Hello all,
I invite you to read the following short essay based on the Biblical verses
from Daniel. The text is copied below, and it is also in the attachment.
Come to adult SS to discuss your ideas on civil religion and civil disobedience.
Hope you see you on Sun., Jan. 14
Ann
January 14, 2018
Adult Bible Study Online
A current connection to each week's session
Trial by Fire
Daniel 3:19-23, 26-28
Read this article as a Word Document
When I was a child this was one of my favorite Bible stories. There’s an evil
king with a fiery furnace, a supreme act of heroic courage, and the good guys
winning in the end. The heroes even have uber-cool names: “Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego.” What 10-year-old wouldn’t like this story?
Even as adults, the story appeals to our natural desire for a clear “evil” and
an obvious “good.” You don’t have to get far into the Ten Commandments to know
that bowing down to a 90-foot idol is probably a bad idea.
If only the idols of our world were so easy to identify. If only avoiding
idolatry in our day and age were as straightforward (if still as demanding) as
this story suggests.
One way into this story for us is to reflect on two ideas: civil religion and
civil disobedience. Civil religion, as the study material notes, occurs when
the state or its leaders take on the role of a god—demanding allegiance
expressed in acts of devotion, grounded in a founding narrative, and reinforced
with meaningful symbols and rituals. It isn’t difficult to spot these elements
of civil religion in American or Canadian society.
Civil disobedience, particularly of the peaceful protest sort noted in the
leader’s guide, is an appropriate Christian response to the idolatry of civil
religion, especially when there is a clash of allegiances between God’s kingdom
and the earthly kingdom in which we live. As Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol, so we can thoughtfully and
nonviolently, yet resolutely, refuse to participate in the civil religion of
our day.
However, to be effective this refusal needs to be more than simply not saying
some words about a flag. It requires us to examine the deeper, supporting
structures of our nation’s particular brand of civil religion—the power
imbalances in society, the ethnocentric nationalism, the coercive manipulation
of truth, the belief in redemptive violence—and reflect on how we can challenge
or even change these realities.
How specifically do you see civil religion in American or Canadian society?
How have we as Christians unthinkingly bought into this civil religion?
How does this lessen our allegiance to Jesus as Lord or weaken our witness to
the gospel of Jesus Christ?
What specific steps can we take to challenge or even change the deeper
structures that support American or Canadian civil religion?
—Michael Pahl, michael.mmc@xxxxxxxxxxx
© 2017
Michael Pahl is a biblical scholar with a heart for the church, a pastor with a
passion for biblical theology. He is lead pastor at Morden Mennonite Church in
Morden, Manitoba. He blogs at michaelpahl.com and mordenmennonitechurch.com.
This article supplements Adult Bible Study, a quarterly Bible curriculum for
adults. Adult Bible Study provides in-depth, challenging Bible study from an
Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective, written by an intercultural group of pastors,
teachers, professors, and leaders across Canada and the United States. Sessions
include daily Bible readings, resources for additional study, and free
downloadable resources.
Order the current student and teachers guides here. To begin a subscription or
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Attachment:
Adult SS January 14.docx
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