Is God a Christian?

In this pre-Pentecost sermon, Clay Nelson explores Jesus' "High Priestly Prayer" as being in truth a prayer by the early church at a when unity was a matter of survival. But use of the prayer today by the church is not about unity but conformity. Such an institution is harmful to our individuality which is ultimately damaging to the institution. The issue becomes evaluating when an institution or community nurtures our individuality or seeks to coerce it conform to community standard. "Two millennia later it is still an issue--this passage is frequently used to call for Christian unity--a goal that has always been and will be an impossible dream. Thank God, if unity means conformity. When Christianity became the official religion of Rome, the church lost its quality of being subversive. It was now part of the system its own structure came to resemble—the emperor’s court. It learned quickly that power is required to bring conformity, for such unity is required to maintain power. Conformity is at the heart of the church’s needs for creeds and dogma. It quickly began setting rules for who could be baptised, who could receive communion, who could get married, who could get ordained, and who could rule with its blessing." Full text at http://www.stmatthews.org.nz/nav.php?sid=327&id=728