The church has become so enmeshed in American life, but it wasn’t always so cozy with the state. Church actually began as a resistance movement. Today, lead pastor Josh Scott explains how our understanding of church and state has evolved since the time of Jesus, and how we lost something important when Christianity became a tool of the empire. He also shares some practical examples of ways we can work to combat theocracy and nationalism, while making the world better by caring for the people in it.

Episode Recap:

There’s tension between feeling grateful to live in America and the reality of how the country treats people (0:40)
Many of us don’t even realize how interconnected church and state have become (5:17)
Jesus was crucified for challenging the empire (10:49)
For 300 years, the church was an alternative to the ways of the empire (13:42)
The church didn’t change the empire; the empire changed the church (19:06)
The challenge is to work toward realizing the idea of America while challenging nationalism and theocracy (24:09)
Withdrawal is not an option (30:20)
Feeding the hungry and healing the sick is an act of resistance (33:42)


Resources:

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