Anthony with a really good post on voting
Christendom is the attempt, by Christians, to use worldly power (political, economic, etc.) to make the kingdom happen. Carter, Yoder, and many others point out the tragic history of what happens when Christians take matters into their own hands. I’d imagine an example of this would be President Bush’s, a professing Christian, admission that he prayed before going to war in Iraq or from an earlier time period, the Crusades. A myriad of examples abound of Christians taking matters into their own hands for the kingdom of God.
The maintenance of Christendom should be rejected by Christians who are called to live out Jesus’ non-violent ethic of neighbor/enemy-love in a world addicted to violence and death. A post-Christendom posture would be to follow Jesus all the way to the cross. It is to reject the world’s way of getting things done with violence and death.
It is to have one’s primary allegiances challenged, to love one’s enemies, to forgive, to share one’s bread, to turn the other cheek and many other practices and injunctions that are given glorious embodiment by Jesus of Nazareth.
