The Day After, Part Two

Why did egregious errors in judgment on January 6 ultimately put not only lives at risk, but also our very form of government? Because we have, for far too long, associated "developed" countries (like the US and Western Europe) with "civilization." Such radical and lawless behavior is not what "civilized" Americans engage in. Maybe Antifa, or maybe some of the radicals from Black Lives Matter, but not us, not the "good guys," you know, the conservative, Evangelical crowd of law-abiding, police-supporting patriots. We're "civilized," aren't we? The ugly reality is, no, we aren't really that "civilized."

So many people seem surprised. But we shouldn't be. The fact is, our definition of "civil" is greatly influenced by biblical principles. You don't have to believe me. Believe the work of noted sociologist Rodney Stark (who taught at the University of Washington for 30+ years), Robert Woodberry (who has done landmark work on the benefits of Protestant conversionary missionaries) or historian Tom Holland, who recognizes Chrisitan influence in Western culture, even though he does not yet identify as a Christian. The reason people are so shocked is because of wrong assumptions, ultimately, about the nature of man. Secular humanism is a lie; we are not good and getting better. Scripture is true; none of us are righteous (Rom 3:10), our attempts at righteousness are worthless (Isaiah 64:4), we are all guilty of sin (Rom 3:23), and deserve death (Rom 6:23). The reason, I believe, that the chief of the Capital Police underestimated the threat to the security of the Capital Building in January last year is because they made wrong assumptions about the people attending Trump's rally. 

At this point, some readers will be expressing frustration because of beliefs that Antifa was really behind the chaos. At a functional level, that does not matter. 

First, the conclusions have already been made. A growing portion of the population already believed Christians were potentially dangerous; this just reinforced previously held beliefs. 

Second, it is becoming more apparent that just because someone is conservative doesn't mean they hold to traditionally-recognized Christian values. And therein lies the problem. You can be "fiscally" conservative, you can believe in limited government, you can value the Second Amendment, and you can support the free exercise of religion without loving Jesus. That is a problem. 

On public radio shortly after the events of January 6, a Filipino scholar made the statement that "America is no longer exceptional." It made me think of the quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville about how the source of America's greatness was to be found in her churches, and that when America ceased to be good, she would cease to be great... I think the statement is backwards. The source of America's goodness is to be found not in churches (which are buildings made by man) or even religious practice, but in the "hearts of flesh" God has put in His people (Heb 8:10). God's law being written on hearts is, I contend, the source of anything that might have been exceptional about the American experiment, and is the only hope for anything worthwhile in the future, period. 

When I wrote this, I was just beginning my doctoral studies. I hadn't heard the words "Affective theology" or been introduced to the beauty of robust Trinitarianism. I had an awareness of the concepts, but not the fine tunings. To be honest, I'm still very much a student of affective theology and Trinitarianism. By no means am I an expert, especially not on the level of men like Ron Frost, Michael Reeves, Fred Sanders, or Kelly Kapic. What I am more convinced of than ever, though, is that our hearts drive our behavior. The people who converged on Washington DC on January 6th, 2021 can be called nothing if not patriotic. But, perhaps, to borrow from Thaddeus Williams book Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth, the root of the problem that led to the deaths of five people was not that people were patriots gathered in support of their beloved country. Maybe the problem was that the "patriots" loved themselves more than anything else, including the God many said they worshipped, the country they supposedly celebrated, the way of life they said they were defending, or the lives of those who got in their way, including the very real threat to Vice President Mike Pence. 

Perhaps we need to revisit the definition of "patriot," and ask ourselves what was really being "defended" on January 6. Then we need to really question where human value comes from and whether it should be dismissed so easily, simply because people disagree?