Posted by
Tim on Monday, December 31, 2007 12:27:31 PM
We've all heard about Fundamentalist Islam, more commonly called "Islamofascism," or "Extremist Islam." Let's just say "terrorist Islam." Please, do not confuse this with Moderate Islam; which does not seek to kill Americans. Well, Christianity has a similar problem, but it is the polar opposite of such extremism.
You see, the Christian faith began in the First Century, under persecution by both Rome and the Pharisees, primarily. These early Christians had no means through which to effect political change. They pretty much stayed out of the political arena. We all remember Jesus' famous quote regarding taxes, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's." Because they lived under the totalitarian rule of Caesar, they detached themselves from political activism.
However, today, we Americans live in a completely different society, under very different political circumstances. We the People of the United States have the power to make political change - as well as societal change - within our own nation, but we have to STAND UP and make our voices heard. The People are the United States.
We point out Fundamental Islam's anachronistic mentality, meaning that they have regressed to the religious attitudes of the Seventh Century, but we fail to notice the segment of Christianity which regresses back to the First Century in political perspective. I call it Fundamentalist Christianity, and it is just as dangerous to the United States as is Fundamentalist Islam. Does this sound crazy? Read on.
I know many Christians who are eagerly awaiting the return of Christ. Some of them feel an obligation to cast their vote, that is, voice their opinion in the U.S. political arena - as they should. However, there are some, who following in the footsteps of the First Century disciples, detach themselves from the political system we have here in the United States, feeling that "the End is near" and that such things are supposed to happen according to prophecy. By taking this stance, they permit and empower many horrific societal and political changes.
Now, I particularly blame a particular Biblical eschatology (that is, End-Times prophetic interpretation) for this growing problem. You see, for millennia now, there has been a belief in an "immanent" return of Christ; every generation believes that it is "the generation" which Jesus said would experience "the End." Many Christian sects have sprung from these ideas, and have generally been detrimental to society. The "Flagellantes," for example, thought that somehow physically beating themselves would help them in the Judgement. Sects of this sort still exist today. But these types mostly only harm themselves more than society - and they tend to be rather small sects. However, there are other sects which take the view of the previous, namely that it is no use to try and affect changes in society or politics because it is pre-ordained, and inevitable because the "End" is near - and Christ will return any day now to mop up the mess. In the United States, however, this Fundamentalist Christian mindset is part of the cause of the mess - because they do not stand up for morality in the political arena.
When Christians make predictions which do not come true, it not only brings their eschatology into question, but also their "indwelling" of the Holy Spirit, Who was to "lead them into all truth." In Deuteronomy, God told the Israelites that if someone (a prophet) made a prediction that did not come true, they were not of Him, and you should not listen to them. But many have made such predictions. I am not naming sects here, but I will give examples of this error. One group has predicted the end 27 times in the last century alone - all of which have failed. Widespread panic around the year AD 1000 was promulgated by the Church in an effort to prepare the "world" for the "End" which they were certain was very close (Millennialist Eschatology.) If you didn't notice, the Millennialist Theory struck again in AD 2000, with a "certainty" that the "End" was near - among many groups. All of these have obviously failed. Should anyone listen to anything else they say?
But that is the danger folks. I know a few people who are convinced that all of these events, the degradation of American society, as well as world events are "signs" of the coming "End." For this reason, they make no effort to change the growing immorality in America, and are even gleeful at the destruction of non-believers and the immoral. It just seems a bit counter to the teachings of Christ. Are we not supposed to mourn the death of non-believers because they have not accepted Christ, and face the Judgment before the Lord? Didn't Jesus ask forgiveness for those who were driving the nails into His hands? These groups bemoan the immorality within society, and often mark the U.S. as "evil," apparently unaware that they are part of the reason why much of the immorality has gained strength within our borders.
The damage which this faulty eschatology causes within the United States is one of introversion - such believers, again, living as if in the First Century, view domestic and world events as if they are prophetically inevitable, and that any stand against them is futile. This is one reason why I am not a Millennialist. I am a Preterist; I believe that all these events happened when Jesus said they would "in this generation," namely His generation, the generation of the First Century. The idea that ALL of those "signs" were to happen in that generation as predicted by Jesus, John the Baptist, Peter, James, and John the Evangelist. The sentiment is repeated over eighty times in the New Testament that the End was immanent then. The persecution, surrounding and subsequent destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem were the signs of which Jesus spoke regarding the Judgment and His return (parousia.)
I'm not preaching to you, really. You don't have to subscribe to the Preterist eschatology, I'm only trying to point out the other, equally damaging power of religion, namely detachment from the world.