Q. On p. 254 you say you think it is wrong minded for Christians to try and change the law of the land on particular topics they are passionate about. This view I think is problematic. Were that the correct approach John Wesley would have been wrong to urge William Wilberforce to work hard in Parliament to change the law of the land which allowed slavery to be legal. I believe we are to have a prophetic witness to our culture. Where I would draw the line however is when one goes beyond persuasion and fair and open legal practices and tries to impose specifically Christian views on a culture which is not persuaded of such views. A good example of how that can backfire is prohibition in the 1920s. In a democracy the majority should rule on policies and laws. So while I am against imposing Christian principles on the unwilling and unChristian, we do however have an obligation to bear witness to the Biblical truth, and allow people to freely embrace or reject it. Social holiness is just as important as personal spiritual holiness. Have I misread you?
A. Maybe I misspoke (I don’t have the book in front of me), but if I implied that I did not mean too. I agree with you that in a democratic country, we need to do the best that we can to persuade our fellow citizens toward behaviors that we believe allow us to flourish. My point though was as we do that we need to remember that we can still do that even when same sex marriage is permitted by the law and that the law does not require us to sin. I may have expressed myself too strongly because I think a lot of Christian polemic against same-sex marriage has been virulent and strident and has done a lot of harm to the gospel. Sometimes we come across as hypocritical too. Just the other day a minor contender for the Democratic nomination for president (there are so many right now!) wondered about the hypocrisy of our current Vice President who has a very public stand against same-sex relationships (nothing wrong with that) since he has become a “cheerleader for our porn star president” (a lot wrong with that). I think in this area we need to present our views in a way that shows that we care for same-sex attracted people even though we can’t affirm their behavior. A very tough line to walk and I try to make some steps in the book.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In