Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
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
America and Religious Pluralism The United States of America prides itself on being a religiously pluralistic society, both culturally and politically. Unlike many societies, there is no established state religion, and the U.S. Constitution legally guarantees people freedom of religion. This is supposed to guarantee a culture of religious pluralism, in which people adhering to … Read more
The Political Nature of the Christian Gospel According to the modern idea of the distinction between religion and politics, religion and politics are two separate realms or spheres of human life. Religion is personal, interior, and otherworldly, while politics is public, corporate, and this-worldly. These two realms may have some kind of mutual influence or … Read more
Contemporary Ethical Discourse Ethical discourse in our society is at a point of crisis. Gone are the days when, for example, Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass engaged in a reasoned political debate for a full seven hours, and crowds stayed and listened for the whole time.[1]See Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age … Read more