Rome, America, and the Church
In one of his sermons Tim Keller listed eight characteristics of
early Christians, living under a Roman government far less congenial to
Christianity than the United States today.
1. Opposed
bloodthirsty sports and violent entertainment, such as gladiator games
2. Opposed
serving in the military
3. Opposed
abortion and infanticide
4. Empowered
women
5. Opposed
sex outside of marriage and homosexual activity (pederasty was common in the
empire
6. Encouraged
radical support for the poor
7. Encouraged
the mixing of races and classes
8. Insisted
that Jesus is the only way to salvation
In contemporary America the church does or should oppose 1, 2, 3, 5
(sex outside of marriage part) and support 4, 6, 7, 8 (imho). The church does
not by and large support or oppose these things, except perhaps the sex outside
of marriage part of 5 and 8. There are open questions on abortion and
homosexuality. That’s a rough measure of our accommodation to the American
empire as it was for our first century a.d. sisters and brothers to the Roman
empire. Something to think about. Or better, to act on!
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