Let Rome Burn

Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.

-Jesus Christ, Matthew 22:21

This should be a familiar quote, usually taught to distinguish Church from state.

Jesus demonstrates the difference, but to teach only that is too simplistic.  Immediatley before this, Jesus is talking up the Kingdom of God, and the Religious Establishment (aka, Pharisees) are trying to trip Him up.  "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

Essentially, Jesus is saying the question is irrelevant - Caesar is irrelevant - Jesus is interested in the Kingdom of God.  And the Religious Establishment doesn't get it...

...neither does today's Religious Establishment in the United States. 

Perhaps the greatest challenge to Christ's Church has not been persecution, but establishment.  Under pagan rulers, Christianity thrived.  Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  The Christian Way is a way of suffering, of being a "living sacrifice," St. Paul says.

Except in rare instances, Western Christians have gone without real, physical persecution for about 1700 years.  A millennium after Christianity was legalized in Europe, the Religious Establishment again turned against Christ's Gospel when they fought against Reformation.  Nearly a century of bloodshed finally came to peace, and the Outlaw (Lutheran) Christianity was again assimilated into the Establishment.  This is where we find ourselves today.

As the people wake up from superficial modernism and begin to question presuppositions, the Religious Establishment again feels threatened - and it is threatened - because it is less Christ's Church than a bulwark of society.

Christ's Church transcends society, because Christians are called to be holy.  "Holy" reads "set apart."  Christ said "the gates of hell shall not prevail against [my Church]."

Jesus answered [Pilate], "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."

-John 18:36

Therefore, we Christians should not be unnecessarily concerned with government.  We should not be unnecessarily concerned with the United States.  The Scriptures tell us to submit to our authorities, which we must - and that was written under a persecuting pagan regime!

Legislating morality helps no one, much less spreads the Gospel!  Even un- or anti-christian legislation should be of no real worry to you, because it has no effect on your soul, faith, or piety. Neither Republican nor Democratic party government is any more "Christian" than the other.  Neither the Green nor libertarian party are any less so.  And if you are a Christian, you are no less so under a Muslim, a communist, democratic or despotic government.

So if Rome is burning, like so many pundits are screaming from the rooftops, let it burn.  "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness..." wherever you may be.  Under whatever government you may be.