In this episode, Craig speaks with Pastor Benje Graves of Vision Community Church Marsing, Idaho about the strong adherence to the Republican Party among Christians and what that says about where those Christian’s hope may lie. Graves shares stories of his experience in working to get his congregation to see the same entanglement in government affairs that this show seeks to explore and expose.
We hope this episode is an invitation for conservatives to explore how showing up as a Christian does not mean showing up to endorse any political party, a modern-day call for a King, but rather Jesus’s life and teachings challenge us to remain on the margins of society in order to live out the Gospel. When we understand what it means to be a part of the Kingdom of God, we can begin to release the fear that too often draws us away from our divine calling. We must not forget that, if we call ourselves Christians, our allegiance is not to a finite and man-made nation but to the infinite Kingdom of Heaven. #NoKingbutChrist is a call to faith, a call away from the broken systems of the world that too often pull us away from living a life in the image of Christ.
Timestamps and starting points for further exploration:
00:22 Episode Intro - Scott Horton Show
01:02 Who is Benje Graves?
01:22 Benje’s connection to Scott Horton
Scott Watson
Benje’s episode with Scott Horton
02:23 Will Grigg, the John Birch Society, The New American magazine, “taking the red pill”
03:17 The red pill tweet Elon Musk(Fox news report) & why Texas; Fox News disclamier
04:19 Charles Stanley
04:41 Individualism, Group-think & importance of getting people to ask the right questions
08:05 Jesus turning tables, what to do with a sword(don’t be Peter), Jesus before Piloit, Christian youth before Trump
09:25 Franklin Graham, the individual on social media, and the idealization of Trump vs. Obama
11:40 Misplaced Hope: Christians saying “it’s all about the next election”, what does it mean to be a part of the Kingdom of God?
The Sermon on the Mount vs. US government
Kingdom Ideals vs. Christian Ideals
13:33 Benje’s experience with Christians turning away from politics
Donald Trump will save us vs. “necessary evil”
First Samuel “give us a King”
18:29 Anarchist Push Back: Have we always had a government?
Godly/Scriptural governance
Was the early Church anarchist?
What should we follow, benefits of understanding the early church and the same way we can come to rediscover the original intent of the constitution (via the arguments of those that were there)
Works Based Salvation: “How in the world do you think you can work your way into heaven” (is registering as republican enough?)
25:02 What can the Temptation of Jesus teach us today - work from the outside in
Two different systems - worldly and Godly
Nationalistic Idoltary - what would the early Church say?
Dominionist Movement - Hope in man v. God
The Kingdom is already here - stop sitting around waiting for Jesus
31:20 Controlling the masses - the government is a fear machine, Christians stay away
Church’s response to COVID-19 as a demonstration of entanglement
“My side can do no wrong” “your side can do no right mentality”
Confirmation bias - the power of wanting to believe something is true
Yemen Crisis - why are we there?
Where is your hope? The supreme court is not Christ
39:51 Benje on push back from and to his congregation
Quick to forgetters
Planting seeds: thoughts, principles & concepts
Looking at what Jesus actually did vs. what we may assume
43:54 Planting seed - taking a long-view of time
We are still saying give us a King - Israel and now the Lord’s message is the same
America (or any country) being great should not be the criteria for God’s people
A vote is an endorsement
“Lesser of two evils”
Trying to change the mafia from the inside out
50:45 COVID-19 lockdowns and mental health
Relationship issue
53:43 Citizens policing citizens on masks
Wear a mask - but let it be your choice
58:43 Benje’s plugs