Davidman: the political use of religion
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Commemoration of Lanfranc, Prior of Le Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1089
Meditation:
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
—Acts 10:34-35 (ESV)
Quotation:
There have always been two kinds of Christianity—man’s and Christ’s. Does anyone today remember how the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion? It is said that he had a vision—saw a cross in the sky with the inscription, “In this sign shalt thou conquer.” He accepted the new faith promptly, because he thought it would defeat his enemies for him. That is man’s Christianity, a means to earthly triumph. And in our present crisis [1955] we are appealing to it to defeat the Russians for us. We hear of the life-and-death struggle between Christianity and Communism, the necessity of saving the world once for all, the religious duty of “keeping God alive as a social force”—as if our Lord could not survive a Soviet victory!
It is a poor sort of faith that imagines Christ defeated by anything men can do.
... Joy Davidman (1915-1960), Smoke on the Mountain, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1955, reprint, Westminster John Knox Press, 1985, p. 135 (see the book)
See also Acts 10:34-35; Gen. 18;14; Ps. 2:6-9; 110:1-3; Isa. 9:6-7; Jer. 32:17; Dan. 7:14; Matt. 11:27; 28:18; Luke 1:32-33; John 13:3; 1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 1:20-22; Phil. 2:9-11
Quiet time reflection:
Lord, You call people from every tribe and nation to praise Your Name.CQOD Blog email RSS
search script mobile
sub fb twt inst Jonah   ; Ruth
Commemoration of Lanfranc, Prior of Le Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1089
Meditation:
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
—Acts 10:34-35 (ESV)
Quotation:
There have always been two kinds of Christianity—man’s and Christ’s. Does anyone today remember how the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion? It is said that he had a vision—saw a cross in the sky with the inscription, “In this sign shalt thou conquer.” He accepted the new faith promptly, because he thought it would defeat his enemies for him. That is man’s Christianity, a means to earthly triumph. And in our present crisis [1955] we are appealing to it to defeat the Russians for us. We hear of the life-and-death struggle between Christianity and Communism, the necessity of saving the world once for all, the religious duty of “keeping God alive as a social force”—as if our Lord could not survive a Soviet victory!
It is a poor sort of faith that imagines Christ defeated by anything men can do.
... Joy Davidman (1915-1960), Smoke on the Mountain, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1955, reprint, Westminster John Knox Press, 1985, p. 135 (see the book)
See also Acts 10:34-35; Gen. 18;14; Ps. 2:6-9; 110:1-3; Isa. 9:6-7; Jer. 32:17; Dan. 7:14; Matt. 11:27; 28:18; Luke 1:32-33; John 13:3; 1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 1:20-22; Phil. 2:9-11
Quiet time reflection:
Lord, You call people from every tribe and nation to praise Your Name.
search script mobile
sub fb twt inst Jonah   ; Ruth
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home