call me an atheist...

My current course at Fuller is called The Art of Evangelism. This week, for the course, I am reading Evangelism in the Early Church, by Michael Green. I have about 80 pages left to read.

One of the many things I’ve picked up from this read is how the early Christians were considered to be atheists by the Gentiles. The Gentiles (read for the most part as citizens of the Roman Empire) were confused by the refusal of the early Christians to pay homage to the gods of the empire. In other words, since the early Christians rejected the gods of the empire by saying there was only one true God, they must be atheists.

Clearly this was a confrontation between polytheism and monotheism. The empire and its citizens were polytheistic, having a god for everything that must be honored and respected if things were going to continue to go smoothly. By not paying homage to the gods of the empire the early Christians were thought to be seeking to undermine the empire and thus were seen as dangerous to the state.

It was also a conflict between a human made empire and the kingdom of God. 

I’m wondering if we still have this kind of conflict today?

I’m wondering if the gods of the empire could have morphed into what today we would call nationalism?

That may be a bit of a stretch, but, just in case, call me an atheist...

 

Comments

[John Willis Zumwalt]

i like your thinking

[Eric G.]

Thanks John!

[Theradicalway]

Yes, the gods of nationalism and self are worshipped today in the USA.

[Eric G.]

Theradicalway, so true!