In this episode, Craig speaks with author Mark West about his article, Is Political Power Devilish, and his book, What He Said: Living the Sermon on the Mount Transforming American Culture.

As a self-proclaimed Xvangelical(a term for a former Evangelical who now centers all scripture interpretation on the words and actions of Christ, with a focus on living out His kingdom right now), Mark helps us strip back our political attachment to a nation-state so we may return to Christ’s vision for us, not a politician’s. 

Mark does not want us to deconstruct our faith, but rather renovate it from its complexities so we can refocus on what Jesus said and did. Christ’s challenge for us is not easy, it is hard to love one’s enemy, to turn the other cheek, to not worry about tomorrow, to not outsource our responsibilities as Christians through electing “Christian” leaders to politics, but our call will always be greater than any nation past or to come.

Our King and our Kingdom are not of this world and Mark invites us to rise to this challenge to be the body of Christ in our everyday life, not at a ballot box.

You can connect with Mark and read more of his work at mark4libertas.wordpress.com and purchase his book at markwest-author.com.

TIMESTAMPS:

01:52 What Mark has been up to

• Spiritual pilgrimage, culminating in his book

• God Archy, “that’s me in the corner”

  • Mental health advocacy

• IF YOU NEED HELP, PLEASE REACH OUT

  • National suicide hotline: 800-273-8255

06:13 Covid Anxiety

• Some people are afraid to reacclimate to public life   

08:38 Deconstruction/Renovation of Faith

• Not tearing it all down, taking away the bad, but realigning one’s faith with what Jesus actually said

• Jesus did not go around debating people

• We make it more complicated but Jesus keeps it simple

11:02 Love your enemy is a command, not a suggestion

• Your “enemy” should be the hardest person to love, but if you can love them then you can love everyone between you and your enemy as well 

• Keith Giles, Jesus Untangled

• Red-letter Christain heretic

• Simple to understand, hard to do

• Leave the bad beliefs behind, and renovate the misshapen into something better, that more fully honors God  

 13:59 Renovation of Faith and The Political stance of Christian-Anarchy

• If you want no government what would you have done about Nazi Germany or Slavery?

  • Nazi Germany and Slavery were made possible via a goverment that assumed power/authority it did not have

• As Christian Anarchists, we recuse ourselves of using governments to get others to do something, even if it’s the “right” thing

• Christianity comes before the anarchy

  • Craig: “I’m only an anarchist because I’m a Christain”

17:19 Mark’s Article, Is Political Power Devilish

• “Exhausted and defeated” - we are worn out by our current political system

• Mark’s run for Governor

  • Had been preaching twelve sermon series on Sermon on the Mount

  • Felt Christ calling him away from politics, that they were opposite to what Jesus taught

  • Fell into a deep depression 

23:06 Moving away from politics entangled with faith in Jesus

• Chris Polk

• Looking to the early church for a model of how to interact with the state

• The Temptation of Christ

  • Satan tempted him at the end of his fast when he should be weakest

  • Satan offered to give him the authority over all the kingdoms, implying he has the authority over them making them of the devil, not of God

• Daniel’s prophecy

  • Had an image of all the kingdoms that have existed, and smashes them because Christ’s kingdom is different, it is not of this world

• The political systems of our world have a violence based authority, while Christ’s kingdom is the anthesis of this

• “Divine right of kings” is being applied to our political leaders when we think they will lead us to the Kingdom of Heaven

  • Jesus was asked to be king by force and almost killed for refusing, it’s just not our thing as Christians

32:45 Mark’s book: What He Said: Living the Sermon on the Mount Transforming American Culture

• Why he wrote the book:

  • Felt he received a message while preaching the sermon on the mount a message American Christians really needed to hear

    • What we hear: if we get the right politician or policy or program in place then things will be transformed

      • This gets reduced to solganism and hashtags, “make America Christian again”

    • Jesus said plenty that is good enough and we don’t do it--put the slogans down; he’s calling for a whole life transformation

  • Chapter 8 was the hardest to write

  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer: what the world needs to see is a new monasticism, he saw back in Nazi Germany what we are seeing today in today’s Christianity 

    • Bonhoeffer also wrote on the sermon on the mount

36:50 The Early Church did not seek power

• They actively helped others rather than electing people to do it

38:32 Chapter 8 - A series of Don’ts

• Don’t collect earthly treasures, don’t worry about your life, don’t worry about today, and don’t worry about tomorrow 

• Jesus told us not to worry, and when we worry we get distracted from advancing the Kingdom of Christ

39:32 Don’t collect earthly treasures

• Matthew 6:19 KVJ

  • When we collect earthly treasures we want to get something from them, we are focused on the wrong treasure, Jesus wants to give not get

  • All our stuff will sit here, collect dust, and go bad - nothing here last

  • In Christ, we can find things that will last forever

• Pursue the things you can store in heaven

  • The true treasures are the fruits of the spirit in our life

  • The fallacy of the American dream: work hard and get a bunch of stuff, but people are where we get our rewards

• Mammon - God of material wealth and blessing

  • Can’t have two kings God and Mammon(often translated as money)

43:45 Don’t Worry About Your Life

• Matthew 6:25 KVJ

• Jessica Green - being prepared

• If we are working together we should be able to provide for each other and not worry 

  • We like to make sure we are provided for

• Mental illness and faith

  • Mental illness is irrational, takes away the ability to see tomorrow coming

  • Jesus is telling us to look at the flowers, the birds, and everything else that works without worry

    • The worry get in the way, when we go to the store and take more than we need, providing for ourselves at the expense of our neighbor, we all have less in the long run

  • Live the kingdom life by thinking about the other

48:12 Don’t worry about today

•  Matthew 6:31-33 KVJ

  • “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be provided for you”

• We are called into christ to be a new creature a new creation, all the chasing distracts us and keeps us from what we are supposed to be

• The real issue with Christians in America is we are not living Kingdom lives

  • Blame LBGTQIA community or entertainment or Donald Trump and Joe Biden

  • If Christians in America lived by the sermon on the mount the country would be transformed

50:09 Don’t Worry About Tomorrow 

• Matthew 6:34 KVJ

• “Why worry about tomorrow? Each day has enough trouble of its own”

  • This moment you are in is the most important moment of your life

  • Live in trust that God will keep his promises

51:56 Kindness is Key

• Matthew 5:5 KVJ

  • “The gentle are blessed for they will inherit the earth”

• Inheriting does not mean all the possessions and goodies

• False dichotomy: if I hurt you I will buy you something to make up for it; more stuff makes things better(money, accolades, achievement)

  • All Jesus is calling us to is to be kind

• Humility to not always have the place you think you deserve  

• The only thing we are entitled to in the gospel is to have less than our master did(aka Jesus who they killed)

• Culture of disenchantment among Christians