America Does Not Look Like Jesus’ Kingdom

🇺🇸 America Does Not Look Like Jesus’ Kingdom

A Theological-Economic White Paper

By Daniel J Henry

Executive Summary

The United States of America presents itself as a “nation under God,” yet when measured against the values of Jesus’ kingdom as described in scripture, stark divergences emerge. Jesus proclaimed a kingdom rooted in debt forgiveness, care for the poor, communal wealth-sharing, peace over violence, and liberation from oppression. America, however, is built on systems of debt, concentrated wealth, militarism, and exclusion. This paper examines the theological-economic disconnect between the vision of Jesus’ kingdom and the reality of American society, highlighting implications for faith, justice, and public life.

1. The Kingdom of Jesus: A Theological Framework

Key elements of Jesus’ kingdom vision include:

• Debt Forgiveness: “Forgive us our debts” — Jubilee as economic reset.

• Care for the Poor: “Blessed are the poor” — priority to the marginalized.

• Nonviolence: “Love your enemies” — peace as a radical ethic.

• Communal Sharing: Acts 2 describes believers holding possessions in common.

• Justice & Inclusion: Jesus consistently included outcasts (tax collectors, women, foreigners).

2. The Economic Reality of America

• Debt Economy: Trillions in student loans, medical debt, and credit card debt contradict Jesus’ Jubilee ethic.

• Wealth Concentration: Top 1% hold more wealth than the bottom 90%. This mirrors the very hoarding Jesus condemned.

• Healthcare Inequity: Access to healing is commodified, while Jesus healed freely.

• Profit over People: Corporations profit from prisons, war, and environmental destruction.

3. The Political-Military Reality of America

• Global Militarism: Jesus rejected the sword; America invests more in military than the next 10 nations combined.

• Empire Logic: Rome was the empire of Jesus’ day; America functions as a modern empire with bases worldwide.

• Violence as Policy: From mass incarceration to foreign wars, systemic violence defines America’s “peace.”

4. The Social Reality of America

• Exclusion: Migrants, racial minorities, and the poor are marginalized in direct contradiction to Jesus’ radical inclusivity.

• Consumerism: Identity is often defined by consumption rather than community.

• Individualism: America glorifies self-made wealth, while Jesus taught interdependence and shared burdens.

  
  

5. Theological-Economic Implications

• Idolatry of Wealth: America reveres free markets more than biblical justice.

• False Peace: Military dominance substitutes for the peace of reconciliation.

• Distorted Freedom: American freedom prioritizes individual choice, while Jesus’ freedom was liberation from sin, debt, and exploitation.

• Church Complicity: Many churches adopt nationalist or capitalist ideologies rather than embodying kingdom economics.

6. Toward a Kingdom Contrast Model

A nation resembling Jesus’ kingdom would emphasize:

• Debt cancellation and fair economic systems.

• Universal healthcare and food access.

• Nonviolent foreign policy.

• Redistribution of wealth and land.

• Radical inclusion of the marginalized.

Conclusion

America is not the kingdom of Jesus. It is closer to the empire Jesus resisted: Rome — powerful, wealthy, and violent. To confess Jesus as Lord means acknowledging that the United States, as it currently exists, does not reflect his kingdom. Instead, Christians are called to embody kingdom practices within and against empire: forgiving debts, feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, and rejecting violence as the path to peace.

Author

Daniel J Henry

Theological Economist & Writer

Exploring the intersection of faith, economics, and human ecosystems.