A Take That’s Against
I participated in an interesting internet thread, and I want to share some of the highlights. The original post offered commentary on an article to which a link was provided:
“When Christians conflate Israel’s special status in the Bible with America, we wander into deep theological and hermeneutical trouble. In doing so, we mute our actual ability to be salt and light because people automatically hear “theocracy.” And I honestly cannot blame them.”
A number of the responses to this post said things akin to, “Good article!”, but several were thoughtful comments composed after taking some time to think things over. For example, one such response was:
With regard to Israel, whenever a ‘free state’ is in conflict with a police state, the free state is probably right. No theocracy needed. The Israel in the Bible is not the same Israel we know today. I will acknowledge Israel for its significance in religion, but I cannot in good faith support the Likudniks and their Apartheid state. They have an apartheid policy with anyone who wants them dead. There are thousands of Arabs living peacefully in the Jewish state of Israel. How many Jews are living peacefully in the Arab states?
A Take That’s For
Another, much lengthier reply was:
I have a problem with this article. It discounts the fact that when God gives a concept, it is a concept that applies to anything with like factors. Yes, God’s plan for Israel was unique because He had chosen these people to honor Him and be the path through which He would offer the world salvation. He made a covenant with that nation FOREVER, no matter what century the nation found itself. Why? Because the nation of Israel plays a part in history until the end of the earth. God says so. It doesn’t matter if we see Israel as different from 3000 years ago, it isn’t. It is still in rebellion and will remain so until it is saved, as promised in Romans.
But beyond that, the way that God deals with people whom He chooses, never changes either. Throughout history, God has honored nations or destroyed nations based on the nations’ relationships with Him – meaning the leadership and the citizenship of a particular nation. He states in Scripture that He is the authority over ALL nations. Whether the people and leadership in the nations recognize that fact or not does not negate the fact that He is still the authority. In God’s world, ALL nations are nations under Christ. In man’s world, man is arrogant and thinks that HE rules the nations. He doesn’t.
When we look at the history of the U.S., we can’t deny a similarity in the creation and establishment of the nation. A blessed group of people of God fled bondage in a foreign land, the leadership of that land changing its mind to let them go at the last minute (read William Bradford’s diary). They wandered over a vast desert of water to come to a land where they struggled with the idolater natives of the land. They were at war over and over. They established a nation based on a three-part government straight out of the Israelite government of a leader/president (Moses), a legislature of laws (the Levites) and a judiciary (the Judges). Does anyone get the significance of the ‘three’ in both governments under God?
Our founders specifically based the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence on an establishment under God in Christ. In the Constitution, it states, ‘In the year of our Lord’ which is short for ‘Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.’ John Adams told us all, ‘because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.’
When God chose Israel and let that nation know, through Moses, that it was a nation set apart, do not doubt for a second that there were many, many citizens of that nation who did not believe it, accept it or practice it. It is why so many Israelites died, as we are told in Scripture. (Think Korah and his clan). It is why Israel lost its honor and love for God because those who did believe listened to those who didn’t and chose to forget God’s provision, depending on man instead. It is why Israel went into bondage and lost its lands. Every, single nation stands to experience the same fate because God does not change His expectations or His methods.
And so, it doesn’t matter WHAT people think, the Church is to stand for right and good and God, within the nation, including in the laws. That is NOT a theocracy. God will honor that stance within a nation. He will not honor a Church that becomes wishy-washy like Israel, eventually losing its awe of God and thinking that there is such a thing as a separation of Church and State. Remove God from the State and it removes all good from the State because only God is good and without Him, there is no good. It is where we are headed, rapidly.
My Take
Here are my thoughts:
It is clear that this discussion is driven by eschatological commitments in many ways. Does one read the Bible and see the redemptive historical message laid out by a covenantal God or does one read the Bible and see the unfolding of history by a dispensational God? This question is at the heart of the divide on this issue. In this social media back-and-forth, the reader can see on display some of the very real dangers of allegorizing and conflating. The Bible student does well to recognize the perspective that “Israel”, “God’s chosen”, “the people of God”, “Christ’s Bride”, “body of Christ” etc. are all different ways of saying the same thing. By this understanding it is the church who stands in special relationship with God, not any present-day geopolitical nation.
Quick-hitting Commentary
Here are a few links to close out this blog:
This article (about an airline coming under fire for barring teens for wearing leggings) quotes some who charge the airline with sexism. But I wonder, would the girls have been allowed to wear shorts? And would the dad have been kicked off if he was wearing leggings?
Lack of friends. It’s a problem for autistic people. (And a problem for many adult men, even those without Autism).
My first thought when seeing this story headlined, “Student Claims He Was Suspended From Class After Contradicting Muslim Professor Who Said Jesus Wasn’t Crucified” was to wonder, “Fake news?” So, I went to the website of the local Orlando newspaper to see if they also had the story. The Orlando Sentinel does, in fact, have the story. This really happened, apparently. By the way, tuition at Rollins College is about $50K per year. Just FYI.
This report about a pastor who said he kept child porn to research lessons on cupid and love looks to be another reminder that ultimate faith and trust should not be placed in any human being, regardless of job title or position in society. Only God Himself is holy and righteous. It’s so sad when those claiming to be His ambassadors behave in a way that brings dishonor to Christ’s name.
A thoughtful blog. Humanity’s resistance to trusting God for truth is nothing new, going back to Genesis 3:1 where doubt enters the minds of Adam and Eve with the asking of one simple question, “Did God really say?” Yet, there seems little denying that our culture has struggled rather acutely with accepting Truth since at least the 1960’s, with the rise of post-modern thinking. For now, many still accept that “God is love”. But how long before even this is rejected, just as other “God is” quotes from Scripture have been rejected by too many. (Such as Deut 4:24 “God is a consuming fire, a jealous God”. Deut 6:4 “God, the LORD is one”. Ps 50:6 “God Himself is judge” Etc.).
Sadly, for our society’s sake, post-modernism fails to pass the livability test. Can we really live within a reality where nothing is truly true? No. (Well, philosophically, maybe – for a little while, and even then, only inconsistently. But practically, it is not possible). Optimistically, for our society’s sake, this means that the “there-is-no-truth” view is not sustainable and therefore self-defeating. Given time, it will implode. We are left to hope that as this worldview brings about its own inevitable demise, it will do so quickly and with little collateral damage.
To the charge “You can’t handle the truth!”, well – that’s a different point, and all might stand ‘guilty as charged’ by Col. Jessep.
This classic Charlie Brown line is shared just for fun, as the full Christmas season is behind us for another year.
May God’s face shine upon you.
POSTSCRIPT
The blog above was first published on the original version of this website. Since then the site has been completely reformatted and upgraded. With this change, the blogs needed to be re-uploaded to correct corruptions that occurred with the transition in 2023. While doing this, some additional information was added at the conclusion of many of the older blogs in a “postscript” section that might not have appeared in the first draft that was published on the first website. Think of this new content as “bonus material”.
Congratulations on Your Ordination
A fellow student who graduated from seminary after I did shared sentiments that sound familiar to almost every man who travelled a similar path:
Well, it took 9 years, but it all comes to fruition on Sunday. After years of seminary, an internship, written exams, and oral exams, the ordination process is finally almost done. Praise be to the Lord for calling me, sustaining me and my family through the process, and providing so many friends and churches that have faithfully supported me over the years! A big thank you to my professors, mentors, friends, and family for making me keep at it through the good times and the hard times.
Many blessings to you,
Pastor Troy Skinner
