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by
Andy Stanley
Read between
September 10 - October 25, 2025
Christians were viewed as threats to the state not because of what they believed. Christians were viewed as threats to the state because of who they chose to obey.
Rome had little interest in which god or gods people chose to worship. Their concern was political. Imperial. People were allowed their many gods. But only one king. Rome’s mandate was unambiguous: Worship your Christ. Obey Caesar.
Once the church relegated Jesus to the role of forgiver of our sins rather than King of our lives, we opened the door to lesser kings. Thrones never remain empty long.
All possible means. Gotta love that. Whatever it takes.
When a local church becomes preoccupied with saving America at the expense of saving Americans, it has forsaken its mission.
“When the church as a whole is no longer seen as speaking to questions that transcend politics, and when it is no longer united by a common faith that transcends politics, then the world sees strong evidence that Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx were right, that religion is really just a cover for people wanting to get their way in the world.”13
We’ve been told not to mix politics and religion. If by religion we’re referring to private prayers to and corporate worship of a God who is concerned primarily with private prayers and corporate worship, then, yeah. Don’t mix ’em. Actually, you can’t mix ’em. They exist in two entirely different realms. One in the real world. One in somebody’s imagination.
I hope people see the sarcasm intended by the author.
Cherie Harder put it, “Dwelling on fear and outrage is spiritually deforming.”4
They spoke of “invading enemy territory,” “occupying hostile institutions,” and “taking over secular society” to create “godly change” in America.
Moore goes on to point out that this generation isn’t leaving the church because they disapprove of Jesus. They are leaving because they’re convinced that the church itself disapproves of Jesus!
Perhaps you’re guilty of one God under Nation.
Apparently, believing the best is a relic of a bygone era as well.
The reality is that if you say one thing I disagree with or don’t like, I discount everything you’ve ever said, along with everything you’ve ever accomplished.
Are you willing to follow Jesus regardless of where he leads you politically?
Pastors and Christian leaders in particular should never give up influence to make a point—especially a political point.
Of course they should, if the point is that their is a God that loves you, and has died to save you. I believe the author is saying don't lose credibility on things that aren't worth it.
He did not come to support or refine an existing political system or world order. He came to replace what was in place.
In the first century, the cross represented the cruelty of an empire. By the fifth century, it represented the love of God.
no one can deny it was the most monumental cultural transformation our world has ever seen.1
The Christian doctrine elevated the individual soul, placing slave and master and commoner and nobleman alike on the same metaphysical footing, rendering them equal before God and the law. . . .
Refusing to expose your own children is one thing, but rescuing someone else’s? The Christian Scriptures didn’t require it. The Hebrew Scriptures didn’t require it. Something else required it. Love. Love required it.
Classical philosophers considered mercy and pity to be character defects, contrary to justice. Not until Jesus did that attitude change.10
“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”6
How we treat, talk about, respond to, and care for one another is the identifying mark of a genuine Jesus follower.
Nobody knows and nobody is better off because of what we believe.
Disagree. Better said would be it's not what you say you believe but what your actions say you believe.
“Well, I agree with the vice president’s position, but as a follower of Jesus, I do not support the language used by the vice president or the mischaracterization and oversimplification of House member Gleason’s position. Like me, House member Gleason is also a Christian. We have far more in common than not.”
What shall I say of the Romans themselves, who fortify their own empire with garrisons of their own legions, nor can extend the might of their kingdom beyond these nations? But Christ’s Name is extending everywhere, believed everywhere, worshipped by all the above enumerated nations, reigning everywhere, adored everywhere, conferred equally everywhere upon all. No king, with Him, finds greater favor, no barbarian lesser joy; no dignities or pedigrees enjoy distinctions of merit; to all He is equal, to all King, to all Judge, to all God and Lord.22 “But Christ’s name is extending everywhere,
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For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms.32
The problem with Christians is that they love their Savior more than they love their country!
“One ugly reality about hating your political opponents is that you start off hating their vices and end up hating their virtues as well.
Are you willing to follow Jesus if doing so requires you to reject portions of your party’s platform?
the kingdom he introduced and invited us to participate in is a kingdom characterized by public behavior, not private belief.
The church reduced becoming a child of God to believing something. Jesus didn’t. Jesus equates it with doing something.
Poorly stated. Should have the word 'only'. Of course we need to believe first.
The way forward is simple. Not easy. Simple.
Jesus was not at war with anyone.
we are fighting a spiritual battle.
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.1
It’s unnatural to maintain a peaceful posture in the face of hostility.
We are not in it to win anything.
Except souls
They didn’t go down swinging. They went down praying.
The old covenant demanded it! The new covenant forbade it!
and matching them, as many Christians still attempt to do, wasn’t something he approved of. To
All of it.
If you think God has plans “to prosper you and not to harm you” and that he “plans to give you hope and a future,” think again.31 That’s not your promise to claim. It’s not your covenant. Read it in context. Do you plan to wait seventy years for God to prosper and protect you? What are you going to do in the meantime?
DIsagree. I agree that the prosperity gospel is no gospel at all but this deduction is simply wrong.
But not because of how his followers worshiped. Not because of what they believed. The world became a better place because of how they behaved.
Belief, then action based on where they placed their trust.
We’ve been so focused on not substituting works for faith that many of us have quit working.
A corrupt or inept criminal justice system does not represent an off-ramp for followers of Jesus. Injustice is not an excuse to abandon our new-covenant mandate.
Our faith is anchored to a miscarriage of justice. The worst possible thing happened to the best possible person.
“Not so with you.”
Unity will become the priority only if we are willing to acknowledge that a lack of unity signals an emergency.
The race marked out for us two-thousand-plus years before a handful of brave patriots decided that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness marked out our race.
