Conqueror

Lion heart
Brave
Courageous
True

Ferocious
Muscular
Strong
Fierce

Victor
Champion
Conquering
King

The Character of the Christ
The Lion of Judah
King of Kings
Lord of Lords

And yet He conquers
As a Lamb
A Slain lamb
A Crucified Lamb

Such is the mystery
His secret way
Upside down
Inside out

His character
The Lion
Who Conquers
Like a Lamb

Nationalistic

Admittedly, I haven't researched this post very well as I'm sure their are a ton of ideas written on both sides of the issue. I know there are several books about it as well and I haven't read any of them. And now that I've verified that this post is garbage, here it is.

I don't think most Christians I know would really want to live in a Christian nation.

Have you ever thought about what a truly Christian nation would look like? For one thing I think it would blush at the idea of being called a nation at all. No nationalism here. The height of Israel's glory is usually considered to be during the time of kings David and Solomon. But remember, that was a result of their rejection of God's idea of a nation. Can you imagine the USA governed like Israel in the time of the judges? No flag to wave? No president to rally around? No 4th of July celebration?

It would be far from the wealthiest nation on earth, not because God wouldn't bless it, but because it would give it's wealth away to those in need. It wouldn't seek to be the world's leader. It would seek to be the world's servant. There would be a high possibility that it would be in servitude to another country and they would probably see that servitude transfer among several countries, which ever one happened to be ruling the world at the time.

Some argue that God led Israel to conquer other peoples as proof that a Christian nation today would do the same. But that was all part of God's redemptive plan for the world and it wasn't a pattern he would continue for all time. That's what the Jews were looking for in Jesus' day. They were looking for someone to save them from Roman servitude and lead them to military dominance. But God's plan was the way of the cross. Following through with military victory would have been exactly what Satan would have wanted and was apparently expecting.

So I think a true Christian nation would really struggle with the whole idea of war. It would be severely distressed over the thought of war and deeply troubled about it. There certainly wouldn't be victory parades and we would feel the pain of war just as much as the other side.

How dare I write a post like this while enjoying the freedom of this nation. Don't get me wrong, I love my country. It certainly has it's faults but it has many good qualities too. I have no problem waving a flag or celebrating it's independence. But I don't consider it a Christian nation either. It certainly has drawn on Christian influences to varying degrees over the years and that is a good thing, as long as those ideas are truly from God. But in the end it is a secular nation. It happens to be the nation that I was born in so it is my country. God saw fit that in all the world this is where I should be placed. So this is where I live out his redemptive mission.

Torture

I found the results of this survey by Pew Research disgusting. What part of "...love your enemies, do good to those who hate you..." (Jesus in Luke 6:27) don't Christians understand? Is that too radical of an idea? Well, here's a news flash. Jesus is radical. Following Jesus is radical.