Q. I was surprised that nowhere in this volume is discussed the concept from 1 Peter that Christians are resident aliens on this earth, especially when we also hear that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, nor Scythian, nor barbarian etc. (Gal. 3.28). What do you think Paul means when he says our politeuma is in heaven?
A. If I may riff some Tom Wright, I’d say that the church is a politeuma in the sense that we are called to colonize earth with the life of heaven. I’m not convinced that Christians are exiles in western political cultures, at least not in the US, UK, or Australia, where Christianity is still in a sense privileged and kind of hegemonic (albeit waning rapidly!). When the US Govt. takes “In God We Trust” off the dollar bill, then I’ll believe American Christians are in exile.
Q. While I take the point that the Amish, and many Mennonites are wrong when they deny that all authority and power comes ultimately from God, such that God merely orders the human governing institutions, he did not ordain them. But if you were asked to share the contents with say old order Mennonites, how would you go about it?
A. I’d probably point them to historical examples William Wilberforce who championed the cause of ending the trans-Atlantic slave trade in Parliament, and also the Lebanese Christian intellectual Charles Malik who helped set up the United Nations, and also influenced UN charter of human rights. When Christians participate in politics, yes, there are big temptations about power, greed, and tribalism, but also great opportunities for good!
[N.B. I would say Paul means by politeuma that for the Christian, the governing center of our life is in heaven, in the person of Christ. He is our actual Lord, not some human ruler, all the more so in a secular democracy when the ruler may not even be a Christian or represent Christian values much of the time. As for being resident aliens on the earth, I take that to mean that the only thing that is forever, is us being citizens of God’s realm, not being citizens of a particular nation for a period of time. Gal. 3.28 suggests that the primary family and identity driver for the Christian is no sort of tribalism at all, but that we are in Christ, and part of the worldwide body of Christ. By resident alien, Peter means we must sit lightly with being part of this world, as it is temporary. Our ultimate allegiance must be to the Lord]
English (US) · 