Would early Christians recognize the behavior of today’s Christians? In this episode, Craig is joined by authors Keith Giles and Jason G. Porterfield for a conversation on how the early church understood our affiliations to the state, the poor, and violence.
What events and leaders have contributed to the modern Christian’s entanglement and increasing fascination with the state. How do we move through the world with Christ at the center, bearing no flag but carrying our cross, while being thrust into the affairs of the state from infancy? This episode invites us to ask questions of allegiance, based on the premise that following Christ was, and should remain, a radical act, a difficult call to answer. If we are truly citizens in the Kingdom of God, what place does any modern government have in our lives? With Jesus as our compass, we can build the beloved community; our fight is nonviolent and the weapons are spiritual which is why we invite you to be radical, to be a Bad Roman, to show the world what it means to love your enemies, to help the world experience the love of Christ.
Timestamps and starting points for further exploration:
00:00 Intro
01:29 100 Early Christian Quotes on Not Killing by Jason Porterfield
01:48 Jason’s background
02:00 Southern Baptist vs. Anabaptist
02:50 Keith’s Intro
03:40 Peace Feast
04:36 Muslims and Jesus
05:48 Florida Pastor, Kerry Jones, “Burning the Koran”
07:27 Current Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen - How it is overlooked
09:09 Jason’s motivation for writing E-Book, 100 Early Christian Quotes on Not Killing
11:25 November 11th (Veterans Day) the Church remembers St. Martian of Tours
16:49 Constantinian (Caesar) Shift - Beginning of entanglement?
19:40 Active nonviolence - The early church and the impermissibility of violence
22:13 Proactive Agape - a radical act - The Two Kingdoms Rule
23:39 Timeline - Starting with Jesus, why “dual citizens” misses the mark, Bonhoeffer, Tertullian, Constantine’s son tutored by Lactantius
26:36 Constitinian shift and perspective (where you stand determines what you see)
27:58 Embezzlement: The Corporate Sin of American Christianity by Ray Mayhew
33:31 Are Christians lazy? Stick to Jesus, avoid fads.
36:18 Because Jesus… (Jesus was the lens for the early Church)
37:00 Factors that chipped away at the Church’s embrace of nonviolence
40:36 Justin Martyr, Dualistic idea of spiritual vs. physical(interesting read on this), later picked up by Augustine and Luther
43:27 Constantine redefined what it means to be a Christian
45:47 The Early Christians: In Their Own Words by Eberhard Arnold; where does the government do no harm?
47:52 Federal tax money used on weapons vs. welfare - Where does our tax money go?
49:00 Romans 12 is for Christians Romans 13 is for States - Quaker Take
50:16 Jesus Untangled by Keith Giles - Politics being the Church’s worst problem
51:58 Paul - “Spiritual Weapons” Fight Like a Christian
54:29 Church’s Resistance to military involvement, Rain Soldiers in Keith’s blog post
57:56 Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
58:00 Early Church writings “church orders”
1:00:00 Keith reads David Brantley Hart’s Intro to The New Testament Translation
1:03:53 Importance of true community in order to experience the love of Christ
1:04:47 The Brouhoff Community - Eberhart Arnold
1:05:00 Keith’s Plugs - Jesus Untangled (and Un-series), Blog, Heretic Happy Hour, Facebook, Twitter
1:08:23 Jason’s Plugs - Free ebook, website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
1:10:20 Bad Roman Memes
Again, these resources are only starting points. We encourage you to explore the sources on Wikipedia pages, to look for the primary sources, and to constantly seek out the truth, even if you must change your mind. Let’s grow together!