Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb Kindle Edition

Jesus Untangled is a very good book! It looks at American politics and describes in great detail precisely how the evangelical Christian community became entangled with and was subsequently co-opted by the political right who turned it into a secure voting block to help them win elections. This book clearly reveals how the political right promised much, delivered very little in exchange and exposes right wing patriotism for what it really is, an empty form of idol worship. The American political right has successfully wrapped Jesus up in the American flag, fabricated the dogma of American exceptionalism and proclaimed it the “one nation under God.” Keith Giles argues quite effectively, and quite rightly in my opinion, that if Christians really want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus they need to divorce themselves from politics and he supports his argument with Jesus’ own words and the writings of the early Church leaders. This book is a reminder for all Christians that while we are in this world, we are not to be of this world and we need to start living our lives like we mean it.This book also reminds us that the Christian world is much bigger than and the majority of Christ’s followers in this world are NOT American and as such are not acquainted with American idealism, party politics and certain political agendas. This means we need to understand that when a non-American becomes a believer, they won’t necessarily want to suddenly become a right wing evangelical. We likewise need to also understand that not every bible believing Christian in America is a right wing Republican either.While this is a good book, it falls just a little bit short in my opinion because it only goes half way. In rightly warning us about the dangers of entangling our faith with the beliefs of political right, Keith seems to have completely forgotten that the political spectrum has two wings. While he is absolutely right to excoriate the political right like he has, he needs to do much more than giving the political left a somewhat indifferent in passing, “oh by the way” as he has here.That is why this book demands a sequel. I would propose calling it “Jesus Totally Untangled!” In his next volume Keith should investigate and uncover the virtue signaling do-gooders of the phony political left who shamelessly puff themselves up as good people whilst looking down their noses at anyone and everyone who might disagree with them just like the Pharisee who publicly shamed the publican in Luke 18 for the hypocrites they truly are. Jesus had an awful lot to say about hypocrites and the charlatans on the political left likewise need to be called out and thoroughly exposed as well.As Keith often asks: “What do you get when you mix religion and politics?” The answer to that question is of course, “Politics!” Put another way, mixing the two is both perverse and dangerous because the relationship is anything but symbiotic and only politics survives. That is why as followers of Christ we should put away all politics, left or right and even when it pertains to those issues we just so happen to agree with. When it comes to politicians and politics, it might be permissible for the Christian to criticize but to endorse, even tepidly, is another thing altogether!Early Anabaptist leader Michael Sattler often cautioned his followers to be wary of and to avoid the leaven of the “Scribes and the Pharisees.” In Sattler’s description of the two, the scribes were strict traditionalists who couldn’t make the step of separating their faith from the patronage and protection of the state. They could very easily be likened to our modern day star spangled right wing evangelical conservatives. As for Sattler’s Pharisees, they were too concerned with their own self-righteous attitudes and equally perverse in his opinion. They compare very well to today’s virtue signaling holier-than-thou folks on the political left.I think that Keith Giles is right when he asserts the idea that followers of Jesus should disentangle themselves with the political affairs of this world but, in the process of disengaging with either the political right or left, it’s important that they take great care so as not to become ensnared by the other side in the process. That is why this book, though quite good, demands further untangling to make it a complete work!

Four out of five white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in 2020. Well known clergymen such as Franklin Graham and Jerry Fawell Jr. played a prominent role in his campaign. Should Christians be so entangled in politics?Keith Giles gives an unequivocal answer inJesus Untangled. His book has two main parts, one that is more persuasive than the other. First isexcoriating white evangelicals for perverting Christianity and subordinating it for political reasons. This part is well founded. The second part is Gileś prescription to prevent further political tainting of faith, and that part is dubious.A former pastor with Anabaptist beliefs, Giles has written a series of books reinterpreting Christian doctrine. He does so by citing scripture and explaining how it has been misused. This time he refutes the beliefs that America is a Christian nation, that intertwining church and politics serves God, and that people should be active citizens. Like Jehovah's Witnesses and Anabaptists, Giles rejects the pledge of allegiance, military service, and voting.Alcohol is often abused. One reaction to that abuse is to say Christians should shun drinking entirely (probably a good idea for alcoholics). That's how Giles reacts to the untoward evangelical entanglement in politics. He says Christians should shun all politics, even voting. That's not the only reasonable response, however, any more than becoming a teatotaler is the only alternative to alcohol abuse. Another alternative is moderate, careful involvement with alcohol or politics to avoid the harm from oerdoing it. Giles takes the inflexible either/or approach, disparaging any third option.Giles' first contention is this: "For anyone who hopes to follow Jesus, there is no room to be a Christian and a nationalist at the same time." In other words, untangle Jesus from nationalism. So far, so good.Formerly part of the religious right, Giles sees that white evangelicalism contains a mixture of nationalism and Christianity. Their identity is not limited to religion, but is bound together with their patriotism. He's correct that the alliance between white evangelicals and the GOP has perverted evangelicalism into supporting wars and other policies contrary to Jesusian teaching."Nationalism is idolatry," insists Giles. "It twists us into tools of the State and drowns out the voice of Jesus that seeks to remind us that everyone we meet is our neighbor, made in the image of God, and is therefore worthy of love, grace, and mercy."In sum, it's wrongheaded to mix evangelicalism with Americanism and to openly ally with a political party. But Giles takes his argument too far, and that's where I disagree.We should see ourselves primarily as citizens of the kingdom of God, he argues, and only secondarily -- if at all -- as citizens of a nation. We should pledge our total and complete allegiance to God. "We must crucify our politics."The nations come together to make war with Jesus in Revelation. To Giles, that means governments are anti-Christ. "Nowhere in the New Testament do we see any hint or suggestion that followers of Jesus are allowed the status of dual citizenship in both His Kingdom and the nation into which we were born."Romans 13, however, gives more than a hint. Paul states that governing authorities are "established by God. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established."Romans 13:1-7 is “the most notable passage in the New Testament on Christian civic responsibility,” according to theologian E.F. Harrison. Paul makes it clear that government is an institution ordained by God, and we should abide by its laws where we can, pay taxes, and show respect to our leaders. Paul also writes that we want to be in good standing with authorities. "Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended." (Romans 13:3) Basically the same instruction is found in 1Peter 2:13-14.One other responsibility of citizenship is to vote, which Giles no longer does. If Giles' reading of Revelation is right, then God established government to oppose God."Politics is not about Jesus. Simply put, it’s about power and influence," Giles declares. He misses the fact that power can be used for good or evil: e.g. to commit genocide, or to intervene to stop it. The two uses are not morally equivalent.Politics is also the process of making decisions for society, of adopting public policies, which may be more or less influenced by Christian values. Should public officials be influenced by their faith, or would that be "to mix Christianity with politics"?Giles overstates his case. It's true that Christianity has been invoked to justify unChristian actions. That is not a reason to never apply Christian values in shaping public policy, such as whether to welcome refugees or to slam the door on them.Giles has a penchant for across-the-board statements such as this: "Any attempt to change the world through political power and influence is not only misguided, but it may even be anti-Christian and in direct opposition to the Gospel itself... (Trying to solve the world's problems) is an endless, fruitless process."The words "any attempt" presumably includes ending slavery, apartheid, and Jim Crow. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela both believed it was essential to change the law to free the oppressed. Slavery was eliminated via politics, not by changing the heart of every slaveowner."We know that legislation will never change anyone’s heart," Giles claims. Martin Luther King, Jr. faced that same argument:"While it may be true that morality cannot be legislated, behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that is pretty important, also."Like most evangelicals, Giles' has an individualist perspective that calls for individuals to change, not for law to be reformed and thereby change society. Individualists are content to pull victims out of the river downstream rather than to go upstream to prevent people from being thrown into the river. An example from the Twentieth Century was treating individual children for lead poisoning for decades before banning lead in paint and gasoline to prevent more children from being poisoned.Evangelicals with their individualist view fail to see how institutions powerfully perpetuate poverty and racial inequalty. They view the world as evil, and believe that Martin Luther King’s dream can’t be realized until Christ comes again.Giles is right in saying the law is not effective in making people righteous. But that doesn't make the law useless when it comes to, say, alleviating poverty, providing health care, and welcoming refugees. As Nelson Mandela said, “Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made, and can be removed by the actions of human beings.”Christians should not turn to politics and the pursuit of power to bring the gospel to the world. "Justice and politics are two very different things," Giles asserts. In reality the two are usually intertwined. Jim Crow segregation, for example, ended only because the 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed it -- not because all white supremacists had their hearts softened by Jesus. Likewise, women got the vote via constitutional amendment. Equal pay for equal work is in the law. Justice for Japanese- Americans rounded up during WWII required a government apology and reparation payments.In short, it is almost impossible to achieve justice without laws or court decisions. Justice necessarily involves society, not merely one-on-one relationships.Giles claims that he favors justice, but he is in denial that legal reform is often the means of attaining justice. He would prefer that Christians not advocate for a law outlawing de jure segregation and not "take sides" against defenders of segregation.The Bible refers to justice repeatedly, and specifies that justice sometimes involves government, not simply changing individual hearts:"You trample the poor, stealing their grain through taxes and unfair rent...You oppress good people by taking bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Turn your courts into true halls of justice." (Amos 5: 11,12, 15)"Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don't stand back and let them die." (Proverbs 24:11) "This is what the Lord says: 'Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there...Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.'" (Jeremiah 22:1‭, ‬3)"He that rules over men must be just." (2Sam 23:3)Jesus did tell us to seek first the kingdom, so Giles wants Christians to withdraw from the public square. One reason to withdraw, Giles suggests, is because of serious deficiencies in American democracy, where it's legal to buy political influence in Washington.Though serious shortcomings exist, that's not a reason to give up on democracy. The Giles critique of self-government applies mainly at the federal level, not at the far more numerous state and local units of government. Illinois, for example, has nearly 7,000 separate units of local government, almost all with elected boards. Just because public opinion doesn't get reflected by Congress is no reason to give up on school boards, city councils, county boards, township boards, various other elected boards and state government. The fact is that local government has more to do with the quality of life in a community than does Congress. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.When citizens abstain from voting, one certain consequence is that other people will decide elections. Many if not most of those others may have quite different values than committed Christians.Giles is not the first person to say that Christians should stay out of politics and not seek to change the law.Martin Luthet King's famous letter from the Birmingham jail was written to respond white pastors who refused to support the civil rights movement and wanted to stay out of politics."I must confess," wrote King, "that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice...We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.... In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: 'Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.' So often the contemporary church is a an archdefender of the status quo."Was King misguided? Giles seems on the side of the white pastors like the young Jerry Fawell in 1965 who said that the church must stay out of social issues and politics during the civil rights movement.Giles embraces another either/or fallacy: either a person is entangled in evil politics, or a person builds God's kingdom. One can't do both. Yet MLK Jr. did both. So did Christian abolitionists.Giles overlooks the fact that law has a powerful educational function, an ability to change hearts and minds. Since the 1964 Civil Rights Act was enacted, for example, public support for de jure segregation has dwindled to just above zero. The same thing happened after the SCOTUS struck down state laws banning interracial marriage. Public opposition to interracial marriage has dramatically declined.In short, there are two effective, legitimate ways to achieve justice. It does not have to be only one way or the other. It should be both/and.In conclusion, Giles is right about not subordinating faith to nationalism, and not defending policies that seem contrary to Christ's teaching. That abuse should not taint all use of faith to seek justice. If Giles is correct, then the abolitionists before the Civil War were anti- Christian. I'd say the anti-Christians were those who were silent about or who supported slavery. In other words, Giles sees an abuse and then overcorrects. He doesn't see how Christian values and action can and do legitimately influence public policy for the better, how Christians can be -- as MLK put it --"co-workers with God." ###

For a long long time I have had my own thoughts, misgivings, and observations about the entire institution of the Christian religion. But little did I know that a man, right in my own neck of the woods, was jotting down and getting published those very same thoughts for the entire world to see. It's almost like I was reading a book that I had written. Keith brings to the forefront so many realities and truths about the true state of the American Christian Church( and some of Christianity in general) that you can't help but be left wondering "is that me too?" Keith holds a mirror up to Christian America through this book to analyze themselves and see just how much, of at all, it's image resembles that of Jesus himself. Not a book, not a prophet, not an Apostle, or famous TV evangelist, but the one and only Lamb of God who they claim they live their lives for everyday. This book is like a test to me, a "stumbling block" if you will, as Jesus himself claimed to be for the religious people of his time. People's reaction to this book will tell you exactly where they are on the spiritual spectrum in relation to the Living Word of God, at least that's how I see it. It's been that way for me, and I'm sure it will be for so many others. I know many will discredit, ignore, and even reject and condemn this work for some or all of the notions it puts forth about modern day Christianity in the land of the free, but one lesson we should have learned from history already is that narrow, and closed-mindedness has always proven to be more harmful than beneficial to human society as a whole.

Bought for someone else, but arrived in time and as described

A breath of fresh air. Beautifully subversive in line with what Jesus was and is

Well, this is a first for me. I read this book in less than a day. Now in fairness, it may be the first time in a long time that I could devote a day to reading. All the same though, the author's prose, and the logical flow of the book made it difficult to put down.Keith Giles is clearly knowledgeable and has obviously done his research. But more than that, he seems to have been granted an insight that may be hidden from many American evangelicals today (the target audience). Now I must admit, that I am neither an evangelical, nor an American, so some of the concepts that may be controversial to the target audience didn't phase me, however I can see how they might cause some to flinch.I am a strong believer in introspection, and as a Christian, I feel it is extra important to, as Mr. Giles says, “place our convictions on the anvil and hammer them out a little. Not just so we can watch the sparks fly, but so that, when we are done, we will know if our assumptions and beliefs can stand the test.”In this book, you will be presented with many questions. For some, the answers to these questions may be uncomfortable. For others, downright scary. But I believe that if you call yourself a Christian, you owe it to yourself to dive into this book give the Spirit a chance to talk to you.Finally, as mentioned before, the target audience is the American Evangelical community. But if you are not from that group, you will still find value in this book. It is obvious that the author chose this group because that is his background. However, I also found something for me, even though I am a Canadian from outside the institutional church. The time spent on reflection is never wasted. Read this book. You will be glad you did.

Yes. I liked "Jesus Untangled" very much. It's stark and blunt portrayal of America is shocking and quite frankly refreshing coming from an evangelical. Many will be dismayed especially those who insist on the flag being visible at the front of the church. His challenge to "choose this day whom you will serve" couldn't be more clearly stated. Either the Kingdom of God or the Empire of America. Giles leaves little room for both. I think this overstating could be the weakness of the book. As long as the Kingdom of God always comes first and is never relegated to second behind Caesar, I say let the citizen be true and faithful to his homeland.A second issue for me is that Giles sees government solely as being the creator and enforcer of laws. I think that government can do much more than this. Canada is good example of governments caring for and helping the poor, the disabled, the marginalized and caring for the"stranger in the land". The Church in Canada is working cooperatively with governments. This is to help in carrying out this mandate from Jesus to the Church. The disciples tried to stop those who were doing good things because they didn't belong to the inner circle of Jesus. Jesus put an end to that. Anytime good is accomplished, Jesus is pleased. Anytime the church can stand with others including government to do good, much can be accomplished.The book is a must read especially for evangelicals enthralled with political power. Too many Christians have become drunk on the Kool-aid blue and red. Giles calls out leaders and nationalists who have draped the flag over the cross and betrayed the Kingdom of God.If any of this is making you angry, buy the book. You most likely need to read it.

What an eye-opening read! It will take some prayerful contemplation to absorb but I am ready to be untangled! Thanks for the challenge.