An Essay - Confronting the Lie of Fear and its Role in Christian Life

            The current attitude in America and indeed around the world includes much animosity towards perceived outsiders like refugees, mainly Muslims, and immigrants, mainly Hispanics and Mexicans, at the hands of Christians and non-Christians alike. A culture of fear and hostility is being perpetuated by those in power who are ostracizing and demonizing these vulnerable populations through derogatory extremist language and discriminatory policies. Support for minimizing the numbers of refugees and immigrants allowed into the United States, building border walls, deporting many who are already here, and enhancing security on these borders is high in many areas and ultimately comes from a place of ignorance, prejudice, and/or fear of personal harm to body and property and harm to the economy and communities. This fear is largely a result of the antagonistic propaganda being spewed by the powerful members of society who are predominantly rich white men, some who would call themselves Christian, and through the works of the enemy. This fear and the wielding of it for economic, political or personal gain does not come from tenants of the Christian faith that teaches love for neighbors as well as enemies, yet many who profess faith in Jesus Christ are the most vocal supporters of exclusionary walls and divisions that would seek to distance them and this country even further from people seeking refuge, often from war and violence, and a chance at a better life. One cannot profess faith in Jesus as Lord, on one hand, and advocate the exclusion and oppression of the most vulnerable of these, on the other, for these are two opposites that cannot be reconciled. This is not only hypocrisy, it is the evidence of a lack of faith and disbelief in the word of God. "The way of the cross and the way of the sword are irreconcilable."[2] Whether the weapon of choice is an actual sword or a gun, a wall or language, anything less than acceptance and love toward all humanity is irreconcilable to Jesus' message and should therefore be intolerable to those who consider themselves his followers. At every opportunity he was preaching and living out unconditional love, abundant humility, and perpetual sacrifice. The spirit of fear which underlies much of these divisive acts and is contrary to Christianity must be addressed and dismantled within ourselves and within our world by following his example of selfless love.

            Fear is synonymous with worry, often developing out of uncertainty, and is an emotional response to a perceived threat that is real or imagined.[3] Fear and worry are lies disseminated by the enemy with the goal of bringing distraction, division, and destruction to keep humanity from turning to God for its salvation, peace and security. Fear of death seems to be the most broadly held fear that plagues Christians and non-Christians alike. The widespread belief that death, and anything which can lead to death, is the worst thing that can befall a person causes people to live their lives in constant fear of dying. Jesus warns against this fear of death and those who might inflict it, saying, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell," (Luke 12:4-5). He is reminding and encouraging people that, "Death is not the worst thing that can happen,"[4] and that death and those who might inflict it is not something to be feared for he has overcome death. If the enemy can succeed in convincing people that death is in fact the worst case scenario and anyone threatening to cause death should be feared, he gains influence and can spread this fear through manifestations of violence, hatred, and oppression toward others.

            Going hand in hand with the fear of death is the fear that someone or something is going to inflict harm on oneself or a loved one. With dictators committing genocide against their own countrymen as is being witnessed in Syria and Sudan, to choose just two locations, millions are left with no choice but to try to flee or face certain death. As the violence in these and many other areas breeds greater fear, desperation, and hopelessness on all sides, one manifestation can be seen in the terror attacks that spread across borders, with terrorists carrying out attacks all over the world. Another manifestation is the fleeing of millions hoping to escape death and oppression. When the attacks come at the hands of people who are considered outsiders due to their faith or ethnicity, fear and animosity towards all people of similar backgrounds becomes another excuse for a fearful reaction and a rejection of those from that same background who are fleeing the same violence. Not only are some of the oppressed becoming oppressors, many more deeply oppressed people are suffering even further oppression, not at the hands of these terrorists and dictators but from those to whom they are turning for help. As Pope Frances says, “No one should be forced to flee his or her homeland but the evil is doubled when, facing terrible circumstances, the migrant is thrown into the clutches of human traffickers to cross the border. And it is tripled if, arriving in the land where he or she hoped to find a better future, one is despised, exploited or even enslaved.”[5] Instead of being welcomed, these most vulnerable of people often face rejection from those with the ability to provide refuge and even from those who are called to love and care for them.

            Fear can also lead to other dangerous reactions that include stockpiling weapons for the perceived imminent attack, building walls to keep out the imagined enemy, amassing personal wealth for one's own benefit and security, utilizing hateful language to demean those who are seen as somehow different than oneself and must thereby pose some threat to body or lifestyle, and distorting God's word to support an errant agenda. The fear-mongers who preach safety through violence and at the end of a gun, who advocate protection only through a wall on the border and more stringent laws, who defend the vilification and oppression of strangers and others, are not speaking from a place of love or justice. Rather, they are acting from a place of fear and deception which is in direct opposition to God's word which repeatedly calls Christians to not be afraid, not to worry and to show love to everyone.[6] To take up arms to defend oneself against some threat is to become that very same threat that instilled the fear in the first place and makes one no better than someone who may seek to inflict harm.

            While these fearful responses have become startlingly normalized and even expected, it certainly is not the response God calls his followers to have. Nothing about Jesus' words or deeds condones violence or retaliation for any reason. The Sermon on the Mount has the foundational and radical teachings of loving one's enemies, praying for one's oppressors, and resisting the temptation to react with anything but love, sacrifice, generosity, and humility toward anyone who might seek to do harm. Jesus came to earth, not to condone fearful reactions, but to bring the truth in love and to show the world another way. Jesus reminds his followers that God is love unconditional and it is this love that aught to compel believers to show love to neighbors as well as enemies. He is the very embodiment of unconditional love, teaching that, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. . . We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister," (1 John 4:16, 19-21). To profess Christ as Lord and then to speak against another person, whether friend or foe, is to bear false witness to one's faith and to be a deemed a liar. Any actions, words, or thoughts toward others that do not reveal his love are not of God and cannot be credited to him. Jesus commands his followers to not only love their neighbors, but more importantly to love their enemies and to go so far as to lay down one's life and give up one's comforts for them as he did for all of humanity while we were still his enemies. Loving those who love us is easy but the challenge is to love those who we dislike and even view as enemies because Jesus does and if we are to be like him, we must seek to act in the same manner. It is in this love of enemy and stranger and the subsequent rejection of all words, actions, and beliefs which perpetuate fear and the sinful acts that often follow, that justice and peace can prevail.

            Not only are Christians called to love everyone including God, parents, neighbors, foreigners, and enemies, they are called to welcome in these perceived enemies and neighbors, not build walls and enact laws to keep them out. Fear traps both the bully and the bullied. In a speech condemning fear and wall-building, Pope Francis accurately describes the all-encompassing ability of fear to control people on both sides of an issue, saying, “Citizens are walled-up, terrified, on one side; on the other side, even more terrified, are the excluded and banished.”[7] Promising security and protection through greater violence and further division is a false promise, for any security that professes to come from anything other than God is a lie. God did not call his people to lives of fearfulness and safety, but to live sacrificially, mercifully, justly and above all, with love in every circumstance. Jesus asked people to give up everything they knew, including families and homes, jobs and security, wealth and possessions, to follow him so that they might gain eternal rewards far greater than any of the earthly treasures they could imagine and would far outweigh the troubles of oppression, violence, and injustice that he warned they would face. His repeated commands to not worry and to not be afraid were reminders that his love is far greater than any damage this world could inflict. There is no place for fear in a faithful Christian life and is something that must constantly be rejected.

            To be living in love as Christ exemplified should mean that any lies of the enemy are refuted with the word of God, particularly the powerful deception of fear. Fear must not be the driving force in our lives or our responses to immigrants, refugees, or even terrorists, who have all been demonized by false doctrines and incorrect theology but all of whom we are commanded to love unconditionally. All of humanity stands before him as one body with every single person being of inherent and equal value and necessity and there are no divisions of nationality, wealth, or gender.[8] "Our Savior started life as a refugee, lived under the military occupation of his enemies, spent his ministry years homeless, and was persecuted to the point of execution,"[9] and he loved and forgave us all still. We can then have no excuse for subjecting anyone to the same abuse he underwent. He went to the cross for everyone and offers everyone eternal life equally. There is immeasurable power in that kind of love and sacrifice and it is in the embracing of and living out of this radical love that the whole body of humanity can hope for reconciliation, forgiveness, and justice. We will be held accountable for the actions we take toward others, whether enemies, strangers, or friends, so it is incumbent upon us to treat everyone as if they are Jesus and to bear faithful witness to our faith. Our response as Christians should begin and end in love for all, belief in the truth of God's word, and the knowledge that no matter the threat, real or imagined, fear has no real power and death is not the end of the story.

Bibliography

Adams, Sam. "Week 2, Session 3," Lecture, Bend, OR. September 19, 2016.

Belousek, Darrin W. Snyder. Atonement, Justice, and Peace: The Message of the Cross and the Mission of the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2012.

Gilmore, Chris. "What If God Doesn't Want To Make America Great Again ..." Huffingtonpost.com. July 18, 2016. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-if-god-doesnt-want-to-make-america-great-again_us_578b037be4b0e7c873504a05.

Pulliam Bailey, Sarah. "As Election Nears, Pope Francis Warns against Fear, Building Walls." November 06, 2016. https://cdnpoli.net/links/as-election-nears-pope-francis-warns-against-fear-building-walls-343011.

---

[1] Post on Facebook Sept. 21, 2016.

[2] Belousek, Atonement, Justice, and Peace, Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2012, 72.

[3] http://www.dictionary.com/browse/fear?s=t.

[4] Sam Adams, "Week 2, Session 3," Lecture, Kilns College, Bend, OR, (September 19, 2016).

[5] Sarah Pulliam Bailey, "As Election Nears, Pope Francis Warns against Fear, Building Walls," Washington Post, November 06, 2016, https://cdnpoli.net/links/as-election-nears-pope-francis-warns-against-fear-building-walls-343011.

[6] Romans 8:14;12, John 14:27, Luke 12:22-34.

[7] Pulliam Bailey, "As Election Nears."

[8] Ephesians 2:19.

[9] Chris Gilmore, "What If God Doesn't Want To Make America Great Again," Huffingtonpost.com, July 18, 2016, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-if-god-doesnt-want-to-make-america-great-again_us_578b037be4b0e7c873504a05.

Design

It is no more freedom

that calls a bird to flight,

Than it is freedom

that calls me to the same.

It is no more gravity

that calls a bird to land,

Than it is gravity

that ties me to the same.

The Least of These

 He will gather them ALL together.

Not just the Americans.

Or the Brits.

Or the Africans.

Or the Mexicans.

Or the rich.

Or the megastars.

Or my family.

Or . . .

Nope. All.

Every. Single. One.

"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him (all the nations will be gathered before him) and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left."

When Jesus comes back to rule on THIS earth, the ONLY distinction he, the Son of God and Son of Man, will make is NOT what your skin color is or where you were born or lived or whether you had wealth or power or whether you are male or female. These are not what matter on that day. The ONLY thing that will matter is this: 

 

 

I was hungry and you fed me, 
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, 
I was homeless and you gave me a room, 
I was shivering and you gave me clothes, 
I was sick and you stopped to visit, 
I was in prison and you came to me.

This here. 

Matters.

These actions.

Matter.

Giving food and drink

Giving home

Giving clothes

Giving time

Community.

These are what matter.

To God

Should matter

To us.

Father, forgive us 

We know not what we are doing

to your family

your creation

your dreams

your name.

 Matthew 25:31-46 NIV

I wander

Abandoned church, Oregon.

I wander.

In my thinking.

Studying.

Watching.

Reading.

Breaking.

Praying.

I wander.

In my travels.

Down hidden alleyways,

dark city streets,

sunny walkways,

ocean beaches.

Through foreign cities

and familiar ones.

On foot.

By bus or train.

Not often enough by plane.

In my car.

I wander.

In my 'white' skin.

Female.

Christian.

American.

Alone.

Often.

I wander

and yet

Former slave fortress, Elmina Castle, Elmina, Ghana.

Not ever once

attacked

threatened

scorned

robbed

shot at

hurt.

Not once.

I wander.

Freely it might seem.

But carrying with me

the burden

responsibility

of my brothers & sisters

who cannot say the same.

Cannot wander free

live

be 

free.

I wander on

attempting insufficient

aching solidarity

Bound entirely

to my fellow humanity

suffering unjustly

daily

lamentably

separately

Memorial to the slaves at the Whitney Plantation, Georgia.

than me

I wander on

heavy-hearted

broken

raging angrily

that I am not,

We are not free,

not yet

not one free

you or me

until all of us are we.

The Importance of Humanizing the 'Other' Through a Strong Doctrine of Creation

            The Christian Church has often been a force for good in the world but it has also been a force for evil, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly. A faith community which was meant to be inclusive, caring, and positive, has often been exclusive, hateful, and destructive. Much has been done in the name of Christ throughout history against perceived others through the perversion of biblical teachings and abuse of power by the Church. It has cultivated the disastrous practice of embracing opposition to other people, groups, and even nonhuman creation, instead of exhibiting the love for creation, neighbor, stranger, and enemy that Christ taught. The Church has become better known for who or what it opposes than for who or what it embraces. This dangerous disconnect between professed faith and corresponding actions partially stemming from a limited and perhaps absent doctrine of creation has resulted in destructive exclusionary and dehumanizing practices toward the very people Christ commanded his followers to love and has created a religious system that needs to be re-imagined from a truer foundation in God's word. When the Church and all its professed members begin to live out the biblical calling to love justice, seek mercy, and walk humbly, the world will be changed for the good, creation will flourish, justice will be realized, and God will be glorified. Christians must take the lead in affecting this change and work to deconstruct the traditions and teachings that have allowed the evil of othering to flourish. They need to start humanizing others through a sound doctrine of creation.

            To place someone in a category of other, as someone considered to be different than oneself to such a degree that this other person is viewed as failing to meet an imaginary standard set by oneself, has been a normal practice in societies around the world. Someone is viewed as different for any number of reasons and through the identified distinctions, divisions begin to grow which then can lead to oppression and dehumanization. There are many categories of people who have been othered by society and by the Church, specifically minorities, including LGBT people, members of other belief systems, and politicians. They are others because they are considered to be outside the realm of acceptable Church communities since they may hold different views than the Christian church and/or exhibit behaviors the Church has found unacceptable. As a result, there has been centuries of ignoring and oppressing these populations, dehumanizing and othering them in order to avoid knowing them, serving them, or loving them and to justify their abuse. These behaviors directly contradict God’s command to love everyone and to care for all of creation. In his book, Possible, Stephen Bauman states, "An organization, church, initiative, or program is only truly Christian insofar as it functions according to the nature of Jesus. If any community - whether church, government, or business - functions in ways opposed to the nature of Jesus, it falls on the side of evil, whether it knows it or not."[1] For far too long the Church has been on the wrong side of evil and the damage and injustice that has been done under the guise of Christianity has had profoundly devastating consequences for the oppressed as well as the oppressors.

            Justice entails developing right relationships with God and his creation by recognizing and valuing the imago Dei in everyone and the telos in all of creation. In Christopher Morse's chapter on humanity from his book, Not Every Spirit, he explains what it means to image God, saying it "is understood to involve being in such relationship to the origin ("in whom"), the provision ("through whom"), and the end ("for whom") of all creation that God appears through us. To exercise dominion under God, according to God's call, is thus never to violate the integrity of any creature God has made."[2] To value creation as something created with love and intention by God and for God is to bear faithful witness to him. All of creation is designed with a specific purpose, a telos, and the act of dehumanizing or exploiting any aspect of creation rejects its telos and rejects biblical teachings about valuing every person and created being, violating that integrity. What a person believes about creation determines one's treatment of it and a lack of understanding of the telos of creation leads to violence and destruction. In his book, God's Good World, Jonathan Wilson makes the point that, "When humans act contrary to their own telos in God, they do violence to themselves. When they act toward other humans contrary to the others’ telos in God, they do violence to others. When humans act toward the rest of creation contrary to its telos, they do violence to the rest of creation."[3] To humanize the other is to recognize the telos and the imago Dei in that 'other,' and to value it through equal treatment and particular care according to God's instructions. As author Ann Voscamp so eloquently puts it,

When we understand that we are all made in the Image of God, the Imago Dei, we stand with each other and for each other and about each other. What ends the apathy and the trafficking and the racism and the fighting everywhere is when we start seeing the Imago Dei in everyone. . . When we don’t belong to each other, we participate not only in the devastation of the world, but a desecration of the image of God.[4]

Damaged relationships between humans not only hurt the ones being oppressed, but also the oppressors who, through their sinful oppression of others, are also putting divisions between themselves and the God they say they serve. Through this process of othering they are contradicting their profession of faith in God's word and the value he places on all creation.

One way the injustice of othering has been accomplished is in the context of the seemingly beneficial act of charity. While charity can be a good starting point for getting involved, if the church never goes beyond impersonal giving, it merely becomes an ineffectual and temporary aid that is insufficient as a long term solution which doesn't contribute to the flourishing of those involved. It is a practice that keeps the degrading boundaries in place around the others, perpetually denying them their inherent value and ignoring the imago Dei in them. It fails to address the root causes of broken relationships that have led to the division between and dehumanization of these perceived others. A current leader in social justice work, Pastor Eugene Cho, says, "When you're not interested in building genuine mutual relationships, you rob people of their dignity and they become projects. Don't reduce people to projects. When that happens, they become statistics instead of people. How can you love and serve the poor if you don't even know the poor?"[5] To love the poor or the other one must actually know them personally. Gustavo Gutierrez, liberation theologian, challenged people on the same topic. "So you say you love the poor? Name them."[6] Faith leaders in particular need to lead the shift in perspective from an impersonal charity for the victim’s practice to a relationship restoring model that involves getting to know these individuals and learning from them, thereby erasing the destructive boundaries and restoring their dignity.

            Much of the othering of marginalized populations that has taken place has been as a result of fear, selfishness, and greed, as well as blatantly wrong theology. Perhaps no group has suffered more in the dehumanization of a group than minorities, particularly Africans, African Americans, and Native Americans who have all been victims of violent racism created from false doctrines. Slavery became prevalent due to incorrect teachings and beliefs, often perpetuated by anthropologists and Christian missionaries seeking to gain influence, wealth, and recognition, who viewed darker skinned people as inferior and even inhuman and thereby vulnerable, exploitable, and disposable. The physical differences between white Europeans and black Africans became an excuse for their mistreatment and a way for white Europeans to justify the evil of slavery and racism. They developed various ways of categorizing these others which, in the instance of Belgian colonization of Rwanda, would directly contribute to the Rwandan genocide. Rwandan’s were categorized as Hutus and Tutsis by their Belgian colonizers who manufactured these terms based on the results of their measurements of physical differences between Rwandans, then stoked these contrived differences into rivalries by favoring one group over the other, breeding animosity that lasted well after Rwanda gained independence and was ultimately the catalyst for the 1994 genocide.[7] The racist ideology that encourages the demeaning and othering of a person for physical characteristics or nationality became normalized long before this genocide took place and can be seen in any genocide that has taken place throughout history, including the genocide of Native Americans in the New World.

            When Europeans stumbled across the New World and found abundant resources to their liking and indigenous populations not to their liking, they committed genocide to take control of the natural resources they coveted. In doing so, they failed to recognize the basic humanity of the native populations, viewing them as obstacles to be destroyed in their quest for more wealth rather than relationships to be cultivated. The white Christian Europeans who created these racist policies and practices and were widely influential at that time, were operating with a false doctrine of creation which allowed them to disregard the basic dignity of people of color, stripping them of their God-given humanity and value in order to exploit them and amass wealth through that exploitation. The results of this violence against Native Americans has had profoundly devastating consequences which are still unresolved today.

            The social and political construction of whiteness as the ideal and norm is an illusion that has little to do with one's actual skin color and more to do with the creation by powerful white elites of this category which is subject to change at any time for any reason and is abused purely for their gain. As Jim Wallis discussed in a recent lecture, whiteness is a completely fabricated myth and a lie. He points out that it is an idol and idols separate us from God, therefore whiteness as a construction separates us from God.[8] The problem of white privilege and the consequent dehumanizing racist practices will only be resolved when this idol is destroyed. Recognizing this idolatry is imperative and Christians need to be the forerunners in repenting from this practice and leading the Church in a new Godly direction in solidarity with these others who have suffered oppression.

            Even after the Civil Rights movement ended in the USA, the results of these racist practices and beliefs that have been rooted in a false Christianity continue to wreak havoc on people of color today. The injustice they face is nearly as intense as it was during legal slavery, with black men and women being killed indiscriminately with seemingly no consequences for their murderers and a multitude of other abuses being inflicted as well. The evil of racism can be attributed in part to an incorrect or absent doctrine of creation. Wilson discusses how a weak or nonexistent doctrine of creation has contributed to the dehumanization and othering of humanity and creation.

To say that humans are creatures is to say that our identity, our meaning, our life depend on our relationship to the One who created us. . . When we do not recognize that humans have their identity as human by virtue of our creatureliness before God, we become susceptible to other bases for our humanity. . . Or we may begin to construe "the human" according to our own particular likeness. We construct ways of identifying our particular identity markers as those that identify all that is human… Instead of being wonderful variations that make creation beautiful and reveal God's delight in "dappled things," these variations become markers of inferiority, of status, and finally of human identity.[9]

The culture and people who created and perpetuated racism even to the point of genocide failed, and continues to fail, to embrace the basic creatureliness of all people. Their theology was so far misguided that not only did they falsely believe that people of color weren’t human and could therefore be mistreated as animals, they also failed to recognize that even in categorizing them as animals in the world that those animals, as part of creation and the handiwork of God, are deserving of respect and proper treatment.

            The othering of groups like politicians is yet another category that has been dehumanized and rejected by the Church. When a leader exhibits a lifestyle or philosophy that the Church takes issue with, they more often than not discount those voices as invaluable and therefore unworthy of basic human treatment, frequently even speaking against them in negative ways. The current presidential campaigns unfolding in America are great examples. Every day the news is filled with hate-speech by the leading nominee for the Republican Party with language full of exclusionary, racist, sexist, and xenophobic beliefs that are being broadcast ad infinitum and are being embraced by an astounding number of people. Instead of taking this opportunity, as someone with influence and access to a large audience, to break down the evil divisions created by centuries of bigotry toward any perceived other, those fears are being reinforced once again and the divisions are being deepened and exploited for political gain. This fear-mongering is ensuring the others of color, particularly Hispanic immigrants, and the others of Islamic faith, are demonized and vilified. Parallels can be drawn between this situation and what was done to the Jews leading up to and during the Holocaust who were initially blamed for many social problems, segregated into walled ghettos, all before being murdered in the worst failure of humanity in history.

            The similarities are horrifying and it is easier to put these politicians in an other category all their own than it is see the image of God in them, and yet, it is present and it means they, too, are deserving of the same treatment as those whose ideologies are more closely aligned with Jesus. He called his followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. He also commanded believers to pray for the leaders, regardless of their style of leadership or belief system. He didn't ask his followers to agree with or to approve of these people's actions, but to love them as he loves his children and to pray for them and their salvation. Vincent Bacote points out in his book, The Political Disciple, "The command to pray for the prosperity of the lands in which we find ourselves remains important. . . regardless of our location, we should pray for nations to flourish because such flourishing may likely be beneficial for all who dwell in the land."[10] It's not about agreeing with what the politicians do or say but about remaining faithful to God's commands in spite of those disagreements, seeking to hold them accountable, and not reinforcing those divisions but breaking them down for the prosperity of all. Praying for political leaders should also include the leaders of other countries, particularly for ones who are committing atrocities against their own people like in Syria and Sudan, to choose but two examples. These are places where prayers, love, and solidarity are desperately needed rather than more fear, division, and distance. A correct doctrine of creation allows for one to see the imago Dei and telos in everyone as one of God's creations, regardless of that individuals actions and words.

            Christians have often found it easier to distance themselves from those they oppose by excluding themselves from any involvement in political arenas. Not only does this maintain divisions, it goes against God’s call to be a good steward and contributing member of society who recognizes that God puts leaders in place. Bacote states, "One of the most important implications here is that our identity as citizens in cities, states, and nations is to be taken seriously. Though Christians have a greater allegiance to God than to any earthly nation or political figure, it is proper Christian practice to be a good citizen.[11] Regardless of one's personal political beliefs, God calls believers to pray for and love everyone including political leaders so that justice can be realized. This should be undertaken by all Christians through a shift in their rhetoric from that unjust exclusionary and dismissive language which only inflicts damage, to hopeful and prayerful actions and words which have the ability to defeat the powers of darkness and bring positive change to an area of society that desperately needs the gospel.

            In addition to placing groups of people in other categories and dehumanizing them accordingly, the Church has also treated nonhuman creation as something to exploit and destroy for selfish gains in similar ways. It has made a habit of denying responsibility for its care, allowing for immeasurable damage to be done. The evidence of human greed and insatiable consumption that has led to the destruction of and disregard for creation is everywhere, from the trash along the road to the destruction of rainforests to the prevalence of modern slavery for the purpose of mining minerals used in cell phones and computers, and shows little sign of abating without drastic action. Wilson says, "One of the greatest tragedies of theology’s neglect of creation has been the church’s complicity in the destruction of the natural world and thus also of conditions that contribute to the flourishing of life."[12] The plentiful injustices inflicted on this planet will have far-reaching consequences for future generations and any hope for slowing this trend and reversing it lies with strong Christian communities who acknowledge the Church's failings and work to restore justice in creation.

            Some of this inaction and these destructive acts stem from another aspect of an errant doctrine of creation that is more gnostic than Christian.[13] The rather commonplace gnostic view that leaving this earth for heaven is the ultimate goal has come at the expense of this planet and has permeated Christian belief for far too long. "Christians talk about the gospel as the great escape from this creation with an eagerness that at times sounds like they have forgotten that the incarnation of Christ means that the material world is ultimately good and will be redeemed (Romans 8:19-22)."[14] This belief can be heard disseminated in sermons on Sundays, in songs on Christian radio that proclaim, "this world has nothing for me,"[15] and in everyday discussions in Christian communities. It is so ingrained in the belief system that many Christians may not even recognize it as being false doctrine. Revelation 21 discusses the new Jerusalem coming down to earth and God coming down and dwelling among his people. He is returning to the earth he created. Christians are often so focused on leaving this world that they have, once again, failed to recognize the value of creation itself and their role in it as one part of it. God placed Adam and Eve in the garden to take care of it, not to abuse, exploit, and destroy it, but that is what happened. It is imperative that Christians begin to understand the value of and take responsibility for the natural world God put them in charge of until he returns. Wilson contends for the importance of understanding the createdness of all creation. 

When we come to recognize our own createdness, we will begin to care for, nourish, and delight in all createdness because we will recognize that the love and sustenance and redemption that we receive from God’s hands is directed to all creation. To the extent that we do not care and do not delight in all creation, to that same extent we have not yet learned that we are creatures who live by delighting in God – the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. To the extent that we have not learned and delighted in our creatureliness, we are in danger of not recognizing the creatureliness of others.[16]

The myriad differences found in all of creation that have served as points of division and oppression need to be seen as evidence of God’s love for diversity and individuality and as something to be embraced and celebrated through a correct doctrine of creation that values the createdness of all things. "It is tremendously important for Christians to see that it has always been our responsibility to care for the world, cultivating the flourishing of life through our activity in culture, politics, education, medicine, business, and every public area."[17] As Romans 8 says, this creation will be redeemed and restored. Christians can no longer afford to be the voices of dissent and dismissal shouting down the voices of the one's fighting for better treatment of this planet and all its inhabitants.

            The common thread to be found here is the necessity of changing how Christianity has been lived out and that that change must start with the deconstruction of dehumanizing practices and be replaced with the just treatment of all humanity and proper stewardship of the earth. This change has to begin with a proper foundation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ; not the gospel that has been perverted for humanity's profit, but the true gospel as Jesus taught it, starting with the belief in the sanctity of all creation and the restoration of these damaged relationships. Genesis says that God created man and woman in his image, placed them as stewards of the earth, and proclaimed all of his creation to be good. Having a strong creation theology demands that Christians recognize that every male and female on this planet was created in God's likeness and bears this very imago Dei within them, regardless of any class, race, or gender differences. It also demands the respect and care for all of creation as God has promised to return to this earth. Wilson reminds and challenges people, saying, "If we had this understanding of justice rooted in a robust doctrine of creation, we would be deeply and repentantly committed to living generously and mercifully rather than 'living' fearfully, anxiously, and vengefully."[18] In recognizing the createdness in oneself and in others, Christians can bear faithful witness to God and afford each other mutual respect as equal creations before God. The flourishing of creation in all its forms is possible through the transformative work of putting one's faith in God into generous, compassionate, and loving action. "Caring isn’t a Christian’s sideline hobby. Caring is a Christian’s complete career. We don’t just care about people, caring about people is our job, the job every single one of us get up to do every single day. That’s it. Caring is our job, our point, our purpose."[19] The greatest commandment given is to love the Lord God. To love him is to follow his leadership and to love and care for his creation in its entirety. Jesus also commands his followers to love their neighbors and their enemies, the poor and the foreigner. There are no qualifiers or exclusions to his command to love God and love others. The Christian faith does not allow for the belief that any human being is beyond hope[20] or deserving of being othered and any Christian theology that teaches otherwise is false. It is only through this foundation, this acceptance and embrace of the doctrine of creation that the dehumanizing categories will be destroyed, justice will be realized, and creation will flourish.

Bibliography

Adams, Sam. "Liberation Theology Part 1." Lecture, Kilns College, Bend, OR, March 15, 2016.

Adams, Sam. "Liberation Theology Part 2." Lecture, Kilns College, Bend, OR, March 15, 2016.

Bacote, Vincent. The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life. Zondervan, 2015.

Bauman, Stephan. Possible: A Blueprint for Changing How We Change the World. Colorado Springs: Multnomah, 2015.

Cho, Eugene. Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World than Actually Changing the World? Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2014, 218.

Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998.

Morse, Christopher. Not Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Christian Disbelief. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1994.

Voscamp, Ann. "Into Iraq #2: What the News Isn't Telling You & Why We Can't Afford to Pretend It's Not Happening [Sozan's Impossible Choice -- and Our Very Possible One]." A Holy Experience. May 18, 2015. http://www.aholyexperience.com/2015/05/into-iraq-2-what-the-news-isnt-telling-you-why-we-cant-afford-to-pretend-its-not-happening-sozans-impossible-choice-and-our-very-possible-one/.

Wallis, Jim. Lecture, Kilns College, Bend, OR, May 1, 2016.

Wilson, Jonathan R. God's Good World: Reclaiming the Doctrine of Creation. Baker Academic, 2013.

---

[1] Stephan Bauman, Possible: A Blueprint for Changing How We Change the World, Colorado Springs: Multnomah, (2015), 76.

[2] Christopher Morse, Not Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Christian Disbelief, Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, (1994), 265.

[3] Jonathan R Wilson, God's Good World: Reclaiming the Doctrine of Creation, Baker Academic, (2013), 27.

[4] Ann Voscamp, "Into Iraq #2: What the News Isn't Telling You & Why We Can't Afford to Pretend It's Not Happening," A Holy Experience, (2015), http://www.aholyexperience.com/2015/05/into-iraq-2-what-the-news-isnt-telling-you-why-we-cant-afford-to-pretend-its-not-happening-sozans-impossible-choice-and-our-very-possible-one/.

[5] Eugene Cho, Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World than Actually Changing the World? Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, (2014), 218.

[6] Sam Adams, "Liberation Theology Part 1," Lecture, Kilns College, Bend, OR, (March 15, 2016), Gutierrez quote.

[7] Philip Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, (1998).

[8] Jim Wallis, Lecture, Kilns College, Bend, OR, (2016).

[9] Wilson, God's Good World, 41.

[10] Vincent Bacote, The Political Disciple: A Theology of Public Life, Zondervan, (2015), 50.

[11] Ibid., 51.

[12] Wilson, God's Good World, 9.

[13]  Ibid., 5.

[14] Bacote, The Political Disciple, 31.

[15] Numerous songs have this lyric as central to the song, including ones from Building 429, Caedmon's Call, and New Song.

[16] Wilson, God's Good World, 44.

[17] Bacote, The Political Disciple, 30.

[18] Wilson, God's Good World, 10.

[19] Voscamp, Into Iraq#2.

[20] Sam Adams, "Liberation Theology Part 2," Lecture, Kilns College, Bend, OR, (2016).