Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb

by Keith Giles

As Keith Giles argues in this clear, insightful, and very readable book, the sad truth is that this quest for political power is the result of the American church allowing Herself to be coopted by political power. In fact, the even sadder truth is that this has been more or less true of the church as a whole since the fourth century when the church first caved in to the very same temptation that Jesus resisted.

They read a few Scriptures together and prayed for one another and for their families back home. After saying, “Amen,” Phil’s friend stood up, looked at his German brother in Christ and said, “I guess we’ll meet again in Heaven one day,” and then he shot the man in the head. That horrific story illustrates the evils of nationalism better than anything else I could imagine.

Does that mean we toss out our Old Covenant Scriptures? Of course not. But it does mean that we don’t attempt to place those Old Covenant scriptures on the same level as Jesus. He—and He alone—is our standard and our plumb line.

“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” – SINCLAIR LEWIS

Those Christian abolitionists not only fasted and prayed for slavery to end, but they also spoke out and boycotted industries and products created through slave labor. They worked tirelessly to change the hearts and minds of their neighbors about the evils of slavery. Eventually, three decades later, their efforts were successful.

When I was much younger, my Dad told me something that has always stayed with me. He said that there was no money in finding a cure for cancer, for muscular dystrophy, or for many of the other diseases in our world today. “There’s only money in looking for a cure,” he said. And he is right.

No

If they ever solve the problem and outlaw abortion, they will have no way to stir up the votes for their candidates.

We are all the victims of a well-funded, decades-long campaign to twist our faith into an easy-to-control voting block.

Those who had influence—the extremely wealthy, corporations, those who could buy lobbyists to promote their interests—were much more likely to have their way in Congress. The real injustice of this is that this same group of people— the ultra-rich and large corporations—pay little to no taxes. This means they get what they want and everyone else—the middle class and the lower class—pay for it, whether they want to or not.

“We live in a time where the politics of fear are the most persuasive thing on the table.” – EDWARD SNOWDEN1