Pax Americana: Trading Christianity (Jesus is Lord) for Civil Religion (God Bless America)
It is because I love the United States of America (teary during the anthem), that I want Jesus' church to be very clear about our primary identity and the temptations to confuse and ultimately to trade Christianity for civil religion.
The church will face a fierce temptation to become an unofficial agent of the state to maintain order and peace (Pax Americana), and a semblance of respectable religion that sits us safely in our pews with immunity to publicly say "God Bless America" and "In God we trust" and even "Merry Christmas" in state schools or the post office in exchange for keeping private, matters of evangelism, justice, and transformation.
This trade is not worth it! The god of civil religion is a different deity than the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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