I have been hearing alot about the present upheaval in Kenya. If you haven't heard about it check it out here. There are thousands who are homeless, and hundreds who have died all because of a presidential election which seems to have been tampered with. This created much anger with the opposing party and has seemed to raise deep tribal confict to the surface. There doesn't seem to be any stop to the violence any time soon. Kenya has been recently looked at by many pro-democracy westerners as a shining example that democracy can work in a politically and culturally complicated region such as Africa. However, the status now is showing that it is not as simple as that.

In light of the current situation, I am beginning to wonder if I support the exportation of democracy to every country. Does democracy fit in every context? It doesn't seem to fit in Kenya and other tribally charged countries, nor does it seem to fit in many of the middle eastern countries. Yet, as a good American, one that sees how it has "kind of" worked here, I am supposed to be in support of the wholesale distribution of democracy. I am beginning to be skeptical.

And then, I remember, that I am not first of all supposed to think as an American, but as a Christian. As a Christian, a follower of Jesus of Nazareth and a member of his church, who claimms his life death and resurrection as the culminating event of history, believing that all things are being redeemed through him, (phew, this is a long sentence), what should my stance be with exporting western democracy? Can democracy get in the way of the gospel, which transforms individuals and lives? Can democracy be seen by non-westerners as so closely attached to Christianity and the gospel in America, that they see no difference between the two? Is there a difference between the two? For some American Christians to say that democracy is not the right fit in some situations would be like spitting on the Bible. Is thhe church seen as just another exporter of democracy or the transformative people of God being used in all situations?

Just some thoughts. I will think more on these things.

I read an interesting article by the late John Howard Yoder about christian civil-disobedience. Yoder was a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame and the preeminent Mennonite scholar of his day. I came on to Yoder through the work of Stanly Hauerwas.

Anways, the article, which was thick and not an easy read, talked of the different philosophies supporting civil disobedience. Christian Civil disobedience is when a Christian decides to disobey a law of the land because it is in conflict with what he knows God desires. Yoder does a good job of laying out the reasons for civil disobedience. They are: when the governing agent inteferes with God's call of the church; to avoid sinning by following a specific law; to speak against the flow of the governmental system; to respond to the Holy Spirit's work in one's conscience.

I don't want to give an evaluation of the paper, but if you are interested in reading it click here. Instead, I want to mention a few things that this paper stirred up within me.

1. Sometimes I believe we are called to stand against governments of this world, not in violence or by using the weapons of the world, but as a visible representation of the kingdom of God at work in this world. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. comes to mind, with his leading many in non-violent protests against immoral laws.
2. In many ways, we as the church (I must speak of the American church here, since I am only familiar with the American church) have so colluded with human authorities (i.e. government) and the philosophy that pervades from them and about them, that it is hard for us to see where we are to be different and where we are to object. Where does American start and Christian begin? Sometimes I question where our ultimate allegiances lie as Christians in this country. Are we Christian Americans or American Christians? Does patriotism and love of country inpede following Jesus in a way that helps bring in the kingdom to this world?
3. Many times we choose the wrong battles. Over and over agian many Christians stand up against things that seem to miss the point. We hold our banners protesting Gay Marriage, while silently supporting a war that is not only not justified, but based on lies and=]
economic factors. We line up to sign a petition to keep a statue of the ten commandments in the court room foyer, while not even recognizing that people are being killed by the thousands every day in places like Darfur. If you have a theology of spiritual warfare, you will understand that the enemy loves to get Christians distracted on peripheral issues, so as to take the attention off of the areas that will be successful for the Kingdom.
4. We have been strongly influenced by Plato. With out getting too deep here, we as a society are very much influenced by the dualistic Platonic philosophy of the separation of spiritual from physical. Thus we can compartmentalize things into the "spiritual relm" and the "physical relm", helping us to not see the need for one to affect the other. Luther had the "two sword idea". This nees more explanation later.

Any thoughts so far?

So, when I first started blogging, I told myself that I wouldn't get into politics with my posts. This mirrored my life as a pastor for the past 8 years. I kept clear of mentioning anything that might be understood as a political stance when in the presence of parishoners.

The more I grow in relationship with God through Jesus of Nazareth, and the more I grow in the knowledge of the Bible, the more I am convinced that we should not be dualistic in our lives. There are those that hold to the idea, if not with their mouths, definitely with their lives, that your "spiritual" life should be separate from your "secular" life. As if, these are two separate compartments holding the quantities acquired of each, never to influence the other. I don't believe this is true, or is even possible. What we believe influences all of who we are. We are not compartmentalized people. With that said, my faith drives me to speak about many things including political issues.

Also, it is my understanding in reading the New Testament that the Gospel (or good news) of Jesus is counter to the rise of empericism in our world. Empiricism is the call of the empire to all of its citizens to give allegiance to it as the presiding kingdom. I live in a modern day empire, the United States of America. I know that this will be construed by many as unpatriotic, but this empire calls for my allegiance over against all else. As Christians, we know that we give allegiance not to any human built empire, but to the Kingdom of Heavan that was ushered in by the life death and resurrection of Jesus.

When the apostle Paul would spread the "good news" of Jesus and the Kingdom, he would use the Koine Greek word"euangelion", which is the same word used to make announcements about the Roman Emperors. "Euangelion, the Emperor of Rome is Tiberius", or "Come celebrate the Emperor's birthday". So, when Paul or someone like him would use this word to tell the story of Jesus, those listening would have most definitely heard him saying, "Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not." Of course you don't have to know but a little about the Roman Empire and its leaders to know that this was not just a slightly prickly political statement. Rather, this was a stance that got Chrisitans thrown to the lions, beheaded, and burned. Paul didn't stay away from Political issues because he thought they shouldn't mix with his spiritual life.

It is obvious that one can't perfectly compare the Roman Empire with the empire of today, but the point is that there will always be empirical pressure for allegiance which will always be countered and upstaged by the euangelion of Jesus, driving his followers to stand at times in opposition.

So, back to me. I have come to see that this blog might one of many places to take a stand. As you can see, I have posted a banner pointing to one of the first things I will talk about, Christian non-violence and war. I think I am becoming a "pacifist".