Episode 368: The Temptations of the Church, Part Two--Temporal Power

This Lent, pastors Erica, Sarah, and Steve are taking a look at ways the worldwide community of Jesus, the church, face temptations today, and how they echo the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness story as well as throughout his whole ministry and public life.  Today, we'll look at one of the most obvious connections to Jesus' encounter with Satan in the wilderness--the temptation to take earthly power.  Over and over again in Christian history, Christians have given into the temptation that if they just controlled everything or everyone and could back up their rule with force (and the point of a sword) they could make things be perfect.  Whether it was Constantine adopting Christianity and its symbols for the empire in the fourth century, the Crusades to conquer the land of Palestine in the name of Christianity, colonization of lands "discovered" by Europeans, or contemporary religion-affiliated nationalism, we seem to keep failing to learn from history that we lose something essential to our identity as the body of Christ when we sell out for political power or the control of government. And with tragic irony, so often Christians have done these things convinced they had God's blessing and the best of intentions--which makes this temptation all the more insidiious. In this episode, we'll explore some of these historical moments as well as questions in our own day about how we should and shouldn't use our voices and what can go wrong when church folks try to take over the reins of power.