RELEVANT MAGAZINE: Keith Giles Explains Why The Church Has To Reject Politics

I honestly had given up all hope that this interview with Relevant Magazine I did would ever actually get published. But, just when I had given up, it happened!

Click HERE to read the entire interview and please leave a comment after you share it with all of your friends!

Thanks,

Keith

5 MINUTE VIDEO: Why Nationalism Is Dangerous

Why can't Christians practice their faith and remain loyal to politics and nationalism? What's the big deal?

Take 5 minutes and listen as author Keith Giles explains why Nationalism and Christianity do not mix.

One reason is the "Nones and Dones" trend which is steadily growing in American churches today. This phenomena has been driving millions of young people [and some older ones] away from the church. Why? Because they're sick of politics in the church.

Another reason is the disturbing trends revealed in the "Early Warning Signs of Fascism" found in the Holocaust Museum which are:

EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF FASCISM

1. Powerful and continuing nationalism
2. Disdain for human rights
3. Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
4. Rampant sexism
5. Controlled mass media
6. Obsession with national security
7. Religion and government intertwined
8. Corporate power protected
9. Labor power suppressed
10. Disdain for intellectual and the arts
11. Obsession with crime and punishment
12. Rampant cronyism and corruption

Read the best-selling book "Jesus Untangled:Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb" available now on Amazon.

JESUS UNTANGLED: The book in progress

Over the last few weeks I've been taking some time to start writing my next book.

The title of the book is "Jesus Untangled" and it's inspired by the 14 part series of articles I wrote a few months ago.

Just to summarize it: The book will look at how the Christian Church has become entangled with nationalism, politics and denominationalism. We'll also examine why it's so important to become untangled, and how we can set ourselves free.

So far I've finished writing the first 3 chapters of the book and if I can keep on pace to write a chapter each week I should have the first draft completed by sometime in early July.

After that I'll go back and do re-writes, edits, and add in any missing quotes, references and foot notes before going to the final edit stage.

That should take me until the end of July to wrap up.

Hopefully by then I'll be ready to publish this project and then we'll start thinking about the cover, sending out pre-pub copies for review and lining up interviews with various Blog Radio shows and podcasters to get the word out about it.

If you're really curious about the book and my progress going forward, I've created a closed group over on Facebook called "Jesus Untangled" [pretty creative huh?] where people who want the "inside scoop" can follow along with me as I go.

Would you like to be in that group? If so, please follow me on Facebook and then message me about being added to the group. I'll add you and then you'll get to hear how things are going.

Some of what I've shared so far with the group is:
*Chapter updates on the book so far
*My outline for the book
*My process for writing the book
*Articles, posts, quotes and videos related to the topic that have inspired the book

Going forward here's what I plan to share:
*Chapter-by-chapter updates on my progress
*Insight into my research process before I write a book
*Other books that have fueled my research on this topic
*Additional notes or thoughts that may - or may not - make it into the final book
*Updates on getting the book published
*Cover ideas and designs  [Vote for your favorite!]
*Ideas for Guerilla Marketing the book online and in the real world
*And more!

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what else I'll share in the group, but I'm also asking everyone to share their own videos, quotes, links, etc. on the topic to help keep us focused on the subject matter and - who knows - maybe even influence what I write in the final draft of the book.

My hope is that this group will also help me to stay focused on the goal of writing at least one chapter per week and staying on track to finish everything up before August, if at all possible.

In short, I need your help!

Thanks for your prayers and your support as I write the book.

I appreciate it more than you know.

Peace,
Keith

AWOL Christian Soldiers

[Part 9 in the "Jesus Untangled" Series] 

  “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4)

Every single person who is following Jesus has enlisted in the Army of God. This army exists to defend the Gospel of the Kingdom and to engage in spiritual warfare against principalities and powers of the Enemy. Our aim is to overthrow the powers of darkness and to transform people from within by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our victory is assured. Our general is unbeatable. Our weapons are powerful beyond measure. Nothing can stop us.

But, according to the Apostle Paul, there is something that can slow us down. He calls it “entanglement with the affairs of this life.”

Much like any soldier, we have to be on our guard against distractions. We cannot become too immersed in the nation we are here to liberate. We cannot allow ourselves to lay down our weapons in the pursuit of “civilian affairs”, or we risk losing ground and we endanger our fellow soldiers.

Politics is part of the world system. Therefore, it is certainly one of the entanglements we must resolve to avoid.

Honestly, the political entanglement is one of the most dangerous we face in this battle. Why? Simply because those who become entangled in it do so out of a sincere desire to make a positive difference in the world.

Of course, every Christian hopes to make an impact on the world around them. This is part of why we are so eager to serve our Lord Jesus – because He has the very best possible plan for changing the world from within – and without bloodshed or oppression or violence.

No, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make the world a better place. The problem is in seeking to do so without Jesus. Or, worse, to mix Christianity with Politics as if one had need of the other.

Politics is not about Jesus. Simply put, it’s about power and influence. Nowadays it is increasingly also about money, fame, manipulation, and compromise. The follower of Jesus has no business becoming entangled in such a worldly, corrupt system.

Even if the Christian sincerely believes that they can make a difference through politics, the fact remains that the amount of good that might be accomplished in this way is often at the expense of one or more of their own Christian values. Compromises must take place. Voters must often choose between the lesser of two evils, which still amounts to choosing some option – or some politician – who is evil.

What’s more, politics involves millions – sometimes billions – of dollars in campaign spending. Just imagine if that same amount of money had been invested in the sharing of the Gospel, or in actually solving some of the problems facing actual citizens in our nation. How much better off would our world be if we abandoned the political process and simply shared our funds and invested our time directly with the people around us who are in need?

“But no political party would ever spend their money on the Gospel, or in helping advance the Kingdom, or in caring for the poor,” you might say. To which I would reply, “Then why would any Christian entangle themselves with such a gigantic waste of money and empty use of time?”

Do you know what you get when you mix Christianity and Politics? You get Politics.

As with the issue of War, we can rest assured that nations will continue to fight them. But Christians need not participate in those wars. And, yes, nations will continue to seek political solutions to the problems of this world – as they have done for thousands of years – but Christians need not become entangled in that endless, fruitless process.

We have better things to do.

We are soldiers of the King. Our army is advancing daily. New recruits arrive ready for the battle even as we speak. Our Lord has spoken. We must engage the Enemy. Entanglements only serve the interests of our foes.

One day this battle will be over. Our Lord will descend with a shout. And on that day he will look over His troops. When he comes to you, will He see one who has lived as a stranger and an alien, untangled from civilian affairs, or will he see a soldier who tried to mix Christianity with Politics and ended up with Politics?

-kg
**

READ THE ENTIRE "JESUS UNTANGLED" SERIES:

Part 1: "Jesus Untangled"
Part 2: "Who Are We?"
Part 3: "Why Do People Think I'm A Liberal?"
Part 4: "Still Embracing Constantine?"

Part 5: How American Evangelicalism Has Been Exploited, by Ross Rohde

Part 6: The Entanglement Agenda

Part 7: "What Would Jesus Say About The American Revolution?" by Chuck McKnight

Part 8: "Ambassadors of Contrast"

Part 9: “AWOL Christian Soldiers”
Part 10: "The Elephant In The Church"

Part 11: "Christian American Horror Story"

Part 12: "Our True Source of Liberty" by Ross Rohde

Part 13: "Welcome To Post Christian America"

Part 14: "What Would Wilberforce Do?"
Part 15: "Crucify Your Politics"

Is This Christianity?

Imagine you live in a huge mansion. One day you discover that there’s an entire wing of the building you didn’t know was there before. You begin to explore and find a large family that’s been living there a long time. They’ve got nice stuff over there, some of it better than yours.

So, you go over there, kill them, enslave the survivors, and take their stuff.

Is that what a Christian would do? Because that’s essentially what the first American settlers did to the Native Americans, and what we continue to do in Africa, the Middle East, South America, etc.

If being "Christian" means being like Christ, then I have a very hard time believing that America - or any other nation on this Earth - has ever been like Christ.

Thoughts?

 

WATCH: CHASE ANDRE AT PACIFIST FIGHT CLUB

Chase Andre teaches at Pacifist Fight Club on Saturday, May 5, 2012 on "The Dangers of Christian Nationalism".

WATCH: KEITH GILES AT PACIFIST FIGHT CLUB

Live video by Ustream Watch Keith Giles teaching on Christian Zionism: Israel, Palestine and the Kingdom of God at Pacifist Fight Club on Saturday, May 5, 2012.