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There is always a hierarchy of authority. God being the highest. Are you saying there are no natural loyalties we are allowed to have? Between people?
I'll let Jesus answer you:
So you take this commandment literally? That we are to literally hate our mothers and fathers? The people who gave birth and created us? Do you tell your own parents this Fervent and teach your own children to hate you? Like, literally hate you? Or are you just being difficult on purpose?
You asked about loyalties, I showed you a place where Jesus made it clear we must only be loyal to Him and any divided loyalty disqualifies us from being His disciples.
So there is then no such thing as hierarchal loyalty in your worldview, to be loyal to anything other than Jesus Christ is to betray Jesus Christ even if Jesus Christ comes first in the order of loyalties one may have?
God himself disliked the Government God instituted , that is why God replaced the Old covenant with the new covenant. If Nation of Israel were perfect, Christ wouldn't have needed to die on the cross. If government and law could save, Christ's sacrifice wouldn't have been necessary.
I never said we focus solely on loved ones. But we prioritize them. You would support an enemy even if said enemy wanted to destroy you and yours. It's absurd and the early Christians did not function in this fashion. They valued each other first and foremost and did not betray each other to their enemies.
When I am speaking of friends and enemies I speaking of the political as it exists in it's barest essence. You seemingly make no distinctions between anyone and want to treat everyone equally but this is not how Christians have ever operated. We valued our families which God gave us, we valued our Churches and we valued our friends. The call to be merciful to one's enemies, to show love to them does not take precedence over our first loyalties to each other in the body of Christ.
I don't believe I ever said government can save souls though I don't discount the influence governments have had in allowing Christianity to spread. There are multiple instances, such as when the Germans converted from Arianism to Nicene Christianity through the influence of Charlemagne. Or we could think of how European colonization lead to much of Africa, Pacifica and Asian peoples being converted to Christianity. Is it a bad thing that Samoa is now Christian in your mind?
No, but I don't think he was speaking absolutely literally. Neither do you since you don't actually hate your wife, your mother or father or your children.
Excuse me, you are the one insisting on a literal interpretation that we are to hate all others, literally viscerally hate all others. Why are you like this?
Clearly it's true and you're being dishonest.
Given that scripture doesn't speak about Christian political organization it's rather difficult to quote scripture. Rather all we can do is infer from the lives lived by the Apostles and Christians before us.
Silence doesn't equate to be forbidden. Scripture is silent on many things yet we still do them.
I wouldn't place you in any community. My question to you is do you disagree with some of my policy proposals? If so why?
God however did establish a nation for a certain purpose. To be a home base Light House nation to the world, through which the gospel would be preached.....his original intention. Such doesn't mean every person in that nation would be saved but rather the greatest numbers would be by their choice and would be able to preach the gospel to the world. That NATION would be an example as well to how God would bless such a nation and we see that reflected by what the Queen of Sheba said about Israel. "The half of blessing has not even be told" The national set up would not be salvatiin however for anyone.....and even for Israel. The gospel would still be the gospel nothing to do with anything National.
The problem with saying you're a Christian Nation it would come across then that all were Christians merely for the reason they were born there. Christians in a NATION however are citizens just the same as anyone else. So everyone else has the option and freedom to create a political party but not someone a Christian? If not that wouldn't even make you a citizens with equal rights.
