POST-CHRISTIAN?

 

What comes to mind whenever you hear the word post-Christian? Do you have visions of a previous golden age when the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick-maker all did their work consciously to the glory of God? Does the word post-Christian conjure up memories of a time all the nations had beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks and studied war no more (Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-5)? No? Then what do those people mean when they say post-Christian? I think they mean that Christianity had more influence in the world in the past than it does now.

Probably the most valuable thing I learned from being in the army for a dozen years is that leadership means influence. Is that it? Christianity had better leadership in the past than it does now? That sounds about right. As recorded in the New Testament, after Pentecost, Christians full of the Holy Spirit began to turn the world upside down with the Gospel (Acts 17:6). Yes, influence!

In one of His parables Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened” Matthew 13:33. Has the kingdom of heaven been spread throughout the whole world at any previous point in history? Sure, Britain and Europe and their subsequent colonies throughout the world had been to lesser and greater extents leavened with the spread of the kingdom of heaven. However, none of these were bona fide sustainable Christian nations. Clearly. the leaven of the kingdom of heaven still had a lot more influencing to do.

Yes, there were some glimmers of hope that our Christian prayers would be answered, e.g., “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10. There was Constantine, who become the Western Roman emperor in 305 whose influence ended the up to that point persecution of Christians for a while. However, you really have to wait till the Reformation beginning in 1517 to see the influence of the Gospel take off once more.

God raised up good and strong leadership during the Reformation and afterwards, men like Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Knox et al, the Puritans and the Presbyterians in Britain, and the Reformed in Europe. To be sure, these influences made a major impact on the developing world. However, the Reformation, as much as it was a force for good, was not the exactly a “Golden Age”. The opposition from the forces of darkness was legion. Christians were tortured and burnt at the stake for believing the Gospel never mind spreading it!

So, when was this Christian era that came before this supposed post-Christian era? From what I can see of history, the Gospel and its influence has always been met with opposition. Sometimes that opposition was greater than lesser, and sometimes lesser than greater. However, Jesus is still the Hope of the nations (Matthew 12:21; Isaiah 42:1-4). Therefore, we look forward to a future Christian age. The signs from the past show that this is not only possible, but that His kingdom will come, and that His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

So, we’re back to leadership, i.e., Christian influence. What is happening in the pulpits throughout the land, throughout the West? Not much! We’ve got packed church buildings, correction, concert auditoriums, lots of singing, handclapping, but not much Gospel. Sure, there may be a pep-talk with some verses of Scripture thrown in to sanctify it, but, as the old lady said at the burger shop drive-thru in the old TV commercial, “Where’s the beef?”

How can Christians be expected to “turn the world upside down” when they don’t know the Scriptures, and worse, they don’t know how to apply what little they do know? Scripture should influence art, architecture, economics, science, education, i.e., everything. A big one would be politics. 

Recently, many Christians did not like the way President Trump combed his hair, used Twitter, and said a bad word or two, while having a shady past. Therefore, they were happy to see Joseph Biden become USA president in Trump’s stead. Biden immediately set to work dismantling all of Trump’s great achievements which he accomplished by his pro-Christian stance in the Whitehouse. The nations in the Middle East had begun to beat their swords into ploughshares regarding their tensions with the nation of Israel. Indeed, Trump was nominated for three (or was it four?) Nobel Peace awards for his hard work there. He was surrounded by a Christian influence. He kept Communist China in its place and eased the tensions to almost zero with Communist North Korea. No mean feat!

Biden? Pro-abortion, pro-war, anti-worker, immediately closing the Keystone Pipeline, (getting Canada offside by doing so!), and ensuring that the oil has to be shipped at the extra cost to the tax-payer by truck and rail, and making USA dependent on foreign oil imports (with all its dangers and costs, keeping the Suez Canal open etc.). The bottom line is that Trump under Christian influence was far better for the world than Biden under so-called post-Christian (a.k.a. Secular) influence.

Yes, it’s Jesus Christians follow, not politicians. However, I hope you can see from this short essay the major impact the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven can make when Christian leaders use it properly, be it in politics (as briefly just demonstrated), art, education, music, capitalism, economics etc.

Where are we at today? Well, we’re still looking forward to that Christian era that we’re supposed to be “post” of. We’re locked in the midst of worldwide germ-warfare. Leftist/Progressive governments have declared their totalitarian hand by insisting on extended lockdowns for little or no logical and/or scientific reasons. The terrified masses simply conform to their agenda. We live in a climate of fear, fear of COVID-19, fear to discuss it for fear of being berated by others and/or locked up by the government for non-conformance. There seems to be no end in sight to the spontaneous lockdowns.

In Australia it is unwise to travel interstate lest you get stuck away from home due to a random lockdown. Yes, it’s germ-warfare inflicted on innocent people. Kids not being permitted to go to school may perhaps have some benefits, such as having a break from Secular indoctrination!

Progressivism, Socialism, and Communism all go hand in hand. When Christianity retires from the cultural battlefield, these three stooges move into stronger positions. The hammer and the sickle are the symbols of Communism. Whenever Communism goes quiet it is merely the hammer swinging back to take another blow. Then wham! The “three stooges” won’t go away until Christianity once again has strong leadership. Christianity won’t have strong leadership until the Gospel is rediscovered. The Gospel won’t be rediscovered until Christians seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Calvinism is the direct and total antithesis of Communism. The former is about doing all things (music, ironing, mathematics, physics, chemistry, building, war, peace, living, dying etc.) to the glory of God. Communism, with its attendant Socialism/Progressivism, is all about the glory of man with man-made systems of government, Godless art, movies, architecture, biology, sex, child-rearing etc.

O.K., if you don’t wish to call yourself a Calvinist, at least learn how to understand and then apply the clear teaching of the whole Bible in your life. Then you will become a greater influence for good. Then the leaven of the kingdom of heaven will begin to spread through the whole batch of dough, i.e., your nation and the world, then the mustard seed will begin to grow into a great tree, then we will see the age of Christianity.

Post-Christian? The nations have to be Christianized before they can become post-Christian. So, let’s get on with it…