But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. – 2 Peter 2:1

Today's Scripture Reading (June 19, 2024): 2 Peter 2

A few years ago, several prominent Christian leaders drew up what they called "A Confession." Their concern was that the central message of the Christian Church was being destroyed. What they drew up was essentially a political statement. Bishop Michael Curry, fresh from preaching a sermon at a Royal wedding in England, was one of the framers of the statement. And while the confession was political, Curry insists it was not directed at one political party or President. Part of the reclamation is that the name of Christ was offensive in the first century because calling Jesus "Lord" meant that Caesar wasn't.

And so, they drafted a statement outlining Christ's central idea in six points.

I.       WE BELIEVE each human being is made in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). That image and likeness confer a divinely decreed dignity, worth, and God-given equality to all of us as children of the one God who is the Creator of all things. Racial bigotry is a brutal denial of the image of God (the imago dei) in some of the children of God.

II.     WE BELIEVE we are one body. In Christ, there is to be no oppression based on race, gender, identity, or class (Galatians 3:28). The body of Christ, where those great human divisions are to be overcome, is meant to be an example for the rest of society.

III.   WE BELIEVE how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, the sick, and the prisoner is how we treat Christ himself (Matthew 25: 31-46).

IV.     WE BELIEVE that truth is morally central to our personal and public lives. Truth-telling is central to the prophetic biblical tradition, whose vocation includes speaking the Word of God into their societies and speaking the truth to power. A commitment to speaking truth, the ninth commandment of the Decalogue, "You shall not bear false witness" (Exodus 20:16), is foundational to shared trust in society.

V.    WE BELIEVE that Christ's way of leadership is servanthood, not domination. Jesus said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles (the world) lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant" (Matthew 20:25-26). We believe our elected officials are called to public service, not public tyranny, so we must protect the limits, checks, and balances of democracy and encourage humility and civility on the part of elected officials.

VI.   WE BELIEVE Jesus when he tells us to go into all nations making disciples (Matthew 28:18). Our churches and our nations are part of an international community whose interests always surpass national boundaries.

We believe that we are to go into all nations. In the national furor that surrounded the days after the 9/11 attacks, a moment when we were all fiercely nationalist, pastors were asked to come to public events and pray for our country. In the United States, these events often included an oath of allegiance. Michael Slaughter, a Methodist Pastor, was asked to pray at one of these events. Still, when the moment came, he refused to join in the oath of allegiance because his concern was international to the Body of Christ, which refuses to acknowledge borders.

Peter's point in this passage is about false teachers who have co-opted the Christian message. And there is a growing feeling that a false narrative has corrupted the Western Church. It is a narrative that plays to maybe the most sinful aspects of our fallen nature, our national pride.

What bothers me is that some of these false teachings have hit the core of our beliefs. It isn't our theology about homosexuality or abortion, two hot-button issues, that is the problem. It is how we love each other, even amid disagreement. It is the issue of servanthood in the church, or how we treat those who Jesus called "the least of these." It is about the idea that in Christ, we are one. The six declarations of the confession outline what is central in our belief, and it is here where the false teachers are attacking the church, and they have become central in our denominations.

Peter warns us about their destructive heresies, but we have allowed them into our midst, believing that they teach orthodox beliefs. We need to hear Peter's voice again and the voice of some other contemporary voices as they try to show us what should be central in our teaching, rather than hearing more peripheral voices and their message of hate and disunity.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 3