Seeking a Theocracy

In this Blog from Chrisitianity Today I found a quote that was quite interesting.

Evangelicalism, however, has always been a reform movement. And there is always more to reform. The Kingdom of God has arrived, but is not yet here. And we won't be satisfied until the king comes in all his glory. And that's evangelical Christianity's little secret right now. We really are theocrats. Only in exactly the opposite way from how some op-ed columnists think we are. Our hopes lie far beyond the next election, or the next judicial fight. Our king isn't elected, and our judge isn't appointed. Sometimes we forget that. But it's what we're all about.

There is alot of stuggle in the US over the idea of Christians seeking to establish a theocracy - a government led by God. I myself have been worried about the state of the Church in the US that feels that political support for our positions is of extreme importance. We need to be careful linking politics with faith. It can often lead to the politics influencing the faith more than the other way around. (See here if you want an example.) I am not saying that we have no role to play in the political process. I am encouraging one of my friends here in Canada as he runs to be a member of the BC Legislative Assembly. I am just saying that Jesus is the leader of the church. He is the one who we must follow. He is the only one that merits our allegiance. It just seems that if the political system was the way to change the hearts of men and women that we might see a bit more of that in His teachings.

In reality, the church tends to function better when it is at the margins of society rather than in the center of society. When life is tough we see clearly what is important and are better able to put feet and hands to following Jesus. Len at Next Reformation writes

In fact, it is only when we are marginalized that we do theology, because the old theologies no longer make sense. A theology of hegemony, when the church is at the center, will not be useful when we are now on the fringes.

Although church on the margins of society doesn't sound very easy, there is something that appeals to me about being free to follow Jesus and letting that shape society instead of spending all my time seeking to shape society. That's what I think Ted Olsen means when he says -

We really are theocrats. Only in exactly the opposite way from how some op-ed columnists think we are. Our hopes lie far beyond the next election, or the next judicial fight. Our king isn't elected, and our judge isn't appointed. Sometimes we forget that. But it's what we're all about.