Within the Previous Testomony guide of Daniel there’s a acquainted story. It’s the story of three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego. Most individuals who’ve attended church are conversant in the story. The Hebrew boys are part of the group of Hebrews from Jerusalem who have been taken from their homeland into bondage in Babylon.

Their beloved Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, they usually have been stolen to turn into enslaved by those self same Babylonians. Whereas in bondage in Babylon they’re offered with a lethal dilemma. The King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, orders {that a} statute of gold be erected in his honor. The King then orders that when the musicians play, all within the kingdom have been to fall on their knees and worship the picture of gold.

It’s found that these three Hebrew boys refuse to fall down and worship the picture of gold, thus they’re introduced earlier than an indignant King Nebuchadnezzar. The King threatens them that if they don’t bow down and worship the picture of gold the consequence will likely be they’re to be thrown right into a furnace of fireside.

The boys reply with these phrases, “King Nebuchadnezzar, if we’re thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is ready to ship us from it and out of your hand. However even when God doesn’t ship us, we nonetheless is not going to serve your gods or worship the picture of gold that you simply arrange.”

On this fourth installment of Theology Issues, the story of those Hebrew boys is instructive. Their refusal and resistance to bow right down to the gold picture reveals that the god of the slave proprietor shouldn’t be the identical because the God of the enslaved. “The God we serve, King Nebuchadnezzar.”

This story makes clear the god of the oppressor shouldn’t be the identical because the God of the oppressed, “Even when our God doesn’t rescue us, we nonetheless is not going to serve your gods…”

This story in Daniel is a robust lesson within the distinction in theologies of these in positions of energy and those that have been disempowered by these in energy, “And we is not going to worship your picture of gold.”

There are a lot of on this nation who declare a Christian religion custom however who in actuality don’t worship the identical God of that Christian religion.

Please learn Dr. Obery Hendricks’ newest guide “Christians in opposition to Christianity.”

The orchestrators of this nation are the identical individuals who decimated the native peoples of this land and relegated them to reservations; the identical individuals who kidnapped Africans from their homeland, stuffed them into the putrid, stinking holes of slave ships then offered those self same Africans as property on public sale blocks to plantations to work at no cost.

The god of the slave proprietor shouldn’t be the identical because the God of the one enslaved as a result of God of those enslaved is the God in Exodus who advised Pharaoh, to “Let my individuals go.”

There are these proper now on this nation who’re aggressively spending billions of {dollars} to suppress the votes of these whose pores and skin has been kissed by nature’s solar. They’re the identical individuals who search to dam cancelling onerous pupil mortgage debt so companies that acquire the debt can enrich themselves exorbitantly.

These are the identical individuals who supported and nonetheless assist a bankrupt, mendacity, hateful bully who grew to become the forty fifth president! These are the identical individuals who deny a girl’s proper to decide on what occurs to her personal physique and who take pleasure in single payer well being care of the most effective medical therapy at taxpayers’ expense, whereas gutting and denying the Inexpensive Care Act and common healthcare for the frequent individuals.

These are the identical individuals who welcomed a consultant elected to workplace based mostly on a resumé of prevarications, lying and outright lies. These are the identical individuals who declare to be “Christian Nationalist,” and who search to destroy Medicaid, and Social Safety however who can’t give sufficient cash to companies and their rich donors whereas working class individuals are denied a dwelling wage.

These are the identical individuals who elevate the flag over the cross, and who solely supply “ideas and prayers,” to households of the 201 mass shootings on this nation already on this yr, however who is not going to assist banning residents from proudly owning assault rifles and high-capacity, army fashion weapons however who aggressively transfer to ban books that train America’s painful fact. The god of the highly effective shouldn’t be the identical because the God of these disinherited, disallowed and disfavored.

Actually, it’s protected to say that everyone who attends church shouldn’t be a follower of Jesus Christ once they both enact or assist insurance policies that may penalize even Jesus for feeding hungry individuals for gratis or who healed sick individuals with out requiring they’ve medical health insurance.

The story of the Hebrew boys within the guide of Daniel lastly ends with the Hebrew boys being thrown into that blazing furnace as a result of they refused to worship the god of their oppressors. Nevertheless, within the story God stepped into that furnace with the boys so that they weren’t burned by the hearth nor did they’ve the odor of smoke on their garments, all as a result of the God of the Bible stands on the facet of the powerless, the indigent, the poor, the disinherited and the oppressed.

That’s the theme and theology that runs by your entire biblical narrative from the Exodus liberation story from bondage in Egypt, up by the earthly lifetime of Jesus who quoted Isaiah when he stated, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, as a result of he has anointed me to evangelise excellent news to the poor, heal the damaged hearted, free the political prisoners, recuperate the sight of the blind, to launch the oppressed and announce the Jubilee of debt forgiveness.”

The god of lots of these in energy on this nation who deny justice, fairness, and safety of the poor, together with satisfactory monetary sources to poor communities, these are they who in actuality might attend a church however serve a small “g” god who’s in opposition to the Lord of the Church. As Dr. Hendricks appropriately describes them, they’re Christians who’re in opposition to Christianity, which is why Theology Issues!!

Rev. Dr. John E. Jackson, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ-Gary, 1276 W. twentieth Ave. in Gary. “We aren’t simply one other church however we’re a culturally aware, Christ-centered church, dedicated to the group; we’re unashamedly Black and unapologetically Christian.” Contact the church by e mail at [email protected] or by cellphone at 219-944-0500.