Gospel – curtandtheotherguy.com

Who Is Jesus?

Curt — Sun, 30 Apr 2023 13:38:16 +0000

Separation of Church and State

Curt — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 09:40:47 +0000

I believe in the separation of Church and State not because the Constitution supports it but because my faith supports it. When the Church and the State are married, the State gains even more power (which it does not need), and the Church becomes more tainted and corrupted by the power structure of the World. Name a religious persecution, and I’ll wager that almost all of them were conducted by the State in conjunction with the Church, or in a nation where the State has replaced the Church or subjugated it. According to the way I read the Bible, God established three distinct societal institutions–the Home, the State, and the Church. They each have a jurisdiction–an area of responsibility. We run into very serious trouble when we try to combine these institutions, or when one of them tries to control the others.

Back to the subject at hand. The Church is weakened when it seeks the approval of the State, or when it seeks the support of the State. The Church is deceived when it accepts the aid and support of the State and thinks that there are no strings attached. (This is also true with local and state governments and individuals. The State will always offer something “helpful'” but will later use that aid as a cudgel to obtain compliance from its people.) The only partner to gain in a Church-State marriage is the State. The Church loses sight of its mission when it marries the State. The Church is a spiritual entity that should exemplify non-violence and peace. The State is a physical entity characterized by brute force and violence. The two do not share a common purpose or common character traits. The State is characterized by “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”–desire for power over others, greed, and narcissistic hubris. The Church of Jesus Christ should demonstrate the polar opposite attitude.

Finally (if there really ever is such a thing ), I am not opposed to Christians running for office or speaking in the public square. (Neither am I opposed to any person of faith doing these things.) I will give this warning though: I believe it is extremely difficult to maintain a Christ-like attitude while being immersed in the machinations of the State. It is akin to entering the proverbial lion’s den. I believe the Church is much more effective when it focuses on its God-given mission to make disciples. That is a process that is done on an individual basis, not in conjunction with the power of the State.

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Is America Founded on the Gospel?

Curt — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 10:15:31 +0000

The other day I was perusing some of my friends’ posts and came upon one that claimed that America was founded on the Gospel. (Actually, it was a meme purporting that Patrick Henry made the claim.) I immediately experienced a visceral reaction, for if America was founded on the Gospel of Christ; that would potentially justify genocide, racism, sexism, slavery, greed, and a whole host of other evils. Now, stay with me.

One has to ask oneself: What exactly is the Gospel. Well, according to I Corinthians 15 it is this: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day…” Later in that chapter, Paul says the Gospel is what saves us. (We can discuss what it means to be saved later if you’d like.) Suffice it to say that believing in the Gospel is supposed to change us from hateful, bigoted, greedy, selfish, murderous, adulterous, thieving… individuals. If it doesn’t, then it is not the Gospel but a false Gospel (see Galatians 1).

I find much to admire and honor in our nation’s founding, but I fail to see “Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures” in our founding documents. I think it’s obvious that many of our Founders were believers, but many others were Deists or nominal Christians. Our founding documents express familiarity with the Bible, Classical society, Natural Law, British Common Law, and Enlightenment thinking. To say our nation was founded on the Gospel distorts the Gospel.

As far as human nations go, I think America got a lot right, but precisely because our nation was founded by sinful men; we also got a lot of things wrong. Let’s stop equating patriotism with Christianity. Christ came to create a new nation founded on love for God and love for others. If the Gospel we believe does not give us that type of love, it is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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