On Rendering to Caesar

On Rendering to Caesar
EXODUS 4: 18-23

I have just been talking to a student who is a missionary in Indonesia, and we were discussing the dilemma of the church there. He described the church as postcolonial, but I suggested it is still colonial. The gospel came to Indonesia through its being part of the Dutch empire. As East African churches look like British churches, and their forms of worship adapt British forms of worship, Indonesian churches look like Dutch churches, and their theology reflects Dutch theology. It is hard for them to distinguish Dutch culture from Christian faith. It seemed harder for this student to see that the same was true about the U.S. church. The church has always become identified with the empire—British, Dutch, Russian, American. It is in the interests of the empire to appropriate religion as a support. The empire sees itself as god. It can benefit from the support of whatever people call god...