Friends: American Christians caught a break last week with the correction of various Federal discriminations against Christian faith.  It is a welcome step in the right direction. Blessings, Bob

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Spirituality Column #1016

May 5, 2026

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

'… But Not of the World'

By Bob Walters

“I have given them your word and the world has hated them…” – Jesus, praying to God for the disciples shortly before his arrest. John 17:14

We are all familiar with the phrase that Christians are “in the world but not of the world.” While not precisely scriptural, it is sound doctrine and a worthy posture.

But it is “in the world” that we currently are, and with which we must contend.

American Christians caught a break this past week when the United States Department of Justice issued a 535-page report cataloguing and in many cases reversing or easing purported systematic discriminations against Christian faith.

On the one hand I hesitate to bring this up because two lines will immediately form, neither having to do with religious freedom, philosophy, or practice. The lines will have everything to do, pro or con, with one’s opinion of the current U.S. president.

On the other hand, Christians who recognize various and ongoing governmental inconsistencies and outright invasions of our faith can breathe a short sigh of relief. While the overall American political landscape remains a conflicted cesspool, traditional Christian belief is, for now, only at the mercy of the culture, not the U.S. government.

I say “short” breath because these freedoms – supposedly our divine rights – are sadly, today, a fleeting function of partisan politics at the mercy of who gets elected.

On that subject, elections, Paul in Romans 13:1-7, says – and I’m paraphrasing – we get the government we deserve, we should obey the government, civil government exists outside the church, and that government rightly provides order for society.

Islam is a theocracy, Judaism is too, though Israel is not. Christianity is not. God ordains government to serve the people’s interests, not to dictate a person’s faith.

The Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution further establish the divine existence and supremacy of individual rights. James Madison presciently noted long ago that those rights will work only for a “moral and religious people.”

He meant it, and was absolutely not talking about “my truth” and “your truth.” Our founding documents were authored on the understanding of Christian ethic, human sin, and eternal judgment, and on the divine truth of God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible.

Freedom of religion? Sure. But not freedom from truth, which is our current and abiding political problem. God is more merciful than man, yet His truth and judgment are eternal; they are the same for everyone all the time whether one believes in God or not.

That, by the way, is how one can identify “real” truth: It is true all the time.

I’ve corralled a couple of – trigger warning – conservative resources (Here and Here) that flesh out what the Department of Justice came up with in its investigation over the past 14 months.  Yes, the report cites criticism (wokeness, DEI, abortion, etc.) of the last administration and does a predictable bit of cheerleading for the current one.

The Democrats say it is the end of democracy; the Republicans say it is about time. I’m on the side thankful for the disparities to be aired and, hopefully, cleaned up.

The Pharisees hated Jesus because He replaced their power, prestige, and, really, obviated their existence.  Unlike Jesus, Christians are merely sinners whose faith, properly lived and applied in the Word, point us to a world of love, not hate.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) qualifies for God’s grace only because he is a sinner.