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• Comparing
the
2004
party
platforms
with
the
official
positions
of
the
United
Methodist
Church In a
sense, that's true. You can't make
people good through legislation. The
law (whether biblical or civil) cannot,
by itself, transform human
behavior. But,
in another sense, we can -- and should
-- legislate morality. In fact,
legislating morality is the essence of
law and public policy. Through its
laws, a society holds forth a standard
that proclaims that some things are
acceptable and others are
not. Our
founders wisely established a
governmental system that protects
individual personal beliefs with
constitutional guarantees of freedom of
speech, assembly, and
religion. Thus,
in the area of personal ethics, people
are free to think and believe anything
they want. Moreover, they are free to
practice a high degree of ethical
pluralism in their personal life. To
use a common phrase, they are free "to
do their own thing." To
use an oft-repeated phrase, "a person's
right to freely swing his or her arms,
stops at the end of your nose." When
one person's actions begin to affect
another person, we have moved from
personal ethics to social ethics. This
is why government must place some
limits on human behavior. The
apostle Paul touches on this issue in
Romans 13. He notes that government is
"to bear the sword," meaning that civil
government must legislate some minimum
level of morality when there is a
threat to life, liberty, or
property. Thus,
the law says that an arsonist is not
free "to do his own thing," nor is a
rapist or a murderer. Government has
responsibility to step in to protect
the rights (and well being) of its
citizens. As
Christians, we have certain moral and
ethical views rooted in Scripture, but
how do we apply those views in morally
pluralistic society such as
ours? Let
me suggest three guidelines. First,
we
must interpret Scripture
properly. In
areas where the Bible clearly
speaks, we should exercise our
prophetic voice as we seek to
be salt and light (Matt.
5:13-16) by proclaiming truth
and pointing out
error. Second,
we must acknowledge that the
Bible does not speak directly
to every political
issue.
Therefore, we must be careful
in applying biblical
principles to contemporary
problems. We
must also recognize that not
everyone in the Body of Christ
is going to agree how certain
principles apply. We may agree
about a goal, for example, but
disagree about the best
programs or policies for
achieving that goal.
Therefore, in non-moral areas
a spirit of freedom may be
necessary. Third,
Christians should articulate
the moral teachings of
Scripture in ways that are
meaningful in a pluralistic
society. We
certainly don't need to
abandon biblical concepts of
right and wrong, but we should
realize that in a secular
culture, scientific, social,
economic, and legal
considerations also can be
useful in arguing for biblical
principles. For
example, Christians can argue
in a public arena against
abortion-on-demand on the
basis of scientific and legal
evidence. Medical advances in
embryology and fetology show
that human life exists in the
womb. Additionally,
a legal analysis of the
Supreme Court's Roe v.
Wade decision shows the
justices violated a standard
principle of jurisprudence:
the burden of proof should be
placed on the life-taker and
the benefit of the doubt given
to the life-saver. Since the
Court never determined when
life begins, it erroneously
ruled that states could not
prohibit first trimester
abortions. Likewise,
Christians can make a case
against homosexual behavior on
the basis of the dangers of
sexual promiscuity.
Epidemiological and
sociological data can provide
a convincing case for public
health measures that will
prevent the spread of AIDS,
for example. In
summary, Christians should develop
effective ways to communicate biblical
morality to our secular culture. Law
and public policy should be based upon
biblical principles, resulting from an
accurate interpretation of Scripture
and a careful application to
society. To
help us keep politics in perspective,
Christians need to keep in mind that
the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not a
temporary, issue-oriented crusade. We
have an continuing responsibility to
build positive alternatives to existing
evil. To live out our faith means we
must develop a comprehensive,
Christ-centered program of social
involvement. Third,
Christians should focus attention not
only on individual change, but also on
societal change. Changing lives is
fundamental, but not completely
sufficient, to change society. Revival
must lead to reformation. Christians
should not be content merely with
Christians thinking biblically about
the issues of life. They must also be
acting biblically and building
institutions with a Christian
framework. Finally,
the major focus of social involvement
should be through the local church.
Social action in the church is best
called social service, since it
attempts to move from the theoretical
area of social ethics to the practical
level of serving others in
need. The
local church is the best place to begin
to meet many social needs of a society.
In the New Testament, the local church
was the training ground for social
involvement and provided a context by
which the needy were shown
compassion. Christians,
therefore, should begin their outreach
to society from the church and work
together to be the salt of the earth
and the light of the world. ©
Probe Ministries. Used by
permission. Kerby
Anderson is national director of
Probe
Ministries,
a nonprofit organization whose
mission is to reclaim the primacy of
Christian thought and values in
Western culture.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
Sundays
at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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of the
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Our quarterly e-magazine
Gateway
Today
For the Gateway family
Pastor
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E-Mail
RELIGION
AND POLITICS
From
Gateway
Today
The
e-magazine of
Gateway Church
FALL
2004
Promoting
Christian values
in a morally pluralistic
society
by
Kerby
Anderson
Probe Ministries
I'm
sure you've heard the phrase, "You
can't legislate morality."
RELATED ARTICLE
But
that doesn't imply total ethical
anarchy. Not everyone can "do his own
thing" in every arena of life, so
government must set some limits to
human behavior.
Promoting
virtue
Biblical
perspective
We
must also remember that our social and
political involvement must be
realistic. We should not fall prey to
utopian political philosophies, but
squarely face the sinful nature of man
and the important place government has
in God's creation. (Often, Christians
are guilty of neglecting our role in
society because of a general cynicism
about the role of
government.)