From: watson@sce.carleton.ca (Stephen Watson)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re:Power
Date: 16 Nov 92 03:24:18 GMT

[I tried posting this from Pnews several days ago.  Since I have seen neither
the post nor a rejection from OFM, I assume it got lost.  Besides, I thought
of something else to add :-) ]

> From: stehman@hubcap.clemson.edu (Jeff Stehman)
> Message-ID: <Nov.6.03.35.08.1992.5496@geneva.rutgers.edu>
> Spose it happens.  Christians hold all the authority in the United
> States -- they are in power.  More than that, they keep non-christians
> from holding certain positions or doing certain things or whatever.  My

I'd like to add my voice to those saying it would be a Bad Thing.

We're talking about making Christianity the State religion.  We've
been down that road already: 'long time ago the Emperor Constantine
made Xty the state religion of the Roman Empire.  I suggest that this
is the single greatest disaster ever to befall the Church.  When being
a Christian could cost you your life, people came to Christ because He
was the most important thing in their lives.  When following Christ
(or pretending to) meant Imperial favour, political and social
acceptance, people came to Christ (by which I mean: joined the Church)
because the power of this world was most important to them.

When the Church wields temporal power, it becomes corrupted by it
(especially a Church full of false Xns with their eyes on the Main
Chance).  Once you have power, you tend to act to maintain that power.
There are pressures to take certain courses of action because they are
expedient, not because they are right.  For example, instead of being
a voice for the poor, the Church might favour a wealthy elite whose
interests were in maintaining an unjust status quo.

Some people feel that we will make more people Christians this way, or
get more "Godly" behaviour in the population in general.  IMHO, it
would merely drive the obvious "sins" underground while producing a
generally hypocritical elite of respectable "Christians" running
things.  Moreover, I feel that the attempt to change the world in this
way is *wrong*.  Conviction, repentance and conversion can only come
through the work of the Holy Spirit.  To say that we should create a
Christian State is to say that, for the power of the Holy Spirit, and
the power of the Truth, we can (and should) substitute the power of
the State.  I submit that this attitude is fundamentally idolatrous!

If God had wished to re-call the world to himself through political
power, he would not have chosen to become incarnate in a baby of
uncertain paternity, born into a common family, of a conquered and
oppressed people.  And it seems unlikely that he would have submitted
himself to be tortured to death as a political criminal.  But, as he
said to his judge: "My Kingdom is not of this world".  God's way lies
through the Suffering Servant, not the conquering hero.

I have said this before, in a different context, but I feel strongly that
this is a fundamental principle:

The currency of the Kingdom of this world is Power.
The currency of the Kingdom of God is Love.
These are mutually incompatible ways of conducting our affairs.  We cannot
serve two masters.

Now, there certainly is a legitimate role for Xns in public life, where they
can make a genuine difference.  Some examples which spring to mind:

Be honest: don't take bribes, don't line your pocket at the public expense.
State your intentions forthrightly and follow through on them.  I think
these are not common virtues among politicians these days. :-(

As a judge, administer justice: don't be blinded by the flim-flam of 
some of the more, um, dramatic members of the legal profession.

Use your influence to get a better deal for the poor, for those forced
to work in hazardous conditions.  There's any number of injustices go
on daily in our society: Christians are clearly called (Micah 6:8) to
overturn them.

And, if a group of Christians in power, or even not in power, managed
to accomplish all that, what a witness THAT would be to the world!