Religion vs. the Kingdom

A few months ago I read an article in the New York Times titled "Disowning Conservative Politics: Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock." The article was about author/pastor Greg Boyd, who is a Yale and Princeton grad, who has written several books, including "The Myth of a Christian Nation How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church."

Here's an excerpt from the article (sorry NYT won't let me link. It was published July 30):

In his six sermons, Mr. Boyd laid out a broad argument that the role of Christians was not to seek ''power over'' others -- by controlling governments, passing legislation or fighting wars. Christians should instead seek to have ''power under'' others -- ''winning people's hearts'' by sacrificing for those in need, as Jesus did, Mr. Boyd said.

''America wasn't founded as a theocracy,'' he said. ''America was founded by people trying to escape theocracies. Never in history have we had a Christian theocracy where it wasn't bloody and barbaric. That's why our Constitution wisely put in a separation of church and state.

''I am sorry to tell you,'' he continued, ''that America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ.''

Mr. Boyd lambasted the ''hypocrisy and pettiness'' of Christians who focus on ''sexual issues'' like homosexuality, abortion or Janet Jackson's breast-revealing performance at the Super Bowl halftime show. He said Christians these days were constantly outraged about sex and perceived violations of their rights to display their faith in public.

''Those are the two buttons to push if you want to get Christians to act,'' he said. ''And those are the two buttons Jesus never pushed.''

When I read the article, I had never heard of Greg Boyd, but I agree with him and now I want to read all of his books. I went to a worship service at North Park College last night, and it turns out he was the speaker. While he didn't speak about politics directly, he spoke about the difference between "Religion" and "Kingdom." If we are true followers of Christ, we are called to be a part of The Kingdom of God, which means we are to love above all else, not judging others. When we judge others, we get something in return -- it feeds our egos by making us feel superior. It divides us. It allows us to feel better about ourselves. If we condemn homosexuals and abortionists...telling ourselves those are the "worst" sins, we can allow ourselves to feel better about the sins in our own hearts...like pride, judgement, greed, gossip. But Christ turned this idea upside-down. Instead of judging prostitutes and tax collectors, he hung out with them. He loved them. And he calls us to love above all else.

This reminded me of a conversation David and I had with friends of ours who are athiests. Their main problem with religion, the say, is that it's divisive and inevitably leads to violence. David and I tried to tell them that what is represented as Christianity these days is far from what true Christianity is all about. That it's about love and the kingdom of God, loving the least of these.

Oh, how we could change the world if we could only love others like Christ loves us....