THE CLERGY’S VIEW OF GOD’S KINGDOM

Why is this so? For one thing, as you may be well aware from comments in the public press, more and more of the clergy are rejecting the belief that the Bible is wholly inspired by God. They tend to view the Bible as a book of moral precepts or as a philosophy of life. Hence they view its prophecies, including those about God’s kingdom, as expressing only human aspirations rather than being inspired expressions of God’s purpose. Obviously, those who fail to appreciate what the Kingdom is cannot provide the guidance or vital encouragement to ‘seek first the kingdom.’​—Matt. 6:33.

You have perhaps heard clergymen speak of the Kingdom as “something personal and spiritual, an experience of the heart.” (The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Religions, under entry “Jesus Christ,” by Royston Pike, 1951 edition) But is that all there is to God’s kingdom​—some spiritual condition within the hearts of people?

The words of Jesus at Luke 17:21 according to the King James Version of the Bible, namely, “the kingdom of God is within you,” have been cited to support this view. But logically, this could not be what Jesus meant. The context shows that Jesus addressed those words to his enemies, the Pharisees. It could hardly be said to them that they were undergoing a fine “experience of the heart,” “something personal and spiritual.” Indeed, they directly rejected God’s kingdom and its king Jesus Christ, saying, “We have no king but Caesar.”​—John 19:15.

Did the thought occur to you as you read the foregoing: “I’ve never heard that preached in the churches I’ve attended”? Why not? Because of the two points already mentioned: the clergy’s lack of faith in the Bible as being God’s Word, and a misconception of what the Kingdom is.

There is still another potent reason for the present attitude of the clergy toward the Bible teaching about the Kingdom. Do you recall those words of the Jewish religious leaders quoted earlier: “We have no king but Caesar”? This simply meant that the Pharisees and others cast in their lot with Caesar, the human political government of the day. They preferred its visible and immediate protection and approval to the hazards of following Jesus as King and pinning their hopes on a future, coming heavenly kingdom. In this way those religious leaders made themselves part of that world system.

Do you find that attitude toward God’s kingdom reflected today by the religious leaders of Christendom? Do they show the same attitude toward involvement in this world’s political activities as did the Christians of the first few centuries after Christ? Do they manifest in a clear way by what they say and do that they prefer God’s kingdom to the kingdoms of men?

Rather, is there not a willingness on the part of the clergy to get involved in political matters, in other words, to be part of the world? How, then, can we expect to hear from these professed teachers of Christianity a clear, uncompromising preaching about God’s kingdom, which, as we have seen, is to bring this system of things to its end?

The present state of faithlessness on the part of Christendom’s clergy toward the Bible’s teachings stems from the apostasy that set in following the death of the apostles of Jesus. This apostasy was not only in matters of doctrine, but was manifest also in the apostate Christians’ attitude toward the world. Commenting on the situation of the church when “Christianity” became the established religion of the Roman state and following the “conversion” of Constantine, The Theological Dictionary by Henderson and Buck states:

“The simplicity of the Gospel was corrupted, pompous rites and ceremonies were introduced, worldly honours and emoluments were conferred on the teachers of Christianity, and the Kingdom of Christ in good measure converted into a kingdom of this world.”

In all honesty, would you not agree that these words still aptly apply to the teachers of Christendom today?

[Picture on page 198]

The Pope at the UN

ANGLICAN MAY BE CANDIDATE

Bishop Says Clergy Should Run for Political Office

Church and State Still Close in Eastern Europe

Priest admits pressure on Puerto Rico voters

Clergy involvement in politics is well known. Might it be that this involvement explains why they do not stress belief in God’s kingdom as the hope for mankind?