He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. – Acts 10:2

Today's Scripture Reading (January 21, 2021): Acts 10

There is a new political animal that appears to be roaming around the landscape of the United States. Joining the Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant, the Rhino (or RINO) has joined the American zoo. Actually, the RINO has been around since the early twentieth century. It gained popularity in the 1990s, but in the fracturing of the Republican party during the Donald Trump era, it has become much more popular. Of course, the RINO is always the other person. The Nickname stands for "Republican in Name Only."

The fracturing of conservative movements is something that seems to be happening all over the world. I live in maybe one of the few places where there seems to be a competition over who can get further right. In the past several elections, there have been many politically right parties competing for control of the local government. And on at least one occasion, the composition on the right gifted power to the left.

Amid the fracture, there is a competition about what it really means to be a conservative. I have to admit that, as a political conservative, for me, the definition involves limited government and fiscal responsibility. If you read this blog often, you probably know that I do not believe that massive debt is a good idea, let alone the uncontrolled debt that seems to define most of our modern nations. I am not an American, but because I have rejected many of Donald Trump's directives over the past few years, I would probably be considered a RINO. I am a conservative. I would describe myself as part of the Moderate Right. Still, because of my opposition to some of conservatism's features of the Trump era, many people would consider me an imposter, even in my country and the home of the Donald Trump impersonators.

Christianity has had a similar struggle. What does it mean to be Christian? What beliefs are essential to Christianity? And there are probably as many answers to the question as there are people willing to ask it. For me, Christianity is more about our willingness to love our neighbor and to love across our cultural dividing lines than it is about a Shibboleth confession to what some might argue is an orthodox belief. As a result, even I am considered to be, at least by some people, a Christian In Name Only.

The culture into which the Christians Church was born featured several divisions in the Jewish faith. There was a division between the Jews who followed the Jewish religion and Jewish culture and those who only followed the spiritual directives. Even within this group of orthodox Jews, there were divisions and fights about what it meant to truly be a Jew. The Pharisees and Sadducees both laid claim to the right to be the real Jewish faith community. The Essenes had opposed both of these groups. They had separated from the contemporary Jewish culture because they believed that being a faithful Jew was impossible in the day's corrupt culture. I think that John the Baptist was a member of this sect of the Jewish faith. But there were others.

Outside of Judea, there were Jews who held to Judaism's spiritual beliefs but had mixed into their faith Greek cultural practices. These were the Hellenist Jews, and according to the Jews in Judea, they were Jewish in Name Only.

And then there were the God-fearers. These were Gentiles who had developed a sincere affection for the Jewish people and their God. They read the scripture, prayed to the God of the Jews, donated money to Jewish causes, but they stopped short of becoming Jews; they were uncircumcised and did not keep the Jewish food laws. As a result, they didn't even rise to the level of being Jewish in Name Only. The Jewish people appreciated these God-fearers. But because they were uncircumcised, a real Jew could not go into their homes or associate in any way with them. They were loved, but only at a distance.

Cornelius was a God-fearer. Peter was a Jew from Judea. But not one who was just a Jew, but a Jew endeavoring to live as a real Jew would; Peter did not aspire to be a Jew in Name Only. And this is the beginning of the shocking story of their unique relationship.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Acts 11