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We should resist the urge to be chronological snobs. Many Christians (this one included) can be cited for this. We fall into the trap of thinking that the swift pace of technological change makes us unique in all of church and human history and disqualifies the great lives and minds of the past from teaching us anything important now. Well, that’s rubbish. In a multitude of counselors, there is safety (Prov. 11:14). And, Christians have been navigating the tensions of citizenship long before George Washington didn’t chop down a cherry tree. So, let’s look back to some helpful examples of citizenship in the Christian past.
Further, American Christians often focus on just American or British examples of citizenship because, well, we are American citizens and draw from a shared history with Great Britain. But Christianity is an historic and global faith, and we should also learn from the followers of Jesus before our times and outside our borders. For those reasons, here are some key lessons about Christian citizenship from the following:
- The early church in Rome
- Augustine of Hippo
- Frumentius