Visualize World Christendom

I have been reading a history of Princeton Seminary by David B. Calhoun and I came across this little gem from the noted Princeton theologian, Archibald Alexander Hodge.

"Above all, in the multiplication of the myriad centres of Christian missions and of the myriad hosts of Christian workers, each in the spirit of the King seeking the very lowest and most degraded, everywhere lifting upward what Satan's kingdom has borne down, the kingdom is coming."

In the 19th century Princeton Seminary was not only a bastion of Protestant orthodoxy, but a major supplier of missionaries. The staff and students at Princeton and other, similar institutions throughout Christendom fixed their vision, their hearts, their minds, their prayers, and in some cases, their lives on the task of reaching the lost peoples of the world. There is still plenty of that work left to do in this century.

Thanks for the Remnants

As an elementary student at the local public school I sang the hymn, "Come Ye Thankful People Come" each Thanksgiving season. God's final judgement of the world is the theme of that hymn. At the time I was not yet a believer, but coming from a Christian home I never questioned any of the teachings of Christianity and had no doubt about the truth of what I was singing. Later, as a teenager, the Holy Spirit began to convince me of my own sin as well as the coming judgement before a holy God. Over the period of the next few months I was brought to a place where I cried out to God to rescue me, through his son, Jesus Christ, from the judgement which I deserved.

I couldn't possibly list everything God used in my life to bring me to repentance, but I am thankful that I grew up in a culture which still retained remnants of a Christian culture. That culture has nearly been replaced by one which is unfamiliar with basic Christian truth.
Believers sometimes find it easy to dismiss the influence of a Christian culture on the conversion of individuals by saying, "An omnipotent, gracious God can save sinners apart from any particular circumstances." Obviously he can, but he has chosen to draw people to himself through their particular personal and cultural circumstances.

The kind of culture we live in does make a difference to us and our neighbors. It's not just our present well being which is at stake, though that itself is important in God's plan for the world. Our unbelieving neighbors can benefit eternally from living in a culture informed by the Scriptures. When concepts like sin, guilt, judgement, redemption, repentance, forgiveness, etc. are commonplace in a culture it becomes easier for them to understand the life giving gospel of Christ. I know that from my own experience. Thank God for the remnants of Christendom.

Mean What You Say

But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

How simple the principles are which Jesus gives to guide us in loving our neighbors. For example, if our words can't be trusted, why would anyone listen to us. Yet, if we mean what we say we can't go wrong. This is true whether we are talking with our friends, negotiating a business deal, or swearing an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.

Christendom in the 21st century needs to be characterized by believers who display a genuine integrity in word and deed. In a post-modern era our neighbors may be confused about the nature of truth, but they can still figure out when a guy is a phoney and when he is serious about following Christ.

Mean what you say. That's one good place to start manifesting the reality of Christ's rule in this world. If we do that then our families, churches, schools, businesses, and even our political institutions will follow.

Post Election Analysis: The Mammon Vote

You cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore do not worry saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

It seems to me that by far the biggest voting bloc this year was what I call, the Mammon Voter. These folks cast their ballots based on their material interests to the exclusion of everything else. They can be divided into two groups. The first, and by far the larger group, voted for the candidate they believed would provide for all of their material needs in the future. The second group voted for the candidate who would allow them to keep the material goods they had already acquired for themselves.

But there was another kind of voter this year. Unfortunately, this group was probably a small minority. These voters were pursuing not their own material benefit, but rather the kingdom of God. They sought the righteousness of God. They understood the biblical priorities of life before making any decisions. They thought hard on the short term and the long term implications of their decisions. They considered what was good, in God's sight, not only for themselves, but also for their neighbors. They trusted God for what they don't have, for what they already have, and for the future. I hope that you were one of them.

Won't you be my neighbor?

You probably recognize the title of this posting as a line sung by Fred Rodgers on his famous children's show. I must confess that the specific choice of a name for my blog was inspired, at least in small part, by Mister Roger's neighborhood. It was my desire to pick a name for my blog which was welcoming. In terms of a first impression I needed a name to convey a place of acceptance and an appreciation of the dignity of every person. That was important because the term Christendom, which is the subject of this blog, is frequently associated with ideas like authority, judgement, and even subservience. Ideas which are perceived as negative. In contrast, the idea of a neighborhood is universally accepted as something positive. So using that term conveys the neighborly approach I am taking in my blog about Christendom.

From a Biblical perspective, the name for this blog is even more appropriate since it is an essential duty of Christians to love their neighbors as they love themselves. This duty is first stated in Leviticus and is continually reaffirmed throughout the Bible. For example, Jesus tells us that this is the second great commandment after loving God and later in Romans 13 Paul makes it the foundation for all of our relationships. Everyone is our neighbor, those who have the power of life and death over us, those who are powerless, those who share our faith in Christ, and those who hate us because of Christ. Welcome to the neighborhood everyone.

Why TNOC? Part 2

You may be thinking, "How is a discussion of Christendom relevant to 21st century believers since the vast majority of Christians have never heard of it or know what it is?" Good point, but then many followers of Christ, if asked, couldn't tell you much about the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement. Nevertheless that doctrine is essential to a correct understanding of the gospel. Most Christians never use the words substitutionary atonement when giving their personal testimony, but they do affirm with great joy that Christ died in their place when they deserved to receive God's punishment. My point is that often the subtilty and depth of biblical teachings are frequently absent from the everyday conversation of Christians. Such is the case with Christendom. I think that Christians often believe in some vague notions akin to the concept of Christendom without having any substantial knowledge about it. I did for years.

On the other hand you may have heard about Christendom and even understand its role in church history, but still wonder whether this is a worthwhile discussion. For example you maybe asking the following questions or other like them.

Isn't Christendom dead? Why talk about something that's dead?

Isn't Christendom a Roman Catholic idea concocted during the Middle Ages?

Isn't the idea of Christendom contrary to biblical teaching on such topics as end times apostasy, the individual nature of conversion, Christ's warnings about laying up treasures on earth, etc?

Isn't the idea of Christendom dangerous? Doesn't history show us how corrupt the church became once it became the official religion of Rome? Haven't we learned that the church and state need to be separate institutions for the sake of both?

I could go on. There are good answers to these very valid questions. On this site I hope to explore the meaning of Christendom for today and to address such questions along the way. That will take me down all sorts of roads, lead to some dead ends, and occasionally leave me out on a limb chainsawing my way to the forest floor.

Why TNOC?

Why did I start a blog called The Neighborhood of Christendom (TNOC)? I'll begin to explain the answer to that question and continue to elaborate on the topic in future blogs.

For years I have been interested in the whole concept of Christendom. That was not always the case. When I first became a teenage believer in Christ, back in 1969, just about everyone seemed to think of themselves as Christians. My reaction, and that of my Christian friends, was to reject that kind of "Cultural" Christianity as bogus. It was obvious from the Bible that not everyone who claimed to be a Christian actually was one. So instead, we thought of ourselves as counter-cultural Christians, which was a very contemporary notion in the 1960s and therefore not very counter-cultural at all, but that's another topic. To make a long story short, after gaining a deeper understanding of the Scriptures and a broader understanding of history I came to appreciate the role Christendom played in God's Providential plan for His children and in my life as a follower of Christ. Consequently, I'm convinced that a discussion of the role of Christendom today is relevant for 21st century believers.

Let's make a start!

On this auspicious day, November 5, the beginning of the era of Obamanation, I have created a new blog. The idea of Christendom as a neighborhood has been floating around in my mind for several years. Where it goes from here I don't know.