The Apotheosis of Washington

Remember when our nation's leaders commissioned a giant fresco painting in the dome of the U.S. Capitol building which depicts George Washington becoming a god and sitting next to other pagan Roman gods like Minerva, Neptune, Vulcan and Mercury?

Wait...what?

Yes. It's true. 

America - supposedly a "Christian Nation" - hired an Italian Greek artist in 1865 to paint the inside of the rotunda at the United States Capitol Building. It's still there today. 

Most Americans - and certainly most American Christians - have no idea what it is or what it shows. 

The Apotheosis of Washington - literally the "Deification of Washington" which shows the nation's first president sitting among pagan gods - was painted over an 11 month time span at the end of the Civil War. 

Yes, the painting boldly depicts George Washington sitting in the heavens in an exalted manner; or in literal terms, ascending and becoming a god (apotheosis). 

George Washington is allegorically represented as being surrounded by figures from classical mythology. Washington is draped in purple, a royal color, with a rainbow arch at his feet, flanked by the goddess Victoria (draped in green, using a horn) to his left and the Goddess of Liberty to his right. 

Surrounding Washington, the two goddesses and the 13 maidens are six scenes lining the perimeter, each representing a national concept allegorically: from directly below Washington in the center and moving clockwise: 

• "War"
• "Science"
• "Marine" 
• "Commerce" 
• "Mechanics"
• "Agriculture"

The six scenes depict the following:

WAR
Freedom, also known as Columbia, is directly below Washington in the personification of War. The scene depicts a woman fighting for liberty with a raised sword, a cape, and a helmet and shield (in the colors of the American flag) trampling figures representing Tyranny and Kingly Power. To Freedom's left assisting her is a fierce bald eagle (the national bird of the United States) carrying arrows and a thunderbolt (reminiscent of the arrows carried by the eagle in the Great Seal of the United States).

SCIENCE
Minerva, the Roman goddess of crafts and wisdom, is portrayed with helmet and spear pointing to an electrical generator creating power stored in batteries next to a printing press, representing great American inventions. American scientists and inventors Benjamin Franklin, Samuel F. B. Morse, and Robert Fulton watch. In the left part of the scene a teacher demonstrates the use of dividers.

MARINE
This scene shows Neptune, the Roman sea-god, with trident and crown of seaweed riding in a shell chariot drawn by sea horses. Venus, goddess of love born from the sea, is depicted helping to lay the transatlantic telegraph cable which ran from America to the Telegraph Field in Ireland.[2] In the background is an ironclad warship with smokestacks.

COMMERCE
Mercury, the Roman god of commerce, with his winged petasos and sandals and a caduceus, is depicted giving a bag of gold to American Revolutionary War financier Robert Morris. To the left, men move a box on a dolly; on the right, the anchor and sailors lead into "Marine."

MECHANICS
Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge, is depicted standing at an anvil with his foot on a cannon next to a pile of cannonballs. A steam engine is in the background. The man at the forge is thought to represent Charles Thomas, the supervisor of ironwork during the construction of the Capitol dome.

AGRICULTURE
Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, is shown with a wreath of wheat and a cornucopia, symbol of plenty, while sitting on a McCormick mechanical reaper. The personification of Young America in a liberty cap holds the reins of the horses, while the goddess Flora gathers flowers in the foreground.

Is this the sort of thing any Christian nation would approve of? Can you imagine posting this in your church? Can you imagine Jesus approving of this?

Speaking of which: Where is Jesus in this painting? Where is the One True God? Why are Roman gods and goddesses depicted alongside George Washington as if he were equal to them?

Does this disturb you? 

I'd love to know your thoughts about it.

Please leave comments below.

Thanks,
kg

SESSION 1: Jesus Untangled: Cincinnati - Keith Giles

This is a live recording of Session 1: Jesus Untangled:Cincinnati led by author Keith Giles.



Recorded live on Saturday, May 20, 2017 at Northstar Community Church, Loveland, OH.

In this session, author Keith Giles speaks about the need to separate our faith and our politics.

NOTE: Apologies for the final Q&A session cutting out at the end.

DISPENSATIONALISM REFUTED [Part 12] - The Restoration of the State of Israel?

In 1948 the State of Israel was restored, in part. 

Doesn't that "prove" that the Dispensationalists are right when they suggest that there are prophecies still to be fulfilled about Jerusalem and the Jewish people?

Wasn't the restoration of Israel a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy?

Not exactly.

Take a few minutes and listen as Keith explains what prophetic scriptures say about the restoration of Jerusalem in both the Old and the New Testament scriptures.

Click the image above to watch the video, or visit the YouTube channel here>

DISPENSATIONALISM REFUTED [Part 10] - The Problem of the New Covenant

Dispensationalists have a problem. It's called the New Covenant.

Here's why: Because according to Jeremiah 31:31, this New Covenant will be made with the "House of Israel", and Jesus fulfilled this at the Last Supper when he took the cup and said, "This cup is the New Covenant in my blood".

Those Disciples to whom Jesus made this Covenant went on to establish the Ekklesia [the Church] and then they taught those Christians to remember this New Covenant promise as often as they gathered together.
 

Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, taught Gentile Christians in Corinth [and elsewhere] to share this Lord's Supper together and to remember these promises which are applied to them - the Ekklesia - and effectively, as the "New Israel" of God.

Watch the video to learn more.

Click on the image to watch, or go to Keith's YouTube channel here>

Responding To My Critics: Why Jesus Is Not A Liberal [And Neither Am I]

One of the most consistent complaints I’ve heard from people regarding my book is that I’m not tough enough on the Liberal Democrats or that I am too critical of the Conservative Republican brand of Christianity.

In light of that I’d like to make a few clarifications:

*The reason my book speaks more about Conservative Republican Christianity is because this is my own background and experience. I frankly can’t say as much about the Liberal Democrat Christianity because that wasn’t something I was immersed in for over 25 years of my life.

*If anyone reads my book and understands my message, they will abandon all politics, not just conservative politics.

*As long as we are continually distracted by which side – the Left or the Right – is worse than the other side, we will remain entangled in politics. It doesn’t matter which one you think is better or worse. The point is they are both corrupt and a distraction from our calling as Ambassadors of Christ’s Kingdom.

*Just because I spend less time criticizing the Left does not mean that I am in favor of Democratic policies, politicians or ideologies. Nor does it mean that Democrats are somehow “better” or “less entangled” than Republicans.

*HOWEVER: My book does warn readers NOT to take my criticisms of Conservative Republican Christianity and Politics as a signal that they should swing to the Left, or even towards another party like the Libertarians the Green party, etc.

In fact on page 117 of my book I say this:

“Let’s be clear. The answer to all of this is not to join the Democratic Party, the Libertarian Party, or even to create our own political party. No, the answer is to abandon politics completely, to re-focus our eyes on Jesus, and to place our faith in His plan to change the world. The American Church must return to Her Bridegroom. She must remember Her first love.”

*On page 122 of my book I say this:

“One study conducted in 2011 found that nearly 5,400 former congressional staffers and 400 former U.S. lawmakers left Capitol Hill to become federal lobbyists over a 10 year period.  So, it really doesn’t matter whether or not there is a Republican or a Democrat in the White House

or if one party has a majority in Congress. Other than a few minor details, there are no significant differences between one or the other. Mainly because both parties are largely controlled by the same powerful corporations.”

*On page 130 of my book I say:

“Many lobbyists even go so far as to write the bills they want Congress to pass, and to hand those bills to their representatives. The Congressmen often don’t even read the entire bill before they introduce it, vote on it, and pass it into law. It doesn’t matter if those Congressmen are Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Libertarian. This is how our government works, and it has been this way for a very long time.”

*On page 146 I say:

“So, again, for the record, I am not a liberal or a Democrat. I am also not a Republican or a Libertarian. I do not even vote. I do not endorse any political party or agenda or candidate for office. I place no faith whatsoever in politics or politicians. My hope is in Christ and in His Gospel alone. The frustrating thing is that, whenever someone advocates for the idea that Christians should listen to the words of Jesus and put them into practice by caring for the poor, loving their enemy, or refraining from violence they risk being labeled as a liberal or accused of being motivated by politics. Even if what they’re really doing is following the Lord Jesus Christ.”

So, in conclusion, let me reiterate that my book advocates a complete and total abandonment of all political entanglements. Everything in the book points to Jesus and calls Christians to seek first His Kingdom and completely forsake any and all connections with politics.

If you read the book and you are offended that I didn't take more time to attack the other side, I suspect you might still be entangled in partisan politics and have totally missed the point.

Remember: You can't convert a culture if that culture has already converted you.

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." [Hebrews 12:1-2]

-kg

**
READ MORE

*God Is Not A Republican Or A Democrat [Or An American]

*Why Do People Think I'm A Liberal?

NOW AVAILABLE

My book Jesus Untangled:Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb is available on Amazon now.

Order here

Only Leadership Can Save Us?

I subscribe to George Barna’s research reports. A few of the recent surveys have dealt with the growing political divide between Christians in America.

Honestly, I could probably write a blog each day just trying to process all the different results of these surveys [which is why so far I have not commented on them very often here on my blog]. It’s just too overwhelming to respond to each and every little detail.

But in this case I had to make an exception.

The most recent report examines the widening ideology gap between Christians in America. In the summary at the bottom of the report, George Barna himself weighs in and declares that there is simple fix to the political gaps between American Christians, saying:

 “Unfortunately, the survey shows that we have more than a minor gap dividing the various factions in our country. We have a canyon of epic proportions that seems to be widening each year…That gap has emerged due to an absence of strong, visionary leadership…and the gap is only going to be eliminated by the presence of strong, visionary leadership.”

This is where I had to stop and shake my head. 

Really? People disagree on political issues because of a lack of “strong, visionary leadership”?

Perhaps if your goal is total indoctrination of the populace you might look at differences of opinions as failures of top-down authority structures to adequately police the thoughts of their minions.

Is that what Barna believes the clergy is designed to accomplish? Are our leaders failing to maintain control of everyone’s uniformity of thought?

If you see Christianity as primarily about having the right information about God, then I suppose I can understand a reaction like this. To Barna, too many people have a disagreement about which information is correct about God. This is a problem caused by a failure of information brokers [pastors] to pass along the information to those under their authority [those in the pew].

In this paradigm, the problem can only be solved by better leaders who are more successful at indoctrinating their flock so that everyone agrees with one another [or, more accurately, with Barna].

He does go on to say: 

“That leadership does not have to come from the White House; in fact, it may be more compelling if it comes from local and state leaders. But the inescapable reality is that unless strong leaders consistently promote a common vision and introduce ways of incorporating that vision into every activity and measurement being undertaken, the hyper-partisanship that has fragmented our national unity and discourse will continue to expand.”

Whoa. It’s worse than I thought.

Barna apparently wasn’t really even thinking about Christian leaders when he spoke of a failure of leadership to align the Church in America. He was looking to political leaders to do the job.

Seriously?

So, Jesus has passed the keys of the Kingdom to Mayors, Governors, Senators, Congressmen and Presidents?

Christians in America should look to politicians for guidance about spiritual issues? Churches should elect political gurus to learn more about how Jesus would want them to respond to issues like same-sex marriage, transgender rights, abortion, or even whether or not capitalism is preferable to socialism?

I doubt that.

Besides, doesn’t this seem like a “Chicken or the Egg” scenario to you? I mean, if American Christians are already confused and divided about all these issues – because of bad leadership – then how will they know if they are electing good leaders?

I do agree with Mr. Barna about one thing: American Christians are certainly divided over politics. His own research confirms this.

Where we disagree is this: I don’t think the solution is to get everyone to agree.

That’s right. Agreement is not necessary for unity. Not in the Body of Christ, anyway.

When the Christians in Corinth were divided over which Apostle they preferred, Paul reminded them to focus on Jesus. [See 1 Cor. 1]

When the Roman Christians were divided over whether it was sinful to eat meat sacrificed to idols, Paul told them to make up their own individual minds and get back to seeking Christ together and encouraging one another as the family of God. [See Rom. 14]

As Paul reminded the Galatians: “…we are all one in Christ Jesus.” [Gal. 3:28]

That means we are only one when we are focused on Christ. If we make Jesus the central focus, we have unity.

But if we make politics, or theology, or doctrine, or anything else the focus, we have division.

I also agree with Barna on one other thing: Our only hope is devotion to our leader.

He and I just seem to disagree about who that Leader happens to be.

-kg

**

My book “Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb” is available now at Amazon on Kindle and Paperback.

Order here

MY NEW BOOK: JESUS UNTANGLED

This is the book Trump and Hillary don't want you to read.

My new book, Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb is coming to Amazon on Inauguration Day - January 20, 2017 in both print and ebook formats.

I'm very honored to have Greg Boyd [author of The Myth of a Christian Nation] contribute the Foreword to my book.

This is also my first book that I'm publishing through an actual publisher rather than going the self-publishing route. Already I'm kicking myself for not doing so much sooner. It's been a wonderful experience so far.

If you'd like to know more about the book, we have a little landing page set up here: www.JesusUntangled.com

I'm currently setting up radio and podcast interviews for the book, and I'm sending out advance pre-release copies on PDF to several authors and bloggers to solicit advance reviews leading up to January 20th, 2017.

If you live in the SoCal area, you might want to join us for the Jesus Untangled Book Signing Party at Fuller Seminary, Irvine on Saturday evening, Jan. 21st. at 6pm. This will be a great opportunity to grab a signed copy of the book and meet me in person. I'll read a chapter from the book and take a few questions.

Going forward, you might see a few new 5 Minute Video clips here and on YouTube focused on the book, plus a few other surprises that I can't wait to share.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog over the last 10 years, and who have supported me and my writing ministry. I'm so blessed to share this book with all of you!

Thanks for the support, it is greatly appreciated.

Peace,
Keith

NOTE: If you plan to buy the book on Amazon, please DO NOT PRE-ORDER the book. We're asking everyone to be patient and purchase the book on Friday, January 20th so our sales numbers are maximized and all sorts of beautiful things start to happen for us at Amazon.

Thanks!

THE SAVAGE SWORD OF JESUS?

Sometimes you have to switch tactics to make your point.

For the last few years I've been trying to help American Christians understand who Jesus is and that He isn't a Pro-War, American Capitalist. I'm not making much progress, it seems.

But then I ran across this article about a new comic book being created called "The Savage Sword of Jesus" and it sounded like what some American Christians believe. [This is not a joke]

Here's a little about the comic from an interview with writer Grant Morrison over at Vulture Magazine:

"In an interview with Vulture, Morrison revealed his idea for this controversial take on Jesus Christ came...when he uncovered a Nazi project called Positive Christianity, which “recast Christ as a proactive Aryan rather than a meek Jew.” The title and physical look of the Messiah are inspired by a “Conan the Barbarian” series."

"Obviously, I had done a lot of research for that one, and I just came across this interesting idea that during the Second World War, the Nazis had attempted to rebrand Christianity, and rebrand Christ, specifically. Take him away from the gentle and peace-loving character of the Gospels, and to transform him into a Nordic and brutish and violent Messiah.”

"The idea of stories being changed to fit a narrative rings true with Morrison, especially in this current political climate: “We’re living in a time when it’s quite clear how even the most pacifist stories or narratives that one time were a lot more positive, can be perverted to stand in as catalysts for violence and mayhem. Especially now that we live in a world where we’ve seen that lies can easily be overlooked, and where celebrity culture is more powerful than the truth, and where people can quite happily twist any narrative to suit any new narrative, and almost twist narratives into their complete opposites, which is what the Nazis tried to do with the Gospels.”

Sound familiar? To me, it sounds frighteningly familiar...

Because so many American Christians have pretty much already done this theologically. They've created a version of Jesus that is pro-war, who approves of violence, who condones torture, who turns a blind eye when we turn away refugees, and who can't stand "sinners".

Anyone who reads the actual New Testament scriptures will find that Jesus isn't any of those things.

This is why the "Savage Sword of Jesus"comic should offend anyone who truly embraces Jesus for who He is.

It should also offend Christians when someone equates following Jesus with embracing violence, oppression, war, and nationalism.

But for some reason it doesn't.

This is why I've said the greatest threat to Christianity in America is American Christianity. Because it looks so little like Jesus.

“Savage Sword of Jesus Christ” goes on sale December 28th.

-kg


**

SAYING GOODBYE TO STAR-SPANGLED JESUS

"God made man in his own image and man returned the compliment." - Blaise Pascal

Christians in America have a problem. They've created for themselves a version of Jesus that doesn't really exist. 

This Star-Spangled version of Jesus is pretty much the exact opposite of the one we find in the Gospel record. 

This Americanized Jesus is anti-immigrant whereas Jesus was an immigrant. 

Their Jesus is pro-war even though the actual Jesus was called the Prince of Peace and told us to love our enemies rather than kill them. 

Their Jesus is patriotic even though the real Jesus never pledged allegiance to any nation, and came to bring all nations together as one loving family under His own banner of agape.

Their Jesus is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed capitalist, even though the real Jesus was a brown-skinned, brown-eyed Jewish man who would most likely be racially profiled by airport security.

The Americanized Jesus wants to be your co-pilot on the road to the pursuit of happiness, but the actual Jesus told us to surrender all that we own and take up our cross to die to ourselves on a daily basis. He also said not to trust in money but to freely give to whomever asks of us.

The red, white and blue Jesus is totally ok with torturing our enemies and bombing other nations, whereas the real Jesus told us to treat others as we hope to be treated, and that those who live by the sword will die by it themselves. He also said we should bless those who persecute us and pray for those who want to harm us.

Yankee Doodle Jesus is often compared to the American soldier because both were willing to lay down and die for your freedom. However, only the real Jesus actually died without attempting to kill as many other people as he could before he did so. He just surrendered his life out of sincere love for both those who loved him and for those who were nailing him to the cross. 

The imaginary Americanized Jesus loves America more than every other nation. He blesses this nation more than He blesses the rest. Clearly, He has a plan for them that is more wonderful, and more special than any other nation. But the real Jesus loves all the nations equally. In fact, his love isn't for the national entities, but for the human beings who find themselves living in those places. They are all made in the image of His Father. He died for each of them. He blessed all of them equally. And if those who live in America are more financially secure than other nations, this should be taken as a sign of responsibility to care for those who are not as financially stable, not as a sign of our favored nation status with the Almighty.

The real Jesus is concerned about the poor and even suggests that the way we love them indicates how much we actually love Him, or not. 

In short, many Christians in America actually worship a version of Jesus that doesn't really bear any actual resemblance to the real Jesus we see in the New Testament.

I once believed in that Star-Spangled Jesus, but not anymore. 

My faith is now firmly centered in the Jesus we read about in the Gospel record. He is no respecter of persons. He recognizes no political system. He regards no nation any different from another. He loves everyone. He died for all of us. He invites everyone into His family and calls all of us to join in the great invitation to sit at His table. 

There is only one Jesus. He wears no colors but His own. 

Let's follow Him.

-kg

NOTE: My new book, "Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb" is available now on Amazon!

PAPERBACK

KINDLE

Learn more at: www.JesusUntangled.com

Revival or Resurrection?

Gather thousands of Christians together. Pack them into a stadium. Crank the amps up to eleven. Jump around. Raise your hands. Empty your pockets.

Bow your heads. Listen to the message.

Drive home.

The world is still the same.

You are still the same.

Is that Revival?

Revival, to me, isn’t about hype.

It’s about a handful of people whose hearts are sincerely burdened for the lost, who are desperate for more of Jesus and who cannot face another second of life-as-usual.

Those people aren’t waiting for a national conference.

They’re not interested in the mega church pastor’s new book.

They couldn’t care less about the worship band whose new album is on sale near the snack table.

They just want Jesus.

They are only interested in Jesus.

They want to know Jesus more.

They want to be like Jesus.

They want a heart like His.

They want to love the people Jesus loves.

They want to serve the people Jesus served.

They want to forgive the way Jesus forgave them.

They are moved by the things that move the heart of Jesus.

People like this open their arms to gay and transgender people.

Those profoundly touched by Jesus step outside and share their food with the poor.

They pray for the sick without stopping to pull out their iPhone so they can post it to YouTube later.

Revival? For me, that’s a word for a person whose heart is broken.

A person whose soul is ripped down the middle at the sight of all the suffering that surrounds them.

Revival is a word that calls attention to the reality that something that is dead needs to come alive again.

Maybe we don’t need another revival meeting. Maybe what we need is more like a resurrection.

Let me ask:

Doesn’t the world deserve a Church that does more than pack stadiums on the weekend?

Isn’t it more powerful and effective to wake up every morning and quietly, yet consistently, live out the commands of Jesus where we live and breathe?

To me, that is what revival really looks like.

It’s not hyped up.

It’s not up on the Jumbo-Tron.

It doesn’t have a soundtrack or an official t-shirt.

Revival is simply a group of people who are hungry for Jesus and moved by Jesus who are willing to go out and act like Jesus in a world that is desperate for Jesus, [even if they don’t know it yet].

I’m not saying it’s a sin to hold a big conference. I’m not saying that it’s wrong to support Christian ministries.

What I am saying is that Christianity in America seems to be hopelessly enamored with spectacle and addicted to events.

Instead of a conference that goes to eleven, I'd rather see a move of the Spirit that sends people out to hang with the zeroes.

I guess I’m just waiting for the big “Let’s Go and Do the Stuff Jesus Did” Conference,

where thousands of Christians spread out over the city

and break into groups of five or ten to visit children’s hospitals

and pray for cancer patients

and give hugs to the homeless

and reconcile with their gay brothers and sisters

and pray a sincere blessing for their President

and repent publicly from seeking to change the culture through political power

and maybe donate ten million dollars to feed the poor and house the mentally ill who sleep on our streets every night.

When I see that, I’ll call it revival.

Until then, I’m really not sure what to call it.

-kg

A Christian Response To Terrorism

With every new terrorist attack, Christians in America struggle to respond as Jesus would. Like everyone else, we condemn the terrorists. Like everyone else, we pray for the victims. Like everyone else, we cry out for retribution and we paint every Muslim on earth as an evil person who should be hated and opposed.

But we’re not called to be like everyone else. We’re called to be like Jesus.

So, instead of responding like everyone else does, maybe we should take a step back and try to look at the problem the way Jesus does.

He doesn’t see us as Americans, or Europeans, or Asians. He sees us all as His beloved children who are made in His image.

He doesn’t see us as Baptists, or Buddhists, or Muslims or Atheists. He sees us as a people He would rather die for than to live without.

Ultimately, God doesn’t look at the outward appearance, or the superficial labels we all wear. God looks at the heart.

This means He takes each person one at a time and evaluates them based on who they are on the inside, not what they are on the outside.

Muslims, specifically, are not the problem. They are human beings; members of the human race; and they have the same dreams and hopes and fears and aspirations as we all do.

They love their children. They are concerned for their families. They care about those who suffer. They worry about the direction their nation is going. They want to be happy and they want to make the world a better place. Just like you and I do.

Christians have more in common with Muslims than with almost any other world religion. Muslims and Christians both believe in Jesus. They both believe different things about who He was and what He did, but what we have in common with Muslims is greater than most realize.

For example:

Mohammed is mentioned 4 times in the Qu’ran. Jesus is mentioned 25 times.

The Qu’ran teaches that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin who gave birth to Jesus. [ch.3:34] 

In chapter 3, verses 45 to 55, the Qu’ran makes these 9 points about Jesus [whom they call "Isa"]:

·         Jesus is the “Word of God”

·         Jesus is the “Spirit of God”

·         Jesus is “the Christ” [Messiah]

·         Jesus creates life

·         Jesus cured a man born blind, and a man with leprosy.

·         Jesus gives life to dead people.

·         Jesus went to heaven.

·         Jesus is still alive today.

·         Jesus will come again.

In contrast, the Qu’ran says none of these things about Mohammed. According to their own book, Mohammed did no miracles, is not alive today and is not coming back. 

The Qu’ran teaches that God created the Universe through the Word of God.

The Qu’ran also says in ch. 10 verse 94: “If you have any doubt in this Qu’ran which I give to you, go and read the Bible, or ask the people who read the Bible. The Truth has already come to you from your Lord, so do not be a doubter.”

Finally, Mohammed himself personally wrote a letter to his followers and commanded them to provide protection and favor to those who follow Christ. It was written in 626 AD and was called the “Oath of Ashtiname” and you can read about that here.

In this Oath of Ashtiname that Mohammed wrote, he says:

“Their churches must be honored and they must not be withheld from building churches or repairing convents…They must not be forced to carry arms or stones; but the Islams must protect them and defend them against others. It is positively incumbent upon every one of the Islam nation not to contradict or disobey this oath until the Day of Resurrection and the end of the world.”

So, here we have a beautiful place to start building bridges with people of the Muslim faith. We can begin the ministry of reconciliation that Jesus has given to us by reaching out to Muslims, inviting them into our homes, sharing the blessings we have been given, and meeting together with them to talk more about Jesus.

Our house church family has hosted several Muslim people in our worship gatherings over the last ten years. We’ve prayed with them, eaten with them, laughed with them, and encouraged them by acknowledging that they are – like us – people who love God and honor Jesus.

We don't believe exactly the same things, but we have a wonderful common ground to start learning to love one another from. 

We cannot afford to respond to violence and terrorism the way everyone else does. We are ambassadors of a different Kingdom. We are partakers of the Divine nature. We have been given a new heart. We have been – and are now being – transformed by the agape love of Jesus into a people who look and act and love like Jesus.

Let’s repent of returning to our old nature when faced with evil in all its forms. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” [Romans 12:21]

-kg

Related links:

Join The Christian Anti-Terrorism Task Force

How To Fight Like A Christian

Incarnation of Love: Mary Emily Duba  

The Family That Love Built 

A Force More Powerful

Love,Hate and the Kingdom of God

Subversive

For Further Reading:

"Muslims, Christians and Jesus" by Carl Medearis

"The Jihad of Jesus" by Dave Andrews

PROTECTING THE INNOCENT

“Greater love has no man than this; that a man may lay down his life for his friends” – Jesus [John 15:13]

It’s honestly a real struggle for many American Christians to process Jesus’ commands to love our enemies. Especially when we try to filter that through years and years of indoctrination from our society about what it means to be a “Good American”. We have been raised from infancy to glorify violence as a redemptive act. All of our heroes growing up used violence to stop evil. Most of my heroes were holding guns.

So, it’s very hard for us to look at Jesus through that paradigm. He is sort of a hero, but he didn’t kill anyone. He laid down his life for us, to set us free, and we see that as a noble sacrifice. That fits into our American hero grid a little better. But when Jesus commands us – His followers – to walk away from a fight, or to go beyond that to actually bless the person who hates us, or to demonstrate actual love to someone who would like to see us dead – that is another story.

In fact, for many American Christians, it’s just simply impossible to even consider. There’s no way Jesus meant that we shouldn’t fight back. What about using violence to protect the innocent? [Like maybe our spouse or our children are being held at gunpoint by an armed intruder, for example. What then, Jesus?]

I get it. This isn’t easy. But believe it or not, Jesus was serious about loving our enemies. 

Dead serious.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asked a powerful question. He asked “If you love those who love you in return, what credit is that to you? Don’t even the tax collectors do that?”

This question highlights what sort of love Jesus has in mind. He expects us to love extravagantly. We’re not allowed to settle for ordinary love. We’re called to be filled with His brand of extraordinary love that extends to every single person around us.

I hate to break it to you, but killing an armed intruder to protect your family falls under the category of “Loving those who love you in return”. It’s simply not good enough. 

As Jesus goes on to say:

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for those which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends the rain upon the just and on the unjust.” [Matt.5:44-45]

Surprisingly, Jesus has very little to say to us about how we should respond to protect the lives of the innocent. Here’s what we do see:

*Peter used a sword in an attempt to protect the life of Jesus and Jesus rebuked him for it.

*Jesus told Pilate, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight.”

And that is about all the New Testament has to say about the subject.

Maybe the reason Jesus said so little about our need to protect others is because he knew that doing so would necessarily involve violence?

At any rate, Jesus gives us no commands about protecting one another's safety. 

What we do see for the first 300 years or so of Church History is that Christians who were putting the words of Jesus into practice were put to death all the time for their faith. We have no examples of other Christians stepping up to protect the lives of their brothers and sisters. What we see is that everyone was expected to be responsible for their own life. Sometimes Christians would offer their lives in exchange for their brothers or sisters in Christ. Other times they would offer to die alongside of their brothers and sisters so as to share in the sufferings of Christ together. But we see no evidence – not even once – of Christians fighting to protect the lives of others during almost 300 years of intense persecution.

Why is that?

Well, maybe because they understood that their lives were already forfeit to Christ on day one. They understood that anyone who seeks to save their life will lose it, but the one who loses his life for the sake of Christ will save it and keep it forever. [See Matt. 16:25]

My question is: Why don’t we understand this?

Perhaps because we are American Christians who have been told that being American and being Christian are nearly synonymous [even though the two ideals couldn’t be further apart].

We’ve been told to salute our flag, pledge allegiance to our nation, applaud the military, carry a gun and fight for our rights. Jesus told us none of those things. In fact, Jesus is dead against Nationalism, swearing oaths, using violence and demanding our rights.  Jesus told us to love everyone – including our enemies. 

If you love someone you don’t kill them. That’s pretty obvious.

Unless, of course, you don’t want to see that. Then, it’s practically impossible to convince you that loving your enemies and using violence are incompatible concepts. [Believe me, I’ve tried].

“But what about when someone is in danger and we have the power to stop the violence?”

Great question! But stopping the violence can be accomplished without more violence. One way to stop someone from hurting another person is to insert ourselves in between the attacker and the victim. We absorb the violence ourselves and allow the victim to escape. We might even be able to convince the attacker to stop and win an opportunity to explain what compelled us to take such a bold, and dangerous step. [Hint: It’s the love of Jesus].

Honestly, I don’t know if the Church in America will ever really awaken from Her dream of retributive, redemptive violence and embrace the self-sacrificial love of Jesus. I don't know if we can ever really accept the idea of fighting without weapons or defeating evil without violence.

What I do know is that I can’t stop reminding the Church what Jesus said, and what Jesus called us to do in the face of evil.

Our only hope is Jesus. Our only weapon is Love. And if it comes down to it, we are the only one's who die.  

-kg