A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE CHURCH AND ITS MESSAGE.
“Many whom God has, the Church does not have, and many whom the Church has, God does not have.” Augustine.
All my life I have been a member of a ‘Church’. The church designation itself is derived from old English, with equivalents in other European languages such as ‘kirk’ in Scottish, ‘kerk’ in Netherlands, ‘Kirche’ in German. They all are derived from the Greek word ‘kuriakon’, meaning the dwelling place of the Lord (kurios).
But, the Greek word ‘kuriakon’ does not appear in the New Testament. Therefore, to refer the concept of church to buildings that are God’s dwelling place, is not biblical. A church building, its spire promisingly pointing to heaven, is just that: brick and mortar. That’s also the reason why in Revelation 21: 22, the seer of Patmos, said: “I see no temple there (in the New Creation)”. No Church, not even a Bible there.
What is biblical is found in Psalm 24: “The Lord’s is the earth and its fulness, the world, and those who dwell in it.”
So, please don’t get too worked up about ‘the church’. It is a human invention, contrary to ‘the earth and its fulness’. That is God’s dearly beloved creation, specifically mentioned in John 3: 16 as God’s object of unconditional devotion. If God’s love for creation is so immense, to the point where He sacrificed his only child to wrest it back from the clutches of the Devil (think about that for a day or two) should we, following God’s example, not sacrifice a few of our luxuries and conveniences, and so showing our love for Creation? Shouldn’t the ‘church’ be an example in this?
What constitutes the Word?
The same applies to ‘The Word of God.” The church custom, after reading the Bible, to say, “This is the Word of God”, implying that only the Scriptures are God’s Word, is incorrect. Psalm 33: 9 clearly states: “God spoke, and it came to be”. What came to be? God’s Word fulfilled in Creation. There also is Christ: God’s Word become Flesh. To make the Bible God’s only Word, is idolatry. The Belgic Confession is quite clear here. To designate the Bible as God’s only revelation, leads to Religion, and Religion kills. Religion leads to human – thus faulty – interpretations.
Jesus hated religion for the simple reason that it killed him. John 10: 10, in a few words, outlines Jesus’s view of life. The text quotes Jesus’ simple statement: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” I wonder whether Jesus had Trump in mind when he said “The thief comes only to steal”. There are reliable sources suggesting that the Trump family’s wealth, in the current two years of the Trump dynasty, has increased by $10 billions. His presidency has been typified by exploiting creation and abolishing all environmental regulations, and enriching themselves purely through killing God’s gifts to humanity, committing the fatal sin: the sin against the Holy Spirit, for which there is no forgiveness.
Paul Krugman reports: “The level of corruption that Trump has engaged in and enabled in others, is completely unprecedented – self-dealing that, as Trump would say, is like nothing anybody has ever seen before”.
THE AMERICAN RELIGION.
The American Religion is the title of a book by America’s most qualified literary critic, Dr. Harold Bloom. Its subtitle is: ‘The emergence of the Post-Christian Nation’.
I bought it some 30 years ago. Its core message is that “We think we are a Christian nation, but we are not” Now Gnosticism rules. Gnosticism hates matter = Creation, and favors ‘Spirit’, destined for heaven. The American self stands outside of creation. Dr. Bloom bluntly stated: “The American Religion has ceased to be Christian”. Trump was politically so successful, because he was – and still is – the exponent of the American Religion, a pure reflection of the nation’s ruling faith.
Both the VP JD Vance and the head of the US military, Hegseth, are recent ‘converts’ to the American Religion, the VP being Roman Catholic, Hegseth being Protestant, espousing Christian Nationalism,
This week, Hegseth took his personal crusade to a whole new level, announcing a new Pentagon Office of Religious Affairs, which reports directly to him. The military he said, was putting on “the full armor of God”. The Pentagon insists that it will not “compel religious participation”, but given Hegseth’s broader efforts to imbue Christianity into the armed forces, it’s hard not to be alarmed.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which has sued the Pentagon over its worship services, is certainly worried. “All of [Hegseth’s] actions combined with this latest announcement make clear that Hegseth is advancing a Christian Nationalist agenda in the military,” a teaching based on the Old Testamentary regulations, such as the stoning of women caught in extra-marital sexual situations.
Love Creation as God does, as the indigenous people do.
All my life I have been a member of a ‘Church’, an institution that will vanish in the New Creation, soon to come. Because “God so loved the Cosmos”, we, too should follow God’s example: That is true Christianity.