Postcards from Babylon: The Church In American Exile

by Brian Zahnd

Zahnd goes on to see how it is that the Trump administration is a near perfect embodiment of that ideology of “lust, greed, and pride” and how so much of the church has sadly colluded with the Trump administration in a pretend embrace of Gospel faith.

Perhaps the best thing I can say about the Jesus Movement is that it took the Sermon on the Mount seriously.

The Jesus of the Gospels is far more suited for an F.B.I. Wanted poster than for being the poster child of American values. While the historical Jesus certainly wasn’t a hippie, he was obviously dangerous and subversive. After all, Rome didn’t crucify people for extolling civic virtues and pledging allegiance to the empire. In announcing and enacting the kingdom of God, Jesus was countercultural and counter-imperial. This is why Jesus was crucified. His crime was claiming to be a king who had not been installed by Caesar.

If anything, what Jesus taught was an out-and-out repudiation of American materialism and militarism.

If Christianity is not seen as countercultural and even subversive within a military-economic superpower, you can be sure it is a deeply compromised Christianity.

I couldn’t help but be struck by the tragic folly engulfing the majority of white evangelicals on the other side of the Atlantic. Their absurd line of reasoning was that God was going to accomplish divine purposes through a morally bankrupt (and occasionally financially bankrupt) real-estate tycoon turned reality TV star. Just try following that logic while gazing for thirty minutes at a crucifix!

The violence of the cross is not what God does, the violence of the cross is what God endures.

Every wound we inflict upon another we also inflict upon our own soul.

The church in every western power after Constantine has at some point succumbed to the Siren seduction of empire and has conflated Christianity and nationalism into a single syncretic religion. Rome, Byzantium, Russia, Spain, France, England, and Germany have all done it.

What about patriotism? Is it permissible for a Christian to be patriotic? Yes and no. It depends on what is meant by patriotism. If by patriotism we mean a benign pride of place that encourages civic duty and responsible citizenship, then patriotism poses no conflict with Christian baptismal identity. But if by patriotism we mean religious devotion to nationalism at the expense of the wellbeing of other nations; if we mean a willingness to kill others (even other Christians) in the name of national allegiance; if we mean an uncritical support of political policies without regard to their justice, then patriotism is a repudiation of Christian baptismal identity.

I’m sure the Joint Chiefs of Staff would agree that you cannot run the Pentagon according to the Sermon on the Mount.

One of the most remarkable things about the Bible is that in it we find the narrative told from the perspective of the poor, the oppressed, the enslaved, the conquered, the occupied, the defeated.

Economic superpowers always need a source of cheap labor to support their affluent lifestyle—whether to bake their bricks or pick their cotton—and they generally prefer to exploit an ethnic minority that can be readily identified as an outcast “other.”

In the American experience, the economy is the most sacred obsession—all things are justified in the name of the economy.

In a culture supremely committed to the economy, a president can sink to the lowest moral ebb as long as the Dow runs high.

Babylon is always religious and knows how to keep up appearances, but that only serves to conceal the idols Babylon really worships. Money and Power. Economy and Military.

Yes, politics are always complicated, but what does Jesus want your attitude to be toward Syrian refugees, Honduran asylum seekers, and undocumented day laborers? You already know. You’ve always known. Some will say power trumps everything, but you’ve always known that mercy triumphs over judgment. Hold on to what you know to be true and don’t be talked out of it by compromised faith leaders.

Politics is the art of compromise, but there are some areas where Christians must not compromise.

“If you’re not on our side, you must be on their side!” In their closed dualistic system, even Jesus has to be either a Republican or a Democrat.

How could you be enthralled with someone like Donald Trump and be a follower of Jesus? And this was all long before Donald Trump became a serious political figure. For me, Donald Trump was the reality TV embodiment of three of the deadly sins—lust, greed, and pride.

Do they not want Jesus Christ as their leader as well? After all, Jesus is the Prince of Peace who teaches us to love our enemies and to turn the other cheek.

The resurrection of the Son of God changes everything, and if it doesn’t influence our political theology, we are failing to do theology as Christians.