The Christian and Social Issues

As weary as we Christians might become about social issues, there is no getting away from them. Partly, because world-affairs encroach upon us. It will never be possible for Christians to build a place where we will be isolated from the rest of society. Even the Amish are affected by national and world events. The Christians of the U.S. ended up being strongly impacted by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo, in 1914.

We also can never completely avoid social issues, because the Bible drags us, as it were, into such issues. Why is this second point so?

The Bible pulls us into issues because of the many social topics to which the Bible speaks, whether directly or indirectly. For example, the Bible talks about the nature and purpose of humanity, the nature and purpose of the family, and the church, and the government. It declares moral laws that pertain to all human beings, not just believers. It talks about religious responsibilities and freedoms, sanctity of human life, property rights, slander and libel, capital punishment, self-defense, courts and judges, the nature and sanctity of marriage, treaties and covenants, war, and taxation.

Worldly laws, and the philosophical theories underneath them, also speak to these matters. The Scripture does not limit itself to salvation, heaven, and the heart. So, as a result, the Bible student ends up forming opinions, a complete view of the world, about law, justice, and government.

This isn't a new challenge.  Bible characters of ancient days often had to grapple with the social and political pressures of their times. David had to decide if it was all right to assassinate the king (it was not, and David made the right choice). Daniel and his friends faced intense pressure to conform to royal Babylonian law. The furnace was where personal faith and public law collided (Daniel 2).

Jeremiah was persecuted for being allegedly unpatriotic. Isaiah and Nehemiah both worked for their respective governments, and righteous Nehemiah wielded considerable power as a duly-appointed governor of a pagan empire. Amos prophetically condemned local Gentile nations for war-crimes.

Jesus forbade his disciples from using force to defend Him from government agents. Paul invoked his Roman citizenship to stop the Roman police-force from flogging him. Even the saying, "Jesus is Lord" was politically subversive in the Roman Empire. The government constantly pokes its head into believers' lives throughout the Bible.

Jesus claims Lordship over every inch of secular ground. He claims authority over the butcher's thumb pressing down on the scale at the local meat-market, and over the prime minister's finger hovering over the red button that will unleash firepower on an enemy. So, since we serve that Lord, we Christians can never get entirely away from social, economic, and legal issues.  However -- Christian thinking about social, economic, and legal issues is also hard to do well.  

For example:

Christians who speak out about issues often have little or no practical experience in it. We criticize governors, but few of us have held elective office. We sometimes talk confidently about medical matters, but not many of us are doctors, biologists or chemists.  Because of this, apart from blatant violations of God's moral commandments, I feel I should be more cautious in my criticisms of people doing professions about which I know little.

Christian critics often have limited knowledge of the Bible we are quoting! We sometimes quote verses out of context, or apply Bible promises and commandments to secular government which were only meant for Israel.  We should be more careful how we apply the Bible on secular matters. This is especially true when we quote from Moses' law.

Christians also vary in our skill at thinking. Clear thinking is a skill, and some of us do it better than others. Some Christians might be "laymen" on a secular subject, but you can tell they do a good job at reading and thinking clearly. They research a topic very well, and as a result come up with better and better analyses. Other Christians, on the other hand, are sloppy researchers, and can be muddled in their logic. 

Christians can also be biased by experience, as much as anyone else.  Irish Christians might think through many issues well, then lose some objectivity when it comes to Irish Home Rule. Black pastors might preach forcefully for the Biblical family, but surprise us Caucasian Christians with their views on economics. Some Southern preachers of the past were stellar talents in Gospel skill and missionary work, but also had huge blind spots on race. Some Christians have doctrinal biases that cause them to almost ignore the Old Testament, while others talk as if all of Moses' Law is timeless.

We find ourselves living in the world, but we're not of it. May God help us know how the Word actually does speak to social, legal, and moral issues in each society, without simply adopting whatever the Left or the Right or Tradition has to say, and without letting social issues overshadow the Gospel.