malignant as it was in Germany in the 1930s. There are consequences to not understanding the full ramifications of the apostolic confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.
I encourage you to click through to Brian’s blog here.
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