The book of Revelation, after an opening chapter, includes seven letters to seven churches in what is now Turkey. Among these letters is one addressed to the church in Laodicea. As with all of the letters in Revelation 2 and 3, John the apostle levels an accusation against Laodicea, saying that they are lukewarm, being neither hot nor cold. As with most of the letters, John uses things that the city is famous for in these short letters, and one of the things that Laodicea was known for was its poor water. Two nearby cities, Colosse and Hierapolis, were known for their good water. Colosse had cold water springs, and Hierapolis had hot water springs, and while the water at Hierapolis was not suitable for drinking, it was thought to have restorative value for those who bathed in it. Laodicea had to import its water via aqueduct, and when the water arrived, it was only lukewarm, perhaps suitable for drinking but not very refreshing. In fact, lukewarm water is often used to induce vomiting, something that John says God is about to do with Laodicea if they did not change their ways.
Laodicea was known to be a wealthy city, known for its banking establishments, its medical schools and its textile industry. It was because of this wealth that the Laodicean church had come to believe that it was self-sufficient and did not really need God or the salvation he provided in Jesus Christ. It was a church which was no longer saw fellowship with God as being crucial to their wellbeing. We might say that the lukewarm state of the church in that city was seen in the believer’s rather blasé attitude toward the gospel, but life as a Christian, the letter seems to be saying, must be somewhat radical, so that believers can impact the world around them in a positive way.
When in Bible College several decades ago, a fellow student, Evan, stood up in a student gathering and called us to become radical Christians. He was frustrated by what he perceived to be a lukewarmness in the church, for many Christians, while bearing that name, were not making an impact in the name of Christ. He called for us to become radical.
But there is a potential problem. Radicalism is often viewed to be dangerous by those who hold to the status quo. In some parts of the world radicalism is on the uprise, leading to extremist groups, often religious in nature, engaging in violent acts. Radicalism in Islam, for example, has made the world a much more dangerous place with groups like ISIS, al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and the like killing, kidnapping, and generally causing terror in many areas of the world. As Christians we might be more sensitive to news of these terrorist groups “persecuting” Christians, but, truth be told, these radical groups more often than not destroy Muslim communities as much or than they do Christian communities. In Nigeria, for example, while Christians are often the target of extremist groups, Muslim communities are almost just as often targets of their terrorism. It is somewhat misleading to say that the Nigerian Church is under attack without recognizing that it is all who are not extremists who are being terrorized.
My fellow student in Bible College was disappointed by the way things were in the world, and he wanted to see things changed. For him, being radical was the way forward, for only when we are radical can we make a difference. His view of the world was not all that different from the radicals and extremists of this world today. Many of those who are radicalized and become extremists do so because they perceive that the world is not as it should be, and they feel that nothing will change unless they make extreme statements shooting up churches or mosques or kidnapping students for ransom. Radicals nearly always become so because they are disillusioned with the status quo and they are moved to action because they feel disenfranchised or marginalized.
I do not disagree that the status quo, as we find it in our nation, is disappointing. Increasingly Christian values are being eroded, and Christian beliefs are being marginalized and even ridiculed. We ought to be concerned about the present state of the world, and we should be moved to do something about it, something that will call us to be radical and even extreme. Many Christians feel the same, and, thus, we see calls to do something about it. In the minds of some who name themselves as Christians, this might call for extreme measures that could call for the elimination of those who advocate for non-Christian values and beliefs. The thought is that if we are not radical (even to the point of violence), nothing will change.
But is this what it means to be a radical Christian? Perhaps we can be informed by the actions of the early church in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The status quo was not desirable for many followers of Jesus Christ, for it was legal and even acceptable to persecute Christians, taking from them their freedoms, their jobs, their land and even their lives. How did the church respond? In many parts the church responded with radical behaviour, so radical that it shocked the Roman world and caused some who were opposed to Christianity to become followers of Jesus Christ. But what did the church do? It did two things: it continued to preach the gospel, calling people to faith in Jesus Christ, a radical and dangerous undertaking. And, to support the message of God’s grace to the world, Christians, in a very radical way, showed great love to those who had been placed on the margins of the Roman world. In particular, Christians were known to minister to those who had been quarantined because of skin disease (leprosy, often), putting themselves in danger of contracting the same diseases. Christians loved those around them, especially caring for the poor and marginalized. This was the radical response to the status quo, and it made a difference.
Christian radicalism (or Christian extremism) should be very different from the radicalism we see in other places. Christians do not fight for themselves and their own rights as most radicals are wont to do. Rather, we see that God’s calling is to portray the love and grace of God in the lives of others, and the most obvious way to do that is to love those who no one else loves. After all, God has done that for us, unlovable sinners that we are. Evan, my fellow student, was right: we do need to be radical. But we need to be sure that our radicalism is rooted in grace and love, just as Jesus’ extremist actions were for us.