I
don't think I'm going to be able to get everything I want to say on this subject out in one post, so I'll probably have to return to it. What is the relationship of the Church to the Powers of the world?
I think there's a natural tension between followers of Christ and temporal powers. I don't think it is outright conflict, in the sense that Christians should desire or work for a world without government or rulers. I actually think that Jesus assumes the existence of worldly powers, both just and unjust. Indeed, it seems to me that a great deal of Jesus's commandments and wisdom relate to how to deal with the powers of the world subversively. That is, how to change the terms of the conversation, such that we act on God's terms, not man's. Thus the command to bless our enemies, to turn the other cheek, to hide our penance, to give more than we are asked for. These are all denials of the values that the temporal powers insist are the only values.
So what happens when Christianity becomes the de facto religion of an entire society? Again, I don't think it is contradictory or impossible to have a Christian government -- but there is a tension here that is difficult to resolve. I'll return to this.