Somewhere along the line we missed the boat. The message Christ gave us, the Church he gave us has been perverted in so many ways. We have seen what 'love' has brought with such things as the Crusades, the Inquisition. We've seen what Rome has wrought with a bureaucracy Christ would rail against and we see what Rome has wrought in it's coverups and sins, all in an attempt to "avoid scandal at all costs".
The American conservative zealot church, right win nuts and lunatics all, today bring the church to new meanings of hypocrisy and falsehood. The division of church and state in America has been so perverted and so filled with self righteous zealots that the message of Christ's love and acceptance has been obscured to oblivion.
Saint Peter speaks of a respect of sorts and living dualistically with the Romans. In the United States, there is a constitutional separation between church and state but the respect and duality that Peter speaks of is lost. Many religious groups want to allow a kind of theocracy which was not what the founding fathers had in mind at all.
If this is the end times, and I assure we are all in our own end of time, we must live our faith as we are called to but that means love and respect. That does not mean self righteousness, being judgmental, fevered fervor, hypocrisy or hatred. Believe what you believe (even if you are heartily misguided ) but in a democracy with separation between church and state you must serve the total public if your job or business is in the public domain. The public domain, by design of our forefathers and the constitution encompasses a stunningly beautiful array of beliefs. Those people that hold to those beliefs are entitled to live their lives in freedom just as much as anyone else, even YOU!
Fear God, honour the 'emperor'.
1 Peter 2:11-25
Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honourably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.*
For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honour everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honour the emperor.
1Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
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