For those of you who may be unaware that the revolution is upon us, that the kingdom of God is at hand, I bring to you a very important announcement. As you well know, we do a lot of talking in this space about community, especially Christian community—how to define it, what principles govern it, the ontological status of its participants (is this sounding at all familiar?)—but what you didn’t know is that while we have been talking, others have been acting, and now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is and move to the great state of South Carolina. That’s right, the kingdom of God is here, or at least it will be, and you can join up in the Palmetto State. A group calling itself Christian Exodus (see media coverage), disillusioned that even with a Christian president and Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, America is still sliding into a morass of moral decay, has proposed establishing an authentic Christian community in SC with the eventual goal of seceding from the Union! (Has this been tried before?) To be fair, secession isn’t their primary goal, but it is on the table according to Mike Sawyer, a member of the group: "The thought of secession is a last resort strategy. We hope to work within the system as much as possible in order to restore a true constitutional government."
According to their website, “ChristianExodus.org offers the opportunity to try a strategy not yet employed by Bible-believing Christians. Rather than spend resources in continued efforts to redirect the entire nation, we will redeem States one at a time. Millions of Christian conservatives are geographically spread out and diluted at the national level. Therefore, we must concentrate our numbers in a geographical region with a sovereign government we can influence through the electoral process. ChristianExodus.org is orchestrating the move of thousands of Christians to reacquire our Constitutional rights by electing State and local officials who will interpose on behalf of the people and refuse to enforce illegal federal acts. Click on our Plan of Action page to find out how we can experience God-honoring governance once again…
“South Carolina can secure the rights of her citizens by interposing her authority under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The federal government operates outside its delegated powers in the areas of education, religion, abortion, domestic behavior, intrastate communication, intrastate commerce, taxation, welfare, healthcare, gun regulation, and a host of other subjects… ChristianExodus.org will continue to move Christians into South Carolina until we possess a representative majority in both houses of the General Assembly. Such a strategy will make the sovereignty debate public, and the influence of our membership will tip the scales in favor of constitutionally limited government founded upon Christian principles.”
I have to admit, I give these people high marks for creativity, but what do you make of all of this? Should we be trying to turn America into a Christian theocracy? Is that what Jesus intended for the church--in this century or any other? Again, according to Mike Sawyer, “The USA is God's country, the greatest nation of modern times. We've fed the world, fought its wars, sent out more missionaries to spread the word of God than any other. Our Declaration and Constitution were divinely inspired.” I’d love to hear if anyone is motivated by this to think about moving to South Carolina, or any other commentary on this new movement.
