Christians, Nations, And Their Relations
Christians are having a lively debate discussing what kind of relationship they should have with the state or with the nations in which they live. On one side you have those who claim that the only nation a Christian belongs to is their spiritual nation, the universal church. They minimize familial, social, and ethnic connections. To them, nationalism of any type should be avoided because it leads to arrogance if not aggression against other nations. To them, a Christian’s identity is made up solely by their direct relationship to God, their participation in the great commission, and their affiliation with the church. They say that they have more in common with another Christian who lives on the other side of the world than their next door neighbor who does not believe. On the other side are those who call for Christians to enact laws in the land of their birth and enforce them strictly. They support political leaders who are willing to coerce nonbelievers into living according t