James Davison Hunter's new book, To Change the World, sparked a lively debate among Hunter, Andy Crouch, and our own Chuck Colson about the role of Christianity in culture. Click here, here, and here to read it.
Comments:
Culture Change - Silverware Divider box versus the
I quickly read through the attached links...all very interesting...Probably (in practice) not a huge difference between the devout Christians mildly discussing their differences... all will apparently brighten the corner they are in...probably all (in these larger forums...) will brighten some blocks, some far cities also...
My view is that we act like we're the Silverware divider box....we divide off "politics" from "spirituality" from "home and local comunity"...And we subdivide off local politics from state and federal politics...not to mention world politics.
Usually life slops together some of these categories (and/or our own actions/choices get jumbled up into all sorts of categories (the garbage pizza).
Thus, a person might lobby both local and national governmental officials for better laws (re prison conditions or human trafficking), may also adopt and raise a foster child (whose father might be in jail and whose mother might be a slave on the streets)...That same adopted child might bring home a young friend who has permission from the dad to attend the family church. The young cadopted son might pray over a meal (as part of his normal routine...showing absolutely no embarrassment--he's a well-liked cool kid) and thus imfluence his young guest to ask the church teacher about how he can know Jesus.
The young son's older college sister might give a well-researched and impassioned speach for college speech class on "World Human Trafficking". She also startles the TEACHER by mentioning some research which says - that some of the young women at strip clubs could also be slaves. (Thus planting the idea in the many young males in class-that they might be advancing slavery by attending a strip club.)
The above is mostly what happened in our family recently...
But my other comment is - We neglect influencing the cultural elites and the top gov. officials... at our PERIL. Recent history (Naziism, Communism) should scare us enough to keep going here...
Posted By: v lee knutsen on June 04, 2010 1:40 PM
Kingdom of GOd/ Kingdom of this world
I don’t remember how I came across Chuck’s article, but was fascinated that my progression in thinking sort of matched his. I had become a fan of Schaeffer and then came to see culture and Christianity through a Reformed viewpoint. Recently, however, my viewpoint has been tested. In contemplating Scripture, I saw it was challenging the views I had been holding. Jesus and the writers of the epistles never seemed to be giving a judgment on the political establishment of their time (Rome). Their call to the Christian was and I believe continues to be submission to government, not trying to bring change through government but through people. My current dilemma is that in my local church, in which I am part of the leadership, there are groups who have strong feelings on both sides of what seems to be the current Evangelical debate. That is; is (or should) the USA be a Christian nation, opposed to those who feel the USA will always be the kingdom of this world, who see the Kingdom of God as a country alien to this world, needing Christians to bring “power under” , as Boyd calls it as opposed to “power over”. My hope is that somehow the Christians will see in my church that you can disagree on these matters but still love and minister together.
Posted By: jerryh on June 03, 2010 10:17 AM
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Comments:
all will apparently brighten the corner they are in...probably all (in these larger forums...) will brighten some blocks, some far cities also...
My view is that we act like we're the Silverware divider box....we divide off "politics" from "spirituality" from "home and local comunity"...And we subdivide off local politics from state and federal politics...not to mention world politics.
Usually life slops together some of these categories (and/or our own actions/choices get jumbled up into all sorts of categories (the garbage pizza).
Thus, a person might lobby both local and national governmental officials for better laws (re prison conditions or human trafficking), may also adopt and raise a foster child (whose father might be in jail and whose mother might be a slave on the streets)...That same adopted child might bring home a young friend who has permission from the dad to attend the family church. The young cadopted son might pray over a meal (as part of his normal routine...showing absolutely no embarrassment--he's a well-liked cool kid) and thus imfluence his young guest to ask the church teacher about how he can know Jesus.
The young son's older college sister might give a well-researched and impassioned speach for college speech class on "World Human Trafficking". She also startles the TEACHER by mentioning some research which says - that some of the young women at strip clubs could also be slaves. (Thus planting the idea in the many young males in class-that they might be advancing slavery by attending a strip club.)
The above is mostly what happened in our family recently...
But my other comment is - We neglect influencing the cultural elites and the top gov. officials... at our PERIL. Recent history (Naziism, Communism) should scare us enough to keep going here...
My current dilemma is that in my local church, in which I am part of the leadership, there are groups who have strong feelings on both sides of what seems to be the current Evangelical debate. That is; is (or should) the USA be a Christian nation, opposed to those who feel the USA will always be the kingdom of this world, who see the Kingdom of God as a country alien to this world, needing Christians to bring “power under” , as Boyd calls it as opposed to “power over”. My hope is that somehow the Christians will see in my church that you can disagree on these matters but still love and minister together.