KoG V. Still Viable Today?

Hello, PDX!

Welcome, new readers and returning ones, for sure. Please pass along the site address to anyone you know. If you are just joining us, you mght want to back up and get the first installments on the kingdom of God, which I abbreviate KoG.

OK, so Apostle Paul set himself up for a big time conflict with Rome by proclaiming the KoG. KoG brought peace through God's justice which was received by grace through faith in Jesus as Messiah, as opposed to Rome's pax Romana: peace (and economic growth) through military victory and reverence for the emperor as divine. And lest we forget, Paul did not invent KoG. This came directly from the life and ministry of Jesus.

But with the constant threat of terrorism that could very well turn into nuclear terrorism, hadn't we better first turn the world into a safe and stable place and then set about the task of converting the survivors to faith in Christ? Shouldn't we gird ourselves for an all-out war to cleanse the world of false religion in order to make it safe for Christ? Are these in fact our choices? Is this in fact how we think? Does the KoG actually make any sense today, or was it simply a sort of fairy tale dream for a simpler (so we imagine) world of 2K years ago?

Sorry to disappoint you if you are expecting answers. I can tell you what I think, but the important thing is what you think because that determines how you live your life. So instead I'll toss out a few questions:

1. How many people did Jesus kill in order to bring in the kingdom of God?
2. How many insurgent groups did Jesus organize to oppose godless Rome** that occupied his own country and even Mt. Zion itself?
3. How many people, and whom, did Jesus instruct his followers to kill in his name?
4. What did Jesus say would make his followers free?
5. What did Jesus say we should seek first?
6. What weapons system did Jesus instruct his followers to employ in carrying out Matthew 28:19?

**Note: Rome wasn't godless at all but had many gods. Martin Luther had it right. Our god is whatever we flee to or cling to in times of distress.

And last but not least:

7. Was Jesus just talking through his hat?

That last one has two possible answers. Yes or no. I guess that will have everything to do with whether or not we think KoG makes any sense today or at any time in history for that matter. Any at all.

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Last evening as I bought a Street Roots newspaper from Vicky Sittinghawk outside of Powell's Books, she gave me this little card:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Blessings!

Pastor Roger