You’ve heard the term “radicalized Muslim” being used to describe people who have joined terrorist groups such as ISIS. It refers to a person who was living a basically peaceful and harmless existence then was convinced somehow to adopt a terrorist mindset and join a jihadist group or commit acts of terror on their own. “Radical” is one of those weird words that has different, sort of conflicting, usages. It means fundamental, basic, primary, or literally “root.” But it’s also used for extreme, drastic, far-reaching, and fanatical. The second way is how it’s used in the phrase “radicalized Muslim” – the person has taken Islamic doctrine and purposes to the extreme. Becoming a drastic Muslim results in mass shootings and suicide bombings. Most Muslims would say that is not the fundamental and basic meaning of Islam (Marrakesh Declaration). The radicals, the extremists, would say that it is. Now, I’m not going to attempt to explore anything about radical, or any other style of, Islam. It’s just that the phrase “radicalized Muslim” got me thinking: what about “radicalized Christian?” What mindset would a radicalized Christian have? What actions would a radicalized Christian take?
I am fully aware that some people have taken Christianity to an extreme point and committed acts no different from those of ISIS and Boko Haram: abortion clinic bombers, the Inquisition, John Calvin’s persecution and execution of those he considered heretics, and the KKK, to name a few. Christianity CAN be radicalized into a jihadist movement.
But that’s NOT where I’m going with this. (I know you’re relieved.) There is another kind of radicalization. Here’s what I’m thinking: a radicalized Christian is the basic, primary meaning of living by faith in Jesus Christ. The essence of following Christ will be extreme and far-reaching when compared to not following Christ. There are 3 basic, primary and unavoidably related truths that make this so.
The first is our belief that Jesus is Lord. To say that Jesus is Lord does not simply mean that he is God. He is God, but there’s more (amazingly!) to it than that. At the time of Jesus’ incarnation and the early years of Christianity, people were being told “Caesar is Lord.” The emperor of Rome is Lord; all authority belongs to him; he is in charge; he is running things. Paul and John and Peter and all the Christians said, “No, he’s not. Jesus is.” Jesus has taken authority over all. His place is above any and every ruler, power, and dominion. He is Lord. He is King, and his Kingdom overshadows all other kingdoms – spiritual, political, economic, and personal. Now, in 2016, Jesus is Lord. He is in charge. He reigns.
The second truth is the Kingdom of God has come. If Jesus is Lord, then his Kingdom has come. When Jesus was raised from the dead, he launched his Kingdom. It’s here; it’s active; it’s real. It helps me to think about the Kingdom as the culture that we live in. Culture is the massive, complex set of beliefs, customs, and social behaviors that influence your attitudes, values, priorities, and practices. You do what you do largely because of the culture you are embedded in. We are called to live in Christ’s culture (Matthew 6:33). Our beliefs and attitudes and goals come from the fact that we believe in and follow Jesus and he makes us into a new kind of people. Our customs, values, and behaviors are shaped more by God’s presence and ways than by the human culture we grow up in or live in.
The third truth that shows that following Jesus means being radicalized is this: there is another ruler and kingdom operating in the world. Jesus called that ruler “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). Paul called that ruler “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), and John identified him as “the great dragon…that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan” (Revelation 12:9). Going back to the beginning: instead of continuing to rule the world God created as partners with him, humans went our own way. We sinned and corrupted the world. We sinned and brought chaos. We sinned and brought death. And instead of being partners with God, that rebellion made us partners with the Ultimate Sinner. The world has been under the dominion of a being who intended to rule forever in rebellion against God and who was quite satisfied for humans to keep on doing things their way because that meant they were really doing things his way. Paul said “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers.” John said he “leads the whole world astray.” We’ve been scammed. We’ve been deceived into accepting a way of living that is not in line with truth and reality. This is the way of life that results from not following Christ.
So, when a person lives under the Lordship of Jesus and in the culture of his Kingdom, that person will believe and do things that are radically different from living outside Jesus’ Lordship and Kingdom. Following Jesus is an extremely different world.
A man in the Jerusalem church named Stephen was doing miracles and telling about Jesus being the Messiah. The Jewish leaders took him into custody and interrogated him. Again he told them that Jesus is the Messiah and they had killed him. The leaders got angrier, and Acts 7:55 says, “But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Then this happened: “When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him… They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’ Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ Having said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:58-60). He died. You’ve heard someone else say those things as he died: “‘Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing… Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:34 & 46) Stephen saw Jesus at God’s right hand. He saw Jesus the Lord reigning. That didn’t stop his enemies. It didn’t stop the stoning. It didn’t keep him from dying. When Stephen saw Jesus reigning, he acted like Jesus!
When we know Jesus reigns, when we believe and accept that he is Lord, when we live under his authority and according to his Kingdom, we become like him. We act like him. We feel like him. When we know he is in charge and he is giving us a better way to live and he is loving us and leading us, then we become like him. We will be radicalized.
I am afraid that, generally speaking, we have settled for less.
I am going to write a series of articles addressing several beliefs, attitudes, and actions that would characterize a radicalized Christian. I am not claiming that I have reached a radicalized condition myself. Becoming like Jesus is a life-long process. But I think we need to understand as clearly as we can what it looks like to be radicalized. Then we can be less “led astray.” Then we can have a vision for the kind of people we can be and the actions we can take. We can have a goal.
In a way, to say something is radical is relative. A certain way of thinking or acting may seem wildly extreme to some Christians while it seems just normal everyday living to others. For example, believers living under severe persecution will be doing some things that we Christians living in a free society can’t imagine. And the other way around. Of course, I’ll be writing from the perspective of a follower of Christ living in the US in 2016.
Think about this yourself. What would you consider radical Christianity? What teachings or examples in the Bible do you see as far-reaching? Should we be following them now? Or, how have you been radicalized – what is different about you as a result of following Jesus? And, how can we go about getting radicalized?
