Lately I’ve received a number of posts on Facebook that irk my soul. One post announces: “I’m proud to be an American and a Christian—bet no one passes this on because they are scared to admit they are too…”. Another post says: “Wanna see my friends list shrink? I believe in the wall. I believe in God, and I believe that abortion is murder.” Such posts suggest that to be an American equals being a Christian (or that a non-Christian is un-American). These posts suggest that to be a Christian equals believing in the wall (to reject the wall is to be non-Christian). To believe abortion is murder equals being a believer in God (to disagree with this judgment is to be a non-believer).
Being a Christian is not synonymous with being an American or vice versa. This is a travesty of the Gospel. To be a Christian is not synonymous with believing in “the wall.” To be against abortion is not synonymous with believing in God. In other words, one can be a Christian and live in Ethiopia, or Kenya, or Great Britain or France. A person can be a Christian and reject “the wall.” A person can be a Christian and support the right of a woman to choose.
The Apostle John was given a vision of heaven (Revelation 7:9). In that vision he saw a “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” It was a diverse crowd, a multi-ethnic gathering. It was not a homogenous group. These people were not all the same—in fact they were different, in nationality, race, and in their thinking. They were not living in the same neighborhoods or countries, they did not wear the same clothes and neither did they all think alike. The Bible says no less than fifteen distinct ethnic groups heard the message of Jesus for the very first time and believed (The Acts of the Apostles). They included Egyptians, Libyans, Romans and Arabs and others. Alas, there were no Americans there at the time!
It is a false Christianity that seeks to establish a divisive “us” versus “them” mentality. That mentality denies other people’s rights—both their freedom to choose and even their right to exist. It is, as someone wrote a “Taliban mentality.” It attempts to project religious authority over all people, limiting the right of conscience, controlling and limiting education, and seeking to enforce their particular moral code, which rejects and punishes all forms of what they deem to be “non-Christian.” This is not the message inaugurated by Jesus. It is not Christian!
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