I understand that this might sound a little too mystical, but I wanted to go through this exercise to remind us that Christianity is more than a ticket into heaven when we die.

I also want us to see how when Christians mature into stages 4 and 5, when they see those cracks, they become awakened to the suffering in this world and they try to do something about it.

The Constitution is the authority, not the Bible, nor the Church, nor any creed.

As concerned as they were about the abuse of power by a despot, these men did not extend the freedom and authority they took for themselves to all the people around them, but over the next two centuries, the distribution of power increased.

Not everyone likes that. Christian Nationalism seeks to return power to the few.

I have felt the pain of what happens when a handful of “well meaning” people forget professional ethics. When a necessary lie is followed by another and another; when self-protection becomes the mission; and when those who ask for transparency and accountability become the problem.

Today, we will explore the dark side of stage 3 faith (synthetic-conventional stage).

In Healthy Church Christianity (stage 3), people grow. They discover that something they once believed was incomplete and they take in new information, adapt their thinking, and turn and go in a new direction. If their old views caused harm, they make apologies.

This is repentance. This was the message of Jesus, and the Law and the Prophets before him. It is to live a life of mercy, humility, and justice. It is rooted in love.

Our relationship with the Bible and with our faith should be the same. We’re not supposed to leave these stories in our 8 year-old brains; they’re supposed to grow with us.

Part One: Introduction

I just finished listening to Rachel Held Evans read her audiobook, A Year of Biblical Womanhood and I wept.

It was through those stories that I was introduced to Rachel - can I call her Rachel? - when she spoke at the VAUMC Fall Youth Retreat in 2012. She taught me that it’s okay to grow in our faith and the importance in helping others grow, too.

Last week, I referenced a speech given by Vice President Vance in which he talked about the need to defend a “certain” Christian civilization (see Part Two), I suspect he did not mean a civilization built on the teachings of Christ.

If the Christian Nationalist movement is interested in Christian civilization, perhaps we should look at what the oldest Christian communities were like.

Several weeks ago, the Vice President of the United States went to Hungary to praise the authoritarian regime of Viktor Orban as the “the defense of Western civilization,” and “the defense of the idea that we are founded on a certain Christian civilization and Christian values that animate everything…” (CBS News)

When I heard this, everything clicked. 

“…a certain Christian civilization…” 

I pledge allegiance to the Bible,

God’s Holy Word.

I will make it a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path,

and will hide its words

in my heart that I might

not sin against God.

I had never heard of this “Pledge to the Bible” until I taught in a Christian school in the 90s. I found it odd, but didn’t really question it.

I grew up with the Apostle’s Creed, which goes like this: