Neo-Constantinianism in U.S. churches

Lynn Anderson spoke recently about the "unholy marriage between 'the conservative Christian cause' and American Nationalism, more specifically the right wing view of American economic and political interests":

Such an alliance would have been inconceivable to the early church, which was marginalized by the culture and the state. The early community of faith wielded no economic or political clout. In fact those bands of believers knew that that the powers that be might silence them, crush them, and even kill them. Like most Chinese believers in our day, early believers did not expect Kingdom progress to ride on the wings of government favor. It was illegal to be Christian. Yet the early Christians prayed for the kings and authorities and honored government officials as instruments of God - even when many of those officials were cruel, pagan dictators. Yet, those early believers lived vibrant Christ-honoring lives in authentic communities of holiness, forgiveness and compassion and even though they were powerless and without freedom (as in China today) the Kingdom spread magnificently during those first two centuries.

Amen. In addition to speaking against "neo-Constantinianism," Dr. Anderson also spoke against the sins of consumerism and certainty in the church (HT: Travis Stanley).