Exceptionalism can degenerate into superiority

LET US, Come Together Now Not, to Pray, But to UNiTE (THIS Nebula-Built) Bless'th S.pace-S.hip Earth(of Many) That's worth Living-For, NOt dying for! Hark Man//Wom:
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IMPORTANTO: Rich, Middle-class or Poor, If YE hath All these “4-Tetra-Needs“ (FOOD, SHELTER, COMANIONSHIP & CLOTHES (& Keep Busy while at it).then Ye hath No Worry’s on this Blesseth (never Sin'th nor ever Curs'th) Holyi Cosmic [Nebula-Built] S.pace-S.hip Planet EARTHs, aka S.S. GAiA, S.S. GEOiD, S.S. TELLUSng something & by manymany Names! PEACE to our ANCESTRY & Future-Bound & Space-Forth [MEME's] Posterity.
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BEHOLD: SEx is-not LOVE: LiFE iS! Nor is ANY Man-Made Religion(s)Systems is LOVE, Only HYPOCRITICRACY! "HOPE" is our Religion. And G-D (if Any) is an "IT" (never a HE/HiM/HiS nor HER/SHE incarnate)! O' Praise "IT", aka justly Being "iTSELF" in & out Of US-All; Hence "ETERNiTY AVOiDINING LONLiNESS" (for "IT"s own Survival Too)!
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iMAGiNE The "RELiGION OF Everything (Before Science of Everything) is today Upon Us but, only IF ye/Yo duly & Justly Seek “IT“!" iMAGINE The Chumash/Bible, Quran/Koran, Geeta/Tripitakas, Kangyur/Tangyurs... As 1 TODAY? YES! As told & Forewarned YE/YO ALL so so many times here on “ONFAiTH“ Blog. "IT" is Here! "OUR" is Born, Bred, Given on "TRANS{FiNITY-MOUNTAIN," N.Y.!

Hear Ye Hear Ye O' Sweet Sweet U.S. of A.eliens {ECLA{Ti-ON‘s}! The 'Made-In-America’ "MAHDi, the "MAITREYA", the "MESSIAH", The "PHOTON LiGHT BRiNGER OF THE APOCALYPSE" & The ‘Forefather of “GRiDARIAN DEMOCRACY” & APOCALYPTIC GOV’T” & More Good Tiding is cometh for [i] WE, Us YE , the Holyi Cosmic Built "O.U.R." [O.ne U.niversal R.eligion] via the "B.O.T" aka 'Book Of TRANS{FiNITY' aka the “ULTRAPARATESTAMENT" of The New-Song (born From our-Old Yea!).
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WHEREFORE: Uphold, Magnify & Make Honorable The O,ne U.niversal R.eligion (OUR)!

From its beginning, the Good News has been apolitical and non-national. When pushed to choose between faith and empire, the way of the Good News has been to respond with non-violent defiance and refusal. Our faith life is not measured by how materially abundant or wealthy is our life and not by how much political or cultural influence we have. Our faith life in no way embodies, is connected to, or dependent upon or subservient to patriotic fervor or national loyalty or good citizenship. Our faith life is measured by how we attend to and improve the lives of others – by feeding them, quenching their thirst, clothing them, visiting them in prison, healing them, and welcoming them. Keep in mind that this is a deliberately incomplete list. It works in much the same way as when Jesus tells Peter to forgive, not 7 times, but 77 times – the point being that by the time you forgive someone 77 times, it has become, not an act that has been repeated 77 times, it has become a habit, a path, a journey, a way of life. The point is that by the time you develop the habit of feeding, quenching, clothing, healing, welcoming, and visiting prisons, you have created a new life complete with new values and new goals and new vision. Once you get to this point, you have discovered and claimed (not earned) and embodied your grace-given membership in the family of God, a membership exemplified by justice, love, and service.

After all my years, I've come to the conclusion that America IS exceptional.

We are exceptional in our hubris, in our belief that we above all on earth are somehow special, that our presidents often run and are elected because God wanted it so, and we are exceptional in our pleasure to be ignorant and remain so of all the others in the world as to their languages, their culture, their religion. After all, our language, our culture and our Christian religion is exceptional.

Luke 14:11 +
Philippians 2:5-11 +
Luke 1:46-55 +
Genesis 12:1-3=

All who are chosen, regardless of nationality, are selected for the purpose of exceptional, sacrificial, life pouring out, service.

kentonself: McLaren didn't twist anything. Sekulow said that America had a special relationship with God, and clearly implied that America is above all other nations. That leads directly to the sort of "above the law" behavior that McLaren cited - "it's OK for us to do it, because God told us to". Those heresies are common to pretty much every person or society who believes that they have some special relationship with God that isn't available to other people.

"We'd better get clear on which kind of exceptionalism we're talking about..."

OK, but Brian McLaren took a clear definition in Jordan Sekulow's post and twisted it in order to demonize him.

McLaren wants to attack an anarchist understanding of exceptionalism that says America is not subject to the law. But that's completely opposite of Sekulow's "Rex Lex" understanding of Exceptionalism that says it is. Did McLaren even read Sekulow's article? Or did he just make the attack on a partisan basis?

Wonderful commentary.

McLaren reveals the monumental hypocrisies that underlie the prideful proclamation of American exceptionalism.

Isn’t this the same Brian McLaren who said in one of his books that he is “theological hack?” He seemed to be proud of that title at the time. Since then he wants to be perceived as a theologian. He should write speeches for our President. He’d be good at it.

from those who have been given much, much will be expected. Exceptional blessing means exceptional responsibility.
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Agree 100%.