Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Upside Down in the Kingdom


This is wordy, but it is worth digging into:

"...the immanent world [the only thing that matters is what we can see] is the world of the practical. With a religious vision off of the agenda, the worlds of finance, education, and work come to the fore. There is no hope in the eternal, the kingdom of God will not break out on earth, so we better  get to work creating an immanent version while we can, one that does not require God's hand. Instead the secular version of shalom will be delivered by good organization, effective government, sound economic policy, and effective medicine and scientific advancement.. the citizen of an immanent culture must play their part by doing their duties. They must punch a clock, be a good worker. They must not indulge in the antisocial behavior which could threaten the secular well-being of the collective. [emphasis mine]"

Mark Sayers, The Road Trip that Changed the World, pages 119-120

In other words, if a person believes that all that there is in the world is what we can see (God isn't there or isn't involved, then we gotsta get on with creating a good society that survives without God. Anyone who doesn't get along with the program to help humanity anti-social at best, and most likely, a threat.

If a society believes they can create a just and equitable world without God's justice and equality, then asking for God's kingdom to come (and acting if it will) is getting in the way.

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