Apotheosis of Politics

  • April 17, 2023
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Acts 17.16-21
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Image Note from John: The image in today’s post is a picture I took of “The Apotheosis of Washington” in the US Capitol, painted in 1865 by Constantino Brumidi.

Reflection: Apotheosis of Politics
By John Tillman

The United States drinks deeply from Greek and Roman culture—perhaps more deeply than it does from Christianity.

The founders of the United States were undeniably inspired by Christian ideals. But they were also undeniably inspired by Roman power structures and Greek theological anthropology that separates body and spirit.

The United States, in many ways, is a Christian nation. However, the influence of pre-Christian Greco-Roman ideals is so strong that one could say with equal support that the United States is a Greco-Roman nation.

As I write, I am visiting friends in Virginia, near Mount Vernon, and I’m sitting on a bench on the National Mall in DC, where the very layout of the streets and the architecture speak loudly about Greco-Roman influence.

Imagine standing with me and Paul in the dome of the Capitol to my right. Looking up, we would see, painted on the cupola “The Apotheosis of Washington.” Apotheosis means the elevating of someone to a god-like status. Washington looks down on us as he rises into heaven, surrounded by female figures representing victory/fame and liberty. Imagine walking with Paul past the Washington Monument to my left to see Abraham Lincoln sitting on a throne in a temple.

After walking around Washington DC as he walked around Athens, Paul might say to us, “I see that in every way you are very religious!”

I am a very patriotic person but I would probably respond to Paul saying, “Hey, we don’t REALLY worship these men or this country.” We might say, “Relax, Paul, it’s metaphorical…” 

But metaphors shape our thinking and if I’m honest, sometimes the way patriotism slides towards holy reverence bothers me. The way the founding fathers (or current want-to-be leaders) are venerated as if they were apostles or Moses or Jesus, frightens me. The way some equate the inspiration of our founding documents to the inspiration of the scriptures terrifies me.

As traditional religion declines, politics is the newest, fastest-growing religion. Political parties are denominations and candidates are gods and apostles. We must beware the temptations of this apotheosis of politics.

Jesus is indeed a “foreign god” to us. (Acts 17.18) His kingdom is opposed to, not aligned with, any human government or party. He intends to bring down the exalted and exalt the humiliated and the humble. We must hold our patriotism and our political activism more lightly than our faith.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm
Why are the nations in an uproar? Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt, and the princes plot together, against the Lord and against his Anointed?… Psalm 2.1-2

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
You are the Lord, most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. — Psalm 97.9

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Reading
Leviticus 21 (Listen 3:08)
Acts 17 (Listen 5:28)

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Politics is the idol we bring with us to church just as the Israelites worshiped Baal alongside Jehovah.

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A Time of Peace and Favor — Peace of Advent

  • December 23, 2022
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Revelation 14.6-7
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Acts 17.30-31
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

2 Corinthians 6.1-2
1 As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you,
    and in the day of salvation I helped you.” (Isaiah 49.8)

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

Reflection: A Time of Peace and Favor — Peace of Advent
By John Tillman

Advent, arguably, is more about Christ’s second advent than his first. His first advent is used by the church to teach us how to anticipate his second. We look back to look forward. He came in meekness but one day will come in power. He lay in a manger but one day he will sit on a throne. He rode in on a donkey, with open hands, but one day he will ride on a horse, wielding a sword. Just as he was unexpected at his first advent, he will be unexpected at his second.

The angel in Revelation flies across the sky with “the eternal gospel.” The hour of judgment is coming but the hour of proclamation precedes the hour of judgment. The hour of salvation precedes the hour of damnation. The hour of invitation precedes the hour of separation.

This is the time in which we live. We are, in a sense, in midair, hanging between Heaven and Earth, poised between proclamation and judgment. 

Christ’s eternal gospel has a time and that time is always and ever now. His gospel is ever-reaching, ever-welcoming, ever-wooing. Now is the time for us to proclaim. Let us proclaim it faithfully.

Now is the Time
Now is the time of favor.
Now is the time of grace.
Now is the time God in Heaven has a baby’s face.

Now is the time of birthing. 
Now is the time of life.
Now is the time when death foresees perishing in strife.

Now the manger holds him
Now the child sleeps
The cross will one day hold him. There he will make peace.

Now is the time of calling. 
Now is the time. Shalom!
Now is the time prodigals find feasts and love at home.

Now is the time of mercy.
Now is the time. Repent.
Now ruffians and scoundrels are forgiven and sent.

Now is the time to witness. 
Now is the time to woo.
Now is the time to expose idols that make us fools.

Now is the time of appeal.
Now is the gospel spread.
Now we must bear witness. Telling what he said.

Now won’t last forever.
Now is just today.
Now is opportunity to choose the narrow way.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
You are the Lord, most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. — Psalm 97.9

Today’s Readings
Nehemiah 5 (Listen 3:29) 
Revelation 14 (Listen 3:51)

This Weekend’s Readings
Nehemiah 6 (Listen 3:19)  Revelation 15 (Listen 1:29)
Nehemiah 7 (Listen 6:37)  Revelation 16 (Listen 3:17)

Read more about Supporting Our Work
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Supporting our Work

Read more about Peace from Labor
“What Child is This?” speaks to the unexpected form of our Savior. Good Christians, fear, for sinners here / the silent Word is pleading. His labor of love never ceases.

Peace from Labor — Peace of Advent

Extremism as a Discipleship Problem

  • January 17, 2020
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Acts 17.4-5
Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. 
But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city.

1 Thessalonians 4.6
You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

Reflection: Extremism as a Discipleship Problem
By John Tillman

Audiences have long been fascinated with extremism and the process of radicalization. In 2018 a TV series retelling events surrounding the 1993 raid that killed David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, served as a reminder that radicalization is not merely a third-world or a Muslim problem.

Radicalization has been imagined in fiction as psychological manipulation, as brainwashing, and as bribery. It has even been sympathetically redressed as the rational actions of those with legitimate grievances. But the radicalization of persons in any religion or belief system often comes down to an education problem. Christians would call it a discipleship problem.

Islamist terrorists such as, Sayfullo Saipov, who carried out a truck attack in Manhattan in 2017, are often motivated by a faith that in the end is little more than a political and ethnic identity.

After acts of violence from their members, many Imams and Christian pastors can be found saying some version of, “That’s not what we teach.” Whether these statements are true or not, they are a confession of poor discipleship which has far wider-ranging effects than the infinitesimal percentage of Christians (or Muslims) who resort to violent attacks.

Poor discipleship in Western faith is allowing Christianity to become little more than a political distinction and in some cases, a racial one. Our brand of moralism is a hair’s breadth off from the Pharisees of the New Testament. Like the Pharisees, we use moralistic interpretations of scripture to justify denying assistance to the needy. We are not ashamed to make embarrassing political alliances to ensure that we don’t lose our place of cultural influence.

We can find hope, however, in today’s readings in Acts. Though the Bereans are called “more noble” than the Thessalonians, it is the Thessalonian church that is more well known to us through the letters Paul writes to them. First Thessalonians is a joyful celebration of those who were left in a difficult situation, without Paul who introduced them to Christianity. (And without Google.) Yet through diligence, faith, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, persevered and blossomed in faith.

Even in a culture dominated by a brutal empire, those willing to devote themselves to prayer, Bible reading, and connecting to the Holy Spirit, can not only survive our culture but continue the process of transforming it one life at a time.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Jesus taught us, saying: “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the great log in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take that splinter out of your eye,’ when you cannot see the great log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye.” — Luke 6.41-42

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Nehemiah 7 (Listen -6:37)
Acts 17 (Listen -5:28)

This Weekend’s Readings
Nehemiah 8 (Listen -4:07) Acts 18 (Listen -4:06)
Nehemiah 9 (Listen -7:48) Acts 19 (Listen -5:47)

Read more about The Church of Acts
The clue Luke gives us is in the title—Acts. They will know we are Christians by our love. By our actions.

The Church of Acts

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The time of waiting is past. The light is here. The starting pistol has fired. The gate is open. The race has begun.

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A Berean Palate

  • July 30, 2019
  • /
  • John Tillman

Acts 17.11-12
Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

Reflection: A Berean Palate
By John Tillman                                                                                                                                     
The contrast between the Bereans and the Thessalonians has come up in our devotionals before. Despite the Thessalonians having two epistles in the New Testament, Luke tells us in Acts that the Berean culture was more intellectually mature. Maybe Thessalonica just needed more help.

Truthfully, most of Paul’s letters were intended to be read by all the churches in the area. So Thessalonian letters were likely read to the Bereans as well.

But as for us, there is little doubt that our modern culture is more Thessalonian than Berean. 

The Thessalonians were prone to being riled up by exaggeration and falsifications. Just like we are. From our earlier post on this topic:

“If you think people today are more sophisticated, more cultured, or more intellectual than those of the ancient world, you have been paying attention neither to ancient history nor to Facebook.”

The Bereans’ nobility is specifically related to their openmindedness, and their mature evaluation of new information according to the scriptures. We may need this discipline now even more than they did.

Our social media feeds and the 24-hour news channels we frequent are like a neverending buffet of poorly-cooked, unsanitary, and ill-prepared foods. It is no wonder that uncareful consumers end up vomiting thinly veiled racism or totalitarianist dogma masked as a joke or a critique or a supposedly “logical” argument. We need to develop a more discerning palate concerning the articles, posts, and even memes that form the majority of our information consumption. If the posts we see were all simply political, that would be bad enough, but many posts, especially contentious political posts, either directly or indirectly address theological concepts. 

As Acts and much of the New Testament teaches us, “Fake News” is not new. Mobs and riots are not new. Hate-mongering political leadership is not new. What is new is that too many Christians care less about the facts, than they do about political victory. To this point, we often quote Ed Stetzer, who has said, “Facts are our friends.” 

May we develop a discerning, Berean palate that we not only apply to scripture but to our reading of our culture and our reading of all the information that algorithms and the hysteria factories called “newsrooms” can throw at us.

“Christians need to develop a more Berean attitude about not only the scripture we read, but the news we share. It’s hard to share the incredible news of the Gospel when the rest of what we share is in-credible.”

Prayer: A Reading
Jesus taught us, saying: “I give you a new commandment: love one another; you must love one another just as I have loved you. It is by your love for one another, that everyone will recognize you as my disciples.” — John 13.34-35

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Judges 13 (Listen – 3:44) 
Acts 17 (Listen – 5:28)

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Readers’ Choice Submissions

It has been so good to hear from many of you about posts for Readers’ Choice, but we still have some room in August for your input.

Share with our community about the post or posts from the past eleven months that have challenged and comforted you.

Follow the link to fill out the form. Please limit your submissions to posts published this calendar year, between September of 2018 and today.

For any questions contact John Tillman at john@theparkforum.org