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Suddenly, the Gospel is for everyone

“And the angel said to them ‘do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be for all people for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

Ordinarily, many professing Christians and unbelievers would rather not hear about religion but we have license because Christmas is such a universal holiday and celebration. Even the atheists will accept it.

Anyone who follows the trends of thought measured by statistically sound polls knows that the United States is becoming less and less Christian.

Veneer faith

Not only is the number of former Christians increasing but professing Christians have shaved their faith down to a microscopic veneer. One hour a week. Less for some. And they want to spend eternity with God.

Nevertheless, the angel that spoke to the shepherds on the hillside told them something that Christians have overlooked or refused to believe. They are willing to live with pieces of their puzzles missing.

The angel gave the world the first sign of what the coming of Jesus and the new theology would mean. While the Pharisees fought to keep their world, the chosenness of any people was going to be a thing of the past.

Before the angel acknowledged that the new gospel of Jesus would include all people, God had been partial to Israel all though the Old Testament. The birth of Jesus was a game-changer.

Impartial God

Careful reading of Paul’s letters to the churches proves the impartiality of God. Not only did he mention impa tiality at least 10 times in his letters, he practiced what he preached by going to the non-Jewish community (Greeks we were called) to tell them that the Gospel was for everyone.

Everyone white. Everyone black. Everyone brown. Everyone red. Everyone yellow. Without exception, everyone. Indiscriminte!

Paul states it better in his letter to the Galatians (3:28). “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ.”

Paul is talking about equality across the board. This is not now nor has it been an underpinning of Christian belief in the United State.

Founders Were Partial

In writing the Constitution, the Founding Fathers were partial. For the purposes of the census, African slaves were considered three-fifths of a person. And right up to the present age, we have enough bigots who still believe that would be okay.

The Apostle Paul did everything in his power to reconcile the Jews with the Greeks. That is why he emphasized the equality of all people. We can imagine that many Pharisees were angered by the thought of losing their preferred position.

Regrettably, Christians could not tolerate deviating interpretations and wholesale slaughter of other believers was the consequence. Denominations took turns murdering each other. The Gospel was for all people except those that were led to a different truth.

Equality Threatens

It seems that if impartiality and equality is good enough for God it should be good enough for all Christians. But some of us rely on partiality and inequality to protect our religious cocoons. To accept equality as a principle of our theology would end the male-dominated hierarchies of the Catholic Church, some Lutheran churches and most evangelical bodies.

So the Christmas angel was the foreteller of a Gospel available with impartiality and equality. All colors and all people. Even so, we choke on the idea of equality in our churches and in society.

Socrates is supposed to have said “Know thyself”. Maybe we should do that this Christmas.

Lloyd Omdahl is a former lieutenant governor of North Dakota and former political science professor at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

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