The Church, State, Sword, & Heretics

While writing against heresy in the church Balthasar Hubmaier gives time to the notion that the secular state and the church serve different functions when it comes to punishment and wielding the sword. Even though this document was written a year before he was formally associated with the Anabaptists he clearly preaches Anabaptist positions in this work. Later, John Howard Yoder, a Mennonite, would expound on similar notions in his works The Politics of Jesus and The Christian Witness to the State.

Without spending the time to outright proclaim that the church and the state play different roles in the world and thus are allowed different means of reaching their ends, Hubmaier points in this direction when he writes, "The secular power rightly and properly puts to death the criminals who injure the bodies of the defenseless (Rom. 13:3, 4). But he who is God's cannot injure anyone, unless he first deserts the gospel". Hubmaier goes on to support his point by looking to Jesus and writes, "Christ has shown us this clearly, saying, 'Fear not them that kill the body' (Matt. 10:28)". While this passage is a strange one to use for his point, Hubmaier in no way does a disservice to the scriptures. To the contrary, he points to the judgment of God and on this judgment is where Hubmaier rests his entire position that Christians must refrain from violence against their fellow man (at least in the realm of punishment within the church) and that the state alone has the authority to wield the sword that they wield.

To draw the distinction between the state and the church and the swords they may wield Hubmaier writes, "For each Christians has a sword against the wicked, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17), but not a sword against the malignant" and "The [secular] power judges criminals, but not the godless who cannot inure either body or soul, but rather are a benefit; therefore God can in wisdom draw good from evil". Hubmaier seems to be indicating that those belonging to the Church may not use the sword mentioned in Romans 13 that belongs to the state to punish criminals but instead has been given the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, mentioned in Ephesians 6. The Church must always stay true to the way of Christ even if the state does not for it was not on the state that Christ committed to build his Church (Matthew 16:18).

It seems that Hubmaier is perfectly content to see the secular authorities put criminals to death, which is a popular interpretation of Romans 13, but he confesses that Christians can not have a hand in such activity. Perhaps it would not be too advantageous to say Hubmaier would not approve of Christian possessing such secular authority since the Christian can not bear both the sword of the Spirit and the sword of the state (which perhaps could also be called the sword of wrath depending on one's interpretation of Romans 12-13). If this were his position we would agree. However, there is disagreement on the contentment of seeing the authorities put criminals to death. Athenagoras once proclaimed "We [Christians] cannot bear to see a man or woman put to death, even justly!" Christians can not only take the life of the wicked but they can not delight or desire the death of any wicked person if they are to be perfectly merciful as their Father is (Matthew 5:48, Luke 6:35, Ezekiel 18:23, 33:11). Even if it is true that the secular authorities wield the sword with good reason that does not necessarily mean they are, by design and desire of Christ (whom they were created for, through, and by) right and proper to put to death criminals. Regardless of the freedom given to the authorities the Church must acknowledge that she has a different freedom according to Paul of Tarsus in Romans 12 which sits shoulder to shoulder with the declaration of the freedom of auhtorities in Romans 13. The Church is the closest structure to the realized kingdom of God on this planet and she must give witness to the secular state (and the world) of what true justice looks like. It is for this reason the Church is unable to use violence as a form of punishment or discipline.

For Hubmaier justice is found in the judgment of God and this is the reason for Christians to not punish heretics with any kind of injury. He writes, "If these only knew of what spirit they ought to be, they would not so shamelessly pervert God's Word, nor so often cry, 'To the fire, to the fire!' (Luke 9:54-56)", "It is blasphemy to destroy a heretic, how much more is it to burn to ashes a faithful herald of the Word of God, unconvicted, not arraigned by the truth". Hubmaier earlier states whats seems to be his anchor point when he writes, "We should pray and hope for repentance, as long as man lives in this misery... A Turk or a heretic is not convinced of our act, either with the sword or with fire, but only with patience and prayer; and so we should await with patience the judgment of God... If we do otherwise, God will treat our sword as stubble, and burning fire as mockery (Job 41:29)". Not only does Hubmaier indicate that faithfulness is found in one's reliance on the judgment of God, and thus Christians are patient and prayerful, but he also indicates that a lack of faithfulness - found in swords and fires - does nothing to benefit the kingdom of God or the heretic and is all together wrapped in failure.

There is room to disagree with Hubmaier, even within Anabaptist circles, when it comes to the rights of the authorities to kill criminals or how Christians ought to react to such punishment but one thing the entire Church ought to agree with Hubmaier on is his final statement, "Now it is clear to everyone, even the blind, that a law to burn heretics is an invention of the devil". If there is one community in creation that does not kill the wicked but rather sacrifices themselves for their enemies it must be the Church for her members are not only imitators of Christ (Ephesians 5:1) but his very Body which was destroyed for the sake of His enemies while they were still against him so that they may live (Romans 5:6-8, John 3:16). As a Mennonite slogan suggests, "Let the Christians of the world agree that they will not kill each other." Instead, let Christians rely on the judgment of God and as a result, live with enemies with patience and prayer while speaking truth. The only appropriate weapon to use against heretics truly is the Sword of the Spirit which is "Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Ephesians 6:12) as well as "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2Timothy 3:16-17).

All Hubmaier quotes derive from A Reformation Reader edited by Denis Janz.

Is Church A Priority?

My brother Zach asked the following question on Facebook today: "Is church important to you? More important than sports practices, or birthday dinners, or anything else for that matter? Why not?" Here is my response:

I'm not sure how intentional it was on your behalf but the way you frame this question is inadequate because church is not a mere event such as a birthday dinner or practice session for a sports team. Church is a people, so if the question is whether that people is more important to me than events centered on affinity then I must say yes for people are always greater than tasks. People are the reason for many Christian tasks (lest we should forget the second greatest commandment on which all the law and prophets hang).

However, if you mean church as a worship service then an absolute answer of yes or no is not available. As previously stated, people are more important than tasks. While worship is our highest order as human beings worship is not confined to the common liturgy found within the local congregation on Sunday mornings. While that liturgy demands great respect and loyalty we must also consider the notion that celebrating life is worship as well. So a morning birthday party may very well be a suitable substitute on a Sunday morning (but who celebrates a birthday in the morning) from time to time. Practicing for the next football game is less likely to be a suitable substitute though for it seeks to please the individual and not praise and thank God for all his blessings (but do not think that impressive physical activity is not also a form of worship and good stewardship).

Church is important for the Christian. I've written a few times about the connection between being Christian and being Church and how our identity is formed by being a part of the Body of Christ. If we partake of the eucharist and baptism the we proclaim that Church is not only important but a necessity for those who wish to live as God desires. Worship services are also important for they empower us to continue living the Christian life. Justin ("the Martyr") said that "we gather to scatter", that is to say we can not scatter if we do not gather. Without the Sunday ritual the individual is incapable of being the Church and if that is the case then the Church crumbles little by little when saints neglect that special communion. Without unified worship the Church is not breathing, for what is her exhaling but praises and thanksgiving? What is her inhaling but reading the scriptures and having open ears in prayer? How can the Church live without the nourishment of the eucharist? How can she reproduce without the baptism? How can we live without Christ? We can not. We rely on the body of Christ and thus we rely on the Church. We rely on worship. We rely on these things in part as we rely on God fully. It is through Church and worship that we most deeply draw near to God (for both are based on divine love).

If this is all true, then how could sporting events or mere social activities take place of Sunday worship or the Body of Christ known as the Church? Of course the Church is not bound to interaction on Sunday morning and thus there is room for legalism to die and for us to worship in true freedom.

2 Prayers of Francis

Prayer Before the Crucifix

Most High,

glorious God,

enlighten the darkness of my heart

and give me, Lord,

a correct faith,

a certain hope,

a perfect charity,

sense and knowledge,

so that I may carry out Your bold and true command.

-St. Francis of Assissi

An Untitled Prayer

Almighty, eternal and merciful God,

grant us in our misery [the graceJ

to do for You alone

what we know You want us to do,

and always

to desire what pleases You.

Thus,

inwardly cleansed,

interiorly enlightened,

and inflamed by the fire of the Holy Spirit,

may we be able to follow

in the footsteps of Your beloved Son,

our Lord Jesus Christ.

And,

by Your grace alone,

may we make our way to You,

Most High,

Who live and rule

in perfect Trinity and simple Unity,

and are glorified

God all-powerful

forever and ever.

Amen.

-St. Francis of Assissi

The Love of Solitude and Silence

The following is based off Thomas a Kempis' observations On the Love of Solitude and Silence.

Solitude and silence are two of the most difficult disciplines for the men and women of my generation who live in the western part of the world. With advertisements, television, iphones, the internet, and all sorts of mental noise surrounding them without relent it is difficult to find solitude or silence let alone recognize it is even existent.

All Christians, as Thomas a Kempis suggests, ought to "choose a suitable time for recollection frequently consider the loving-kindness of God." The two important factors of this statement are finding a suitable time (suitable ought to also mean consistent and dependable) and frequently finding solitude and silence. Nobody becomes a master of a discipline by investing in it scarcely or without diligence and great intentionality. If Christians desire to embrace the disciplines of solitude and silence then they must be disciplined and practice! If this were not true then the words discipline and practice would not at all describe solitude and silence.

Kempis is also on target when he informs the reader than this love requires sacrifice (like any true love does) and that it not only requires sacrifice but also a trade of worldly elements for kingdom elements. He states, "If you avoid unnecessary talks and aimless visits, listening to news and gossip, you will find plenty of suitable time to spend in meditation on holy things." If one wants discipleship they must drop their nets just as the first disciples of Christ chose to do. It is difficult to trade one's gossip, news, visits, and idle deeds for what seems, at first, like pointless or fruitless meditation but after much practice it will seem unreasonable to spend any time on aimless visits, unnecessary talk, news, or gossip and it will be clearly fruitful to invest in solitude and silence. However, there is a danger in the love of solitude and silence just as there is danger in loving anything in an earthly life.

For some it my become too easy to dismiss all visits, all talk, all news, and eventually all forms of social interaction. Kempis writes, "The greatest saints used to avoid the company of men whenever they were able, and chose rather to serve God in solitude." While there is nothing wrong or condemnable about desiring solitude with God at every possible opportunity there is a great deal wrong with spending every free moment in solitude. As Stanley Grenz once communicated with the title of one of his systematic theology writings, humans are Created for Community. Within man is the great need for interacting with one another. It would be unwise for anyone to make a habit of spending every spare moment away from brothers and sisters or even the suffering world of darkness that surrounds the Church.

At the same time, it must acknowledged that there is immense value in solitude for a season of time. Israel spent forty years wandering in the desert. Paul spent three years in Arabia after his conversion. Jesus spent forty days in the desert and often escaped in the mornings for solitude to convene with the Father. John the Baptizer and Anthony of the Desert both spent long spans of time in solitude. Faithful monks and nuns have hidden themselves in the arms of God within their monasteries and convents. Surely this is not to be condemned or rebuked but praised! Christian tradition is rich with examples of men and women being blessed by isolation for a time so that they may begin to understand solitude and silence. For until one understands solitude and silence they will have a difficult time making it a priority in the day to day of a common life. Without such understanding a man will come to ruin just as Thomas a Kempis states,"Therefore, whoever is resolved to live and inward and spiritual life must, with Jesus, withdraw from the crowd. No man can live in the public eye without risk to his soul, unless he who would prefer to remain obscure. No man can safely speak unless he who would gladly remain silent." So it is clear that there is great value and great danger in the discipline of solitude and silence.

The key to healthy solitude and silence is found in the moderation of the practice. Too much solitude drives a man insane while too little leaves him to his insanity. Should one learn to escape the world and find a healthy balance of solitude and silence so that he may be calmed and focused on God's loving-kindness then he will not only be sane but a blessing to the world that is still insane. For it is not for the self alone that God calls his children to embrace such disciplines but for the sake of the neighbor. What good is an isolated man of God? True, he may be a glory to God but how much more will God be glorified if his light is shining on a lamp-stand so the whole house may have light?

Jesus is always the perfect example for those who wish to honor God. He spent time in the desert battling against trials and gaining strength. During his ministry he was able to pull away from the crowds and spend time in solitude and in silence with his Father who enabled him to do all his good works. Yet at no point are we led to believe he escaped with every opportunity offered him. What is so marvelous about Jesus is that he prayed for his followers to have such a relationship with his Father as well. John 17 clearly proves that the Christian is to be one who embraces time with the Father and time in the world. The Christian is not only concerned with being holy for one's own salvation but also for the sake of the world so that the sinner may have their sin revealed by the light of Christ, repent, and come into just as healthy a relationship with their heavenly Father. The practice of spending time in solitude and time in the crowd is to imitate Christ as Paul commanded the church in Ephesus.

What Sunday morning is for the Bride so solitude and silence are for the individual. Both bring the servant to the master so that the servant may continue serving the master with instructions and the necessary tools. Solitude and silence are not practiced so one may be in solitude and in silence but so one may be united with the Father! How lonesome to be by one's self in the universe! How utterly horrifying to abandon not only creation but the creator for the sake of self and nothing more. Could there be a worse idolatry? No, solitude and silence are mere means to bring man to God and are not the final destination for any creature.

It is no wonder so many saints through history have sought solitude and silence so tenaciously. Who would not want to spent all their seconds in the presence of Almighty God? Brother Lawrence has shown the Church that there is immeasurable joy and blessing in being in the presence of God every day. But let no Christian forget that there will be a time when God's presence will permeate all reality and darkness will be no more! There will be time for such bliss but at this current time there is a need for Christians to be in the world yet not of it. How one learns to operate within such a tension is found greatly in solitude and silence.

The God Who Hates Egypt

I came across a post by TheThinkingPerson the other day. This post brings into question the actions of Yahweh against Egypt/Pharaoh in Exodus. The author asks how a loving God could possibly send the plagues he sent on Pharaoh and his Egypt. Not only that, but how could such a loving God send the plagues after he had hardened the heart of Pharaoh? How could Pharaoh be held responsible for his resistance to Yahweh? I have wondered this as well at times. For many Arminians/Wesleyans (which I use to be) this story is problematic for it forces them to admit that God does infringe of free-will to some degree. For many Calvinists it is a minefield because there are places to step but without caution there is bound to be trouble. A healthy reading of scripture will help to reveal answers to these more than reasonable questions.

My professor (Albert H. Baylis) this past semester suggested two things to consider which may help give some perspective:

1) Pharaoh goes against God's covenant made with Abraham to bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse Abraham. Egypt knew of this covenant through Joseph and yet through time he and the covenant were dismissed and Pharaoh enslaved Abraham's sons/daughters and in so doing perverted the role of host to God's covenant people and fell from a place of blessing to a place of cursing. Egypt was always meant to be cooperative with the birth of God's people but they decided to force God to perform a c-section to birth his children out of Egypt's womb.*

2) God raised up Pharaoh for the purpose of demonstrating His power in Pharaoh and for the purpose of being proclaimed throughout the earth (Romans 9:17). That doesn't mean God raised him up so He could harden and hurt Pharaoh. It is more likely God established Pharaoh's reign and Pharaoh (as stated earlier) rebelled which caused God to show His power (and keep his side of the Abrahamic covenant) through Pharaoh in a new and unfortunate way. Pharaoh first rebelled against his purpose and hardened his own heart. God consistently turns people over to their choices/desires/sin (we see this in a few other passages as well). Gregory Boyd argues that people work themselves into a type of people. Pharaoh worked himself into a hard heart and to give him what he wants God perpetuates that hardness. The plagues are not just an attempt to convince Pharaoh to let God's people go but to melt Pharaoh's hard heart. When God had all fair reason to destroy Egypt he attempted to bring them back into blessing.

I'm comfortable with this perspective. It continues to show a loving God who is concerned with all people coming to a knowledge of Him. He desires for his people to be a blessing and witness to the world so that all men come into his kingdom. This perspective shows He will do what it takes to show mercy when it is not due to sinners so that those who rebel against him will either be fully consumed with their evil or redeemed by entering into His kingdom and will. Unfortunately, as further reading of the story will show, Israel doesn't seem to clue into this quickly enough (or they too quickly forget it). We're still having problems fully grasping this truth that God has grace for all but judgment for all at the same time. One of the greatest challenges for Christians today is to understand the judgment aspect of God's love and the hope that it brings for all who seek righteousness. Reconciling judgment discipline, and punishment with pure and divine love is often difficult but it is not illogical or unreasonable. If Christians are to understand the covenants God has made with his people through time then they must learn how judgment and love embrace one another. Christians must embrace this mystery if they wish to know the covenant we have in Christ Jesus.

Paul was right when he said that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2Timothy 3:16-17). Let us continue investigating these breathes of God so that we may live. After all, how else could we possibly live? Without such breathe we'd still be dust.

*This word picture comes from Baylis' book From Creation to the Cross.