As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“(1) I start by briefly defining religion, politics, and political theology; (2) then I propose seven views on religion and government; (3) and I conclude with seven reflections.” - Andy Naselli
“In a recent article published by the Washington Institute, professor and lawyer Eric Treene offered a robust alternative way of understanding Christian Nationalism and its significance within American culture.” - Breakpoint
“neutrality between sects is meant to allow all to flourish. This is the important distinction between separationism—which has mistakenly been touted as the best way to advance pluralism—and pluralism itself.” - Law & Liberty
“Though purporting to speak on behalf of religious liberty, in reality Carlson is playing fast and loose with the truth and endangering the lives of Ukrainian believers.” - Providence
Related: Russian Orthodox Church appoints Putin’s spiritual adviser metropolitan of Crimea - RNS
“During a screening of the film, MacArthur told attendees that he wanted to produce something that ‘would show how the Lord blesses those who are faithful for the purpose of the future.’ He also ‘wanted some pastors and leaders to see this and feel guilty.’” - C.Leaders
“The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 to approve the application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Virtual Charter School.” - AP
Read the series.
In the last article, we discussed the most basic principle to rightly understand the “church v. state” conundrum. That principle was this—there are two kingdoms, Babylon and Jerusalem. Babylon will lose. Now we’ll build on this foundation and introduce the next building block:
Principle no. 2: God’s kingdom is distinct from every nation state.
This essay aims to help ordinary Christians rightly consider the relationship between the church and the state. This is important because Christians receive many contradictory messages about this issue. Some Christian influencers call for believers to “take America back for God.” Others just want good, old-fashioned Christian values to influence society and feel marginalized because Mayberry is gone and isn’t coming back. Still others just want nothing to do with politics—perhaps to the extent that their churches neglect to speak truth to a decadent culture.
Much of the issue targets Christian authoritarianism, theonomy, and Christian nationalism - 9 Marks
Discussion