What One Means By Kingdom

Oftentimes, I find myself a little tired of this or that saying that people have, not because there is anything inherently wrong with the phrase, but because I have begun to suspect people either don't have any idea what they are talking about, or their conception is very radically different from mine. So recently it struck me that the phrase 'building the kingdom of God' falls into this category. I hear this phrase from many places; at least with my friends I have general idea what they mean, but this seems to be a phrase repeated far and wide.

In some ways it seems to be an attempt to move from a passive state, that is 'being', to an active state, for one can say building is certainly 'doing'. But both 'being' and 'doing' belong to a category of abstraction; we don't necessarily acheive anything concrete by moving from one to the other. Progressives, in the political sphere, as I have insinuated, sacrifice the ends (whatever outcomes a policy is supposed to acheive) for the illusion of great change. In a similar manner, assuming one is too vague about one's idea, 'building' can become the same change for change's sake- the rollercoaster ride meant to keep us entertained- definitely a temptation in American consumer driven christianity.


Principium Unitatis has a post onthe Church and the second century Gnostics. The author explains some of the beliefs of the gnostics and then gives one of the ecclesial implications of gnostic belief:

If Christ did not have an actual material body, then the Church per se, i.e. the Body of Christ, cannot be visible. If the gnostics were right, then the Church per se is only spiritual and invisible, and that visible thing that is falsely called the Church is merely an earthly, human-made political body, just as the physical body of Jesus the son of Mary was (according to the gnostics who admitted that there was a human Jesus) *merely* human.

And the crux of the problem:

Marcion can start his own 'church', and make his own canon. If there is no visible Church, then the true knowledge is known 'spiritually', not by means of matter or a physical succession of bishops, not through the visible Church.

It is perhaps, not a perfect analogy, but the phrase 'putting flesh on bone' keeps coming to mind. Jesus said the kingdom of God was among His listeners- 1st century Jews. Surely, given the time, it has had a chance to grow?

Those who 'build' without reference to the pre-existing foundation are the ones I worry about.