"The Myth of the Existence of a Christian Nation"

Messiah Jesus (Yeshua) came to earth and established His movement to serve the world with Christ-like love, among other reasons. He didn't die on His cross so His Followers could rule in any way in this age. Jesus Followers are called to "look like" both an individual and a collective Jesus.

Individually, we are called to take up our cross daily on behalf of those who love us as well as those who hate, and even, persecute or try to kills us. We are commanded to actively and creatively resist evil, in all it's forms. But we must do so, Jesus says in Matthew 5:38-45 at http://diigo.com/0kmlr , non-violently ...even at the risk of our lives.

In any one nation state, the ekklesia, the collective Body of Christ in that nation ...not the traditional institutional church... is NOT called to be a religious version of Caesar. Our secular states, not Jesus Followers, are to "bear the sword" against foreign and domestic enemies as Paul says in Romans 11.

We are each called to manifest the kingdom of the cross in contrast to the kingdom of the sword. Whenever the traditional "church", rather than the real "ekklesia" has succeeded in gaining what many evangelicals in Canada and the U.S. are now trying to get ...political power... it has been disastrous both for the church and the culture, e.g., think about any manifestation of Christian political party, any where in the world.

Whenever the church picks up the sword, it lays down the cross. The present activity of the so-called "religious right" in both Canada and the U.S. is destroying the heart and soul of true evangelicalism plus our unique witness to the world.

The ekklesia is to have a political voice. And we are to have it the way Jesus had it ...by manifesting an alternative to the political, 'power over,' way of doing life. We are to transform the world by being willing to suffer for others, non-violently, as we allow Jesus to live His life out through us, not by getting our way in society through exercising non-supernatural, worldly power over institutions.

No nation state is the Kingdom of God, in whole or in part.

GaryFPatton (gfp '42™ 2013-01-18)

As with any investigation into history, we run the risk of oversimplifying the issues involved or looking at the events from one side only, either seeing only the good actions or only the bad actions. The crusades are no different. My attempt here is not to dismiss any of the wrongs committed by crusades and only look at what could be called the good. I instead intend to look at both sides equitably.

Words have meaning and some words have emotional baggage that gives them more persuasion power when used. Misconceptions about the crusades have given this word the emotional baggage that is often used as a coercive rhetorical device for anti-Christian arguments.

There is a subtle and underlining claim with all of the mythical statements against the Crusades that implies that Christianity is falsified somehow. "Christianity obviously can't be true because of all the violence it causes," is the unspoken claim. In this context, no rational argument is needed by apologists for Islam. They simply need to remind their listeners, including many beguiled Christians, of the terrible Christian crusades and that should be the end of the argument.

However, a word with emotional baggage and an implied refutation is not rational discourse. It simply is coercive and empty rhetoric designed to confuse rather than inform.

GaryFPatton (gfp 2013-01-12)

" The violent and valiant are they which take heaven by force: cowards never won heaven. Say not that thou hast royal blood running in thy veins, and art begotten of God, except thou canst prove thy pedigree by this heroic spirit, to dare to be holy despite men and devils. The eagle tries her young ones by the sun; Christ tries his children by their courage, that dare to look on the face of death and danger for his sake ..." (Mark 8:34, 35) ~ Pastor William Gurnall (1617-1679) English author & clergyman from Chpt. 1 of his e-Book, "The Christian in Complete Armour ...A Treatise Of the Saints' War Against the Devil" at http://is.gd/Na6TmN

"Take heart therefore, O ye saints, and be strong; your cause is good, God himself espouseth your quarrel, who hath appointed you his own Son, General of the field, called 'the Captain of our salvation,' Heb. 2:10. He shall lead you on with courage, and bring you off with honour. He lived and died for you; he will live and die with you; for mercy and tenderness to his soldiers, none like him. Trajan, it is said, rent his clothes to bind up his soldiers' wounds: Christ poured out his blood as balm to heal his saints' wounds; tears off his flesh to bind them up. For prowess, none to compare with him: he never turned his head from danger: no, not when hell's malice and heaven's justice appeared in field against him; knowing all that should come upon him, [he] went forth and said, 'Whom seek ye?'" (John 18:4) ~ Pastor William Gurnall (1617-1679) English author & clergyman from Chpt. 1 of his e-Book, "The Christian in Complete Armour ...A Treatise Of the Saints' War Against the Devil" at http://is.gd/Na6TmN

"In a word, Christians, God and angels are spectators, observing how you quit yourselves like children of the Most High; every exploit your faith doth against sin and Satan causeth a shout in heaven; while you valiantly prostrate this temptation, scale that difficulty, regain the other ground, you even now lost out of your enemies' hands. Your dear Saviour, who stands by with a reserve for your relief at a pinch, his very heart leaps within him for joy to see the proof of your love to him and zeal for him in all your combats; and will not forget all the faithful service you have done in his wars on earth; but when thou comest out of the field, will receive thee with the like joy as he was entertained himself at his return to heaven of his Father." ~ Pastor William Gurnall (1617-1679) English author & clergyman from Chpt. 1 of his e-Book, "The Christian in Complete Armour ...A Treatise Of the Saints' War Against the Devil" at http://is.gd/Na6TmN