Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
Jed 
For most American Christians today, the idea that the church and those in positions of church leadership have real authority over the lives of individual Christians has to a large extent been forgotten. If, as many Christians think, Christianity is about having a personal, individual relationship with Jesus, then the idea of the church having … Read more
One of the major principles of Protestantism is sola scriptura, that is, “Scripture alone.”[1]The other two Protestant solas are sola fide (“faith alone”) and sola gratia (“grace alone”). Many Protestants take this to mean that we can safely ignore and discard all church tradition. After all, if Scripture “alone” is our theological authority, then doesn’t … Read more
It is common for post-Enlightenment modern Westerners to portray reason and tradition as two opposing forces, with the essence of reason being a repudiation of tradition in favor of thinking for oneself. If someone believes something on the basis of the teaching of tradition, then, they are being unreasonable. But is this really the correct … Read more
A Christian Nation? As American Christians consider the relationship of Christianity to American politics, one popular approach has been to identify the United States of America as a “Christian nation.” According to this idea, America is founded on Christian principles, has a Christian heritage, and should continue to have Christianity be dominant in shaping its … Read more
Most American Christians find their political and national identity in the nation of the United States of America. They then find their religious identity in being a Christian. From this perspective, the Christian Church is a religious institution or community. It is there to help facilitate people’s religious or spiritual experiences and to provide for … Read more
The New Testament and Politics When discussing a Biblical view of the state, it is very common for people to turn immediately to Romans 13:1-7 (“Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. . .”), as if this provides the basic and central summary of a New Testament view of politics. However, this is a mistake. … Read more
During this period of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have enforced orders of “social distancing,” requiring people to stay home and only to interact with others if absolutely necessary, in order to help prevent the spread of the virus. As a result, many businesses and organizations have been required to close, or at least to stop … Read more
Should Christians Protest? Many Christians simply assume that it is obvious that Christians should engage in political protests or even civil disobedience if they disagree with the government’s actions. However, this is by no means self-evident. After all, we cannot judge those outside the church (I Cor 5:12), nor can we reasonably expect people who … Read more
In the first part of this series, I described and assessed four different models for how the church should relate to the political powers of this world: Christendom, Pietism, Dual Citizenship, and Natural Law. In this second part, I advocate an alternative model that bears some similarities to the Pietism and Natural Law models, while … Read more
For nearly 2,000 years, the church has wrestled with the question of how it should relate to the political powers of this world. This is an enormously complex and difficult issue, and Christians have given a wide variety of answers to this question through the centuries. At the risk of oversimplification, I propose that Christian … Read more