A number of people – two, to be exact – have asked what my new tag line – “What happens next is up to us…” refers to. It is nothing more than my declaration that authentic Christian FaithQuest demands that those of us calling ourselves Christian take responsibility to live the actual gospel of Jesus Christ and not allow aberrations and atrocities to define us. Christian Nationalism is neither Christian, nor American. Political Evangelicalism is not Christian. Judgmental, condemnatory, prejudicial, and authoritarianist bastardizations calling themselves Christian are no more Christian than they are poached eggs (than you C. S. Lewis). Non-reflective, non-theological, non-biblical rhetoric coming out of the mouths of politicians and celebrities pretending to embrace core Christian values are often abominable. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

My claim – that many will disagree with vehemently – is that the time has come for the very best biblical scholarship and theological reflection to reclaim an authentic Christianity that has little to nothing to do with what is being promoted and proclaimed by a corrupted social and religious conservatism. The entire progressive/conservative, liberal/traditional, left/right labeling is doing more to damage the credibility of the body of Christ than to clarify it. I have friends across the entire theological spectrum that want a deeper engagement with scripture in original languages, with a clearer understanding of historical context, and a better ethical standard for recognizing and honoring the authority of scripture.

There are currently powerful movements in our country to reformat the gospel teachings of Jesus the Christ as an ancient version of George Orwell’s 1984. They pretend that hate is love, war is peace, judgment is justice, condemnation is mercy, intolerance is patience, greed is generosity, cruelty is kindness, and all forms of accountability are punitive, harsh, insulting, and violent. Jesus wept.

A significant and vital first step is to recognize and admit that there is no “us” and “them,” but simply “all of us together.” From the very earliest centuries, flawed and fallen human beings have opposed the unity and oneness intended by God by disagreement, dissension, division and denominationalism. Instead of seeing the image of God in all of God’s children, we have chosen – yes, chosen – to focus on differences as reasons and excuses not to find common ground. Look at what this has brought us to: over 45,000 “Christian” denominations recognized worldwide. The body of Christ sliced and diced into 45,000 pieces. What possible impact can we have to allow God’s Holy Spirit to allow “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?”

Is it possible to be better than this? Is it possible to reclaim core Christian values as our defining and directing principles instead of worldly political postures, platforms, and poisons? Could we adopt kingdom/kin*dom ethics – mercy, peace, justice, love, grace, compassion, empathy, kindness – as our defining reality? What happens next is up to us. “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)