Drawing anarchy symbols all over my folders when I was in high school was not because I liked alternative music, it was an act of foreshadowing for my life with Christ.
I never realized how much my thinking leaned toward anarchist ways until after many years of being sucked into a human made system called “church”. It took many years for me to realize all the religious bullshit that was really going on right before my very eyes.
The institutional church is now history for me, and if I am to categorize myself, which I really do not like to do, I guess you can say I fit the Christian Anarchy mold. You can call me a Church Anarchist, or let’s say a “Churcharchist”.
If you place a political theology and a political philosophy into a blender and run it on high and then add a touch of Christianity and a pinch of anarchism you will get a concoction called Churcharchism.
The outcome is a grounded belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable, the authority God has embodied in the teachings of Jesus, and thus rejecting the idea that human governments have ultimate authority over human societies.
This is where I denounce the “church” and claim that it is violent, deceitful, and when glorified, idolatrous.
The society a churcharchist like myself envisions is one where we all come together as the “one anothers” we read about in scripture to provide for the needs of people, all people, instead of giving and working to make the organization and the religious capitalists richer within the walls of “their” church run society.
No human being should be granted power and control over others, we should be free to live without religious denominational dogma controlling us.
We do not need to be shackled into tithing in order to provide a life for ourselves and others.
We do not need to be required to make a certain amount of money, live a certain way, act a certain way, or dress a certain way to be accepted inside any man-made organization.
Churcharchy longs to bring about a society where we all are not hierarchically organized according to their abilities, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, the country they were born in, or any other label we use to organize and identify ourselves. Why do we go out of our way to separate us all when we are all one in God?
So, what does God and Christ have to do with the anarchy symbol I drew as a kid?
The trinity makes up three persons… God, Jesus, and Spirit. These three persons are separate, yet somehow the same and equal at the same time. Do not ask me to explain this, it is one of the unexplainable mysteries of the Christian faith. God, Jesus, and Spirit are three separate, but equal “non-hierarchical” persons that love each other. None is more important than the other, and none has power over the other. Their relationship is based on mutual love. Pretty simple, yet complex.
I am also a firm believer that we are all created in the image of God, who is somehow one-third of the distinct form of three. If we are created in the image of God, and we are also clearly taught to love and live like Christ, then we should also be “non-hierarchical” people who love each other.
We all cannot live as “Church” once someone powers over another person, or once a hierarchy is formed. Once hierarchy happens, we cease to be fully human as God intended.
That would make a good bumper sticker… “hierarchy happens” … you just need to change shit to hierarchy. It is pretty much the same thing, right?
As a Churcharchist, I am not satisfied with claiming to love one another, feed the poor, help the widows, while loving and celebrating a system that destroys them and me. Many church denominations are in bed with this huge “church” empire that killed Jesus.
Anarchism helped me more fully understand Jesus and His message, and how to live out the Gospel of Love in a world that is fighting against Love.
Allergic to BS 
Part of the problem is that we have a misunderstanding of submission. The Trinity is all about mutual submission. Thats what love does. We creatures like to make submission one-sided. And we end up lording it over others. Great post, by the way.
Thanks Shon! Someone was talking about anarchy the other day, and I told them that anarchy helped me grow in Christ.. they just about flipped. So I said I would write a post to define what I meant.
Not sure what’s caused you to hurt so bad. You’re words about the church have broken my heart completely. I still love you. Always will. But I’m grieving something awful for my brother in Christ who has left the BODY (and has become a Churcharchist or whatever you want to call it).
Redemption is a funny thing. It’s supposed to soften your heart toward others (even an imperfect church) and facilitate a spirit of love even when there is evil (“Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good” Romans 12:21). While I know you are redeemed and love the LORD, I gather from your countenance and disposition (which I’ve noted in your writing) that there is spirit of anger and bitterness toward, not just the church, but those people who make up the church (after all that is the church, a bunch of imperfect nobodies redeemed by their Savior). Every word you write about my beloved church, you are writing it directly to me. You may not think so. But it is true. Your words might as well say “I’m a Ericarchist” or “Eric Veal really sucks ass” or “Finding Eric.”
When I wrote to you before I wrote out of a spirit of anger and bitterness because I felt I needed to defend the church. Yet, I was practicing Romans 12:17 “Do not repay evil for evil…(and) Do not take revenge.” I don’t need to defend the church. I realize my words toward you were in the very same spirit as you write in many of your blogs. So, I write with a heavy heart. I miss my brother who walked along side me and did life with me. Church is also about relationships. If you’re not part of a church body then how do you still have relationships with others who are like-minded. I sure hope it’s not those who comment on your blog. If so, then I hope you would reconsider coming back and joining your old Bible study group. We sure do miss you.
Eric
Eric, you are completely misunderstanding what I am saying. When I speak of “church” on this blog it has to do with the man-made institution and the problems of man-made stuff. When I say “church” I am never talking about The Body that makes up Christ the Church.
I love the people of The Body (and the people out of the Body), and no I have not left The Body myself.. I left the man-made institutional BS.
Throughout my blog I never put down the people that make up The Body of “Church”.. I love them all regardless of where I find them in life. My dislike of the institution does not take away the love I have for Christ and the ones who make up His Body.
The guy that walk with you is still walking with the Lord, just not attending a worship service. I am being part of The Body wherever I go.
Take care. Swanny
Submit yourselves, for the Lord’s sake, to every human authority…You servants must submit yourselves to your masters and show them complete respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 1 Peter 2:13-18
If we are to reflect God’s love how can that be accomplished through anarchy?
Anarchy is demonic. Many died as a consequence of anarchy that
crept into Martin Luther’s Reformation era.
yolanda – thanks for commenting. You ask “If we are to reflect God’s love how can that be accomplished through anarchy?”
My answer to that is by not focusing on the man-made government that is defined as church and put all my focus into Christ who is love. That love I show others (minus the government) is how I reflect God’s love.
Thanks again for posting. Swanny