A large industrial company pollutes the environment and puts the health of the community at risk. The common laborer in the company might blame the management – they gave the orders. The head of the company might blame the board – they pressured him to act. The board might blame the chairmen – he only had his eye on the balance sheet. The chairmen of the board might blame the stockholders – they demand higher stock prices. Yet the average stockholder is invested in mutual funds, so they have no idea which specific stocks they own, much less that they’ve invested in a company which pollutes the environment. Every person from top to bottom could experience personal salvation and the problem would continue. The gospel of personal transformation does not have the power to change societies. It changes people for sure, and sometimes the contexts they live in, but cultures and societies as a whole need to encounter the good news as well. How can the gospel be good news in a situation like corporate pollution?
First, we must realize there is such a thing as corporate or social sin. This refers to sin which is not traceable to one single person, but which is rooted in our systems. Then, we must begin to respond to corporate or social sin just as we do personal sin – with the gospel. If there is such a thing as corporate sin, and I believe there is, then Jesus died for that sin as well. The gospel most certainly addresses our broken social and societal structures. The gospel is both personal and social. In fact the nexus of the personal and social is where the power to change societies and cultures lies. The gospel is the game changer – not political wrangling, not mere personal transformation.
The question is – practically speaking – how does this work out? Ideas?
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