We must find a new identity marker for who we are. “Christian” does not get it done any longer for the word “Christian” has come to encompass everyone from “control freak” Marxists, to “heart strangely warmed” Pietists, to schizophrenic R2K, to “rapture date setting” Dispensationalists, to “God is sovereign enough to not be sovereign” Arminians, to other assorted kooks, oddballs, and curios.
“Conservative” does not get it done as identity marker. We are so far down the liberal rabbit hole that I have no interest in conserving even the conservatism of three generations ago. Besides, “Conservative” today can mean anything from “Big Government Conservative,” to “Neoconservative” — neither of which is conservative by any objective standard. Today “Conservative” is seen as the foundation for Flag waving, military supporting, Empire lusting, Alien adopting, and support of all things Big Brotherish.
No … we need a new identity marker to set ourselves apart from other “Christians,” other “Conservatives” and worst of all, other “Conservative Christians.”
In previous eras other words were used to mark out a distinct people. Words like “Reformer,” and “Protestant.”
I suggest the word “Dissident.” We have come to the point where the most Christian and conservative action possible is to oppose official policy of the authoritarian structures that we engage at every turn. Dissidence towards other “Christians.” Dissidence towards the Statists. Dissidence towards the Patriot crowd. Yes, especially Dissidence towards the Church. We must be Dissidents precisely because we are Loyalists to King Jesus and His authoritative word.
We must be Dissident because, as was said of Athanasius, we are “against the world for the world.”
Dissidentēs contra mundum.
Count me as Dissident.