What Documents from Antiquity Reveal

Unmoored: America Adrift in Historical Forgetfulness and Finding Our Way Back

Following episode 3, we go deeper into the historical documents about the Christian past, looking at the connection of an earlier moment when “God’s people" were the majority culture but suddenly find themselves as ‘exiles’ and "the minority culture.” Last episode we got to this point after seeing the two groups at the center of the current US churn, and I think it accurate to suggest the “conservative Christians” might be the principal agent stirring the pot.

To me, they/me [remember, I am a Christian, former pastor and current theologian who still attends church and often speaks at churches] will say things like 'feeling an exile in my own land’ or ‘unhappy discovering to be the minority culture, especially after what seemed to be a renewal in the 1980s.’ These primary documents from antiquity provide us a way to understand how we could feel, and that includes whether one is a Christian or not. There are many in the "conservative" side who are not necessarily Christian or even religious.

So this episode will be taking a dive into some of the specifics about what the historical documents show us about God’s people, His demands, and what those who claim His name ought to have done or be known for.

We will specifically look at a writing from a Jewish writer, Isaiah, and then later another named Jeremiah. For the writing from Isaiah, I have modernized it for 21st century Christians which you will hear me read, following Matthew reading the original text. Here is what I said:

Isaiah 5:11-12--you spend your time in frivolity, getting up early in the morning NOT to commune with God, but to look for a drink of alcohol, to waste time on TV, to engage in social media…spending all day wastefully. You have food and drink, often in your worship…you have lovely big parties with hip current music…but you NEVER think about the Lord and the things He is doing, the things and people He cares about.

Isaiah 5:18-19--you drag your sins around in the open, tied to you by lies that you assume no one can see, but yet everyone sees. Your wickedness, both the open wickedness like accepting modern-day slavery in your town or addiction to porn among your male church leaders, and the “you-think-its-hidden” wickedness like a failure to pray, a failure to pursue justice, a failure to care for the widow or the orphan—that wickedness is proclaimed openly on bumper stickers of your car. You mock God acting pious, saying things like “even so come quickly Lord” and “one day we’ll all be in Heaven” or “Hurry Up, Lord and do something.”

Isaiah 5:22-23--you think you are heroes because you claim the excess of gaming, ESPN, fantasy sports, Netflix binge watching, gambling, success as your video games, alcohol…that you can live large, equal to anyone in the community…you can “drink anyone” under the table with your excellence in fantasy sports or gaming or knowledge of the latest TV show…and yet you know nothing of God’s word, His ways. You look the other way when political leaders from “your side” act wickedly because you think “the other side” is evil. It is you, Christian, who is evil for not protecting the innocent.