I began last week’s post with a statement from a peacebuilder in the Middle East. The statement, which is an indictment of the evangelical church, essentially says that evangelicals are considered a liability and not a help when it comes to working for peace.
The problem is that most evangelicals do not see the problem. After all, some are indeed working for peace and are open to learning new things. Thus, for them, this statement runs counter to their experience and actions.
But for others, who are a part of the problem (and I fear that this group is much larger than we think) the statement also does not correspond to their experience. After all, I suspect that most evangelicals consider themselves to be good people who honestly try to follow the way of Jesus. And I am not denying that such is true. My question pertains to whether or not we have been deceived at the same time.
NB: First off, let me begin by noting that I approach posts like this with much trepidation. For one, any attempt to speak prophetically has the inherent danger of arrogance. It is easy to fall prey to the conviction that I know more than everyone else.
This causes me great consternation. On the one hand, I believe that I have a prophetic call. Yet, I fear that both the call won’t be heard (which is part of the arrogance factor: as if it is about me being heard and not me being faithful in proclaiming the word and then letting the Lord sort it out) and that it will either be delivered in pride or at least perceived to be delivered in pride (which also points to the arrogance factor: I remain too concerned with what others think). Lose-lose.
The problem is that I cannot just retreat to my happy place where I just teach the Scriptures and leave it up to everyone else to discern what it means for today. I really wish I could. But we can no longer sit silently. In fact, I fear that we have already waited too long.
Why can’t we hear?
Why is it that prophetic voices often go unheard? There are, of course, many reasons—including the fact that we don’t listen to prophetic voices except the ones that say what we want to hear (see 2 Tim 4:3-4)
At the top of this list is the conviction that we are right. Thus, when someone comes along and says, “Perhaps we should reconsider things,” our first inclination is “Why?” Once we have allowed the “Why?” question to percolate, we then begin to formulate a host of reasons why we shouldn’t listen.
Where do we go from here?
It is my conviction that the problems with evangelicalism are much worse than we want to admit.
My strategy for approaching this issue has been to begin with establishing what is the Gospel. Since I have done this in numerous posts (including a series titled, “What is the Gospel?”— Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4; Post 5; click here for a list of all posts tagged with “Gospel”) I won’t repeat myself here. The problem already arises in that most evangelicals are firmly convinced that they know the Gospel. What I have attempted to note in these posts is that “the Gospel” with which I was raised corresponds more to a modern, Western, individualism than it does to a biblical understanding of the Gospel—which begins with self-denial (Mark 8:34).
My second strategy has been to set forth what I believe to be the nature of the kingdom of God—as I did again in my last post (KOG post 1; KOG post 2; KOG post 3; KOG post 4; KOG post 5; KOG Post 6; KOG Post 7: see here for a list of all posts under the tag “Kingdom of God). This strategy is somewhat more effective because I suspect that most Christians—including evangelicals—have less of an understanding of the kingdom of God.
Why am I saying all of this? It is because I am firmly convinced that we need to step back and reexamine things.
What does the world think of us?
In my last post, I argued that the kingdom of God runs fundamentally counter to the kingdoms of the world. I also noted that when we love one another and our enemies, as Christ commands, we manifest Christ to the world.
With the latter point in view, I would note that it stands to reason that how the world perceives us—albeit with the recognition that they will have a distorted view—may very well serve as a means to discerning how we are doing. Let me explain.
In Acts 5:12-13, Luke notes, “At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.” This passage serves as a sort of transitional statement at this point in Luke’s account. Immediately prior to this (Acts 5:1-11) is the account of Ananias and Sapphira who dropped dead for lying to Peter and the church (and thereby lying to God and the Holy Spirit).
The response of those around the early Christ community was fear and respect. Now I am sure that is an over-simplification. I’m sure some in the region had lower views of them and some had higher views.
What I would like evangelicals to understand is that non-evangelicals have a quite low view of evangelicals—and that is being generous. Now, admittedly, there may well be many reasons for the low rating of evangelicals in the public’s—both American and global—eyes.
The war on Gaza is a prime example
Allow me to open a can of worms with the full realization that I will not be able to put the worms back into the can until future posts (btw, since when do we put worms in a can? Seems like an odd idiom to me).
The evangelical church is largely aligned with the US in advocating for the war on Gaza and, in an effort to eliminate Hamas, the annihilation of the people of Gaza. The world, however, is calling for a cease-fire and a just solution to the war.
I know that there is a lot here but let me just say that the church (especially the evangelical church) is on the wrong side (and I don’t mean by “side” Israel or Palestine; instead, I mean, peace or violence).
Now, I know that this will draw a quick reaction. After all, we hold to our beliefs as such and we justify said beliefs.
Allow me to mention two things in closing:
- Some of the responses to this assertion (e.g., Israel has a right to defend itself; Israel has no choice but to eliminate Hamas; etc) I addressed in the series of livestreams I hosted. You can find all of the livestreams on the Determinetruth YouTube page and search for the playlist “Israel-Gaza war”; see especially #11 and #12—which are intended to provide a summary of the issues (#11) and a look at the theological concerns (#12).
- In the last post, I aimed to show that the nature of the kingdom of God is fundamentally counter to the kingdoms of the world. The primary point there was to contend that war is what the nations do and crying for peace is justice is what the people of God are called to do.
The church’s cry for war is a massive problem. While the rest of the world is calling for a cease-fire, many Christians are calling for war. I find this deeply troubling. Can we not see that we are advocating for the very things for the very things that run counter to the Gospel and the kingdom?
This leads me to my next point—which I intend to address in a series of posts in 2024—and that is: “Is it possible that it is the church who has been deceived by the Devil?”
Now before you reject such an assertion, let me note, in closing, that much of the NT is concerned with this very point. That is, false prophets have infiltrated the people of God in order to bring deception into it. This is the very thing that Paul warned the Ephesian elders about when He said,
“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:29-30).
Maybe then it is true for us as well.
Here is some homework until my next post in 2024.
Read, Blood Brothers, by Elias Chacour.
Read, Yet in the Dark Streets Shining: A Palestinian Story of Hope and Resilience in Bethlehem, by Mercy Aiken
Watch the series of livestreams on the determinetruth YouTube page
Check out other blogs from Determinetruth by using the Archives tab and then choosing “Israel-Palestine.”
For more resources see the resources tab at NEME.network
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