The Demise of Social Christianity

As biblically-based Christianity becomes more irrelevant to the evolving American experiment, what heady freedom comes to the people of God!

Freedom from:
* "church" as a tired synonym for "religion"
* the burden of carrying an entire national culture on its back
* the burden of making the world "safe" for Christianity (so-called) through military might
* the burden of subscribing to party politics with consequent alignment to ungodly practices

and

Freedom to:
* live out the kingdom of God as @alt.culture
* testify the meaning of Christ's lordship as @alt.life-style
* proclaim in communion the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ of God, until he comes

Teaching With Minerals

The following parenthetical note may be read.

[Oh, yes, children, despite its name the board was not chalk - it really was a sliver of a different rock, a thin slate piece covering a goodly part of a wall. (The board could also consist of other stuff made to look and act like the dark gray slate.) The other piece of technology that made the whole thing work synergistically was another mined rock formed into a stylus of sorts; we called this manipulative "chalk," after the rock from which it mostly arose, whitish in color. Usually. As the softer chalk stylus was pressed onto and moved across the harder slate board by hand, it left a trail of chalk dust particles, noticeable white marks against the dark gray board. The particles stuck to the slate semi-permanently so that the marks held, but then they could be dislodged easily by wiping the slate with a piece of cloth, thus cleaning the board and rendering it ready for more such dusty marks. This system may yet be witnessed in some classrooms and other historical places.]

The Most Important Election -- Ev-ver!

Election cycles highlight the urgency of the mess we're in. In each cycle we hear claims the present election is the most critical that ever has been, and that the outcome will herald either the demise of the republic or its resurrected glory.

People of faith often find in political parties a home for their hopes, and, therefore, a home for the Divine agenda. For many of the faithful, supporting and ultimately voting for a particular candidate becomes an exercise of religious fervor, indeed, a test for soundness.

All stuff and nonsense, of course.

A political election stands as the will to power: the attempt of one party to gain and exercise power over opposing parties.

"The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your slave." -Jesus, to his followers

Now.

There is one election that counts for something. God elects. God, indeed, elected an eternity ago. God elects to immortality whom he qualifies. God qualifies through Christ. There is one party to which Jesus, the Christ, calls: a party to deny self, to take up one's cross, and to follow him. There is one Divine agenda: to bridle one's tongue, to care for orphans and widows, to keep oneself stain-free from the world.

[Originally posted mostly elsewhere, October 19, 2016]