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modernREFORMATION © is a production of CURE Publications Ltd.

Editor-in-chief Michael S. Horton Executive Vice President Kim Riddlebarger Managing Editor Shane Rosenthal Assistant Managing Editors Paul Gelormino Doug Hoisington Production Supervisor Alan Maben Staff Writers Richard Gilbert Michael S. Horton Alan Maben Kim Riddlebarger Rick Ritchie Dr. Rod Rosenbladt Special Assistants Lori Ann Bach Jo Horton Alicia Silva Heidi Spitler CURE Board of Directors Douglas Abendroth Howard F. Alunanson Cheryl Biehl Robert den Dulk Dr. W. Robert Godfrey Richard Hermes Michael S. Horton

modernREFORMATION

JULY/AUGUST 1992

How Pro-Life Are You?

ARTICLES

Just How Pro-Life Are You Really?

1

by Michael S. Horton

3

Legislating Morality

by Dr. John W. Montgomery

The Rich & the Poor in Paul's Theology

7

by MarkR. Gornik

Augustine &Jerome

11

by Michael S. Horton

ATransforming Vision of Life

14

by Dr. Stephan Monsma

A ~PECIAL INTERVIEW with Randall Terry

17

Thinking Like Christians in aT.V. Culture

19

by Rick Ritchie Executive Leadership Team President, c.E.O. Michael S. Horton Executive Vice President Kim Riddlebarger Vice President of Communications Alan Maben Vice President of Development Dan Bach Vice President of Media & Production Shane Rosenthal Treasurer Micki Riddlebarger . Secretary Jo Horton CURE is a non-profit educational foundation committed to communicating the insights of the 16th century Reforma­ tion to the 20th century Church. For more information, call during business hours at: (714) 956-CURE, or write us at: Christians United for Reformation 2034 E. Lincoln Ave. #209 Anaheim CA 92806

When Grace Conquers Race

23

by Michael S. Horton

DEPARTMENTS

Interview We Confess Book Review

5

6 25

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11'lodernREFORMATION

Just HoW" Pro-Life Are You Really?

MICflAEL S. HORTON

•

CURE PRESIDENT

Readers familiar with CURE know that we are a group committed to recovering the essence of the Christian message. That means that what you see and hear from us will usually be in the form of doctrinal discussions, issues, and debates written with the thinking .layperson in mind.

Nevertheless, there are some practical issues that walk that razor's edge between faith and practice, to the point where it is difficult to tell whether one who engages in a certain practice is ac­ tually denying a certain essential doctrine by doing so. If, for instance, one were to cast one's gaze on an attractive body at the beach for more than passing appreciation (it's not difficult to figure out in which part of the country I live), that would be a sin (lust, since many of us have forgotten), but it would not involve a matter of doctrine. I can and, in fact, do engage in sins thatdo not affect my faith in God, in Christ, or my convictions about the way in which I am saved. While sin toler­ ated can often undermine confidence in any doctrine that fails to flatter our own indulgences, most of our daily failures to conform to God's revealed will are of a practical rather than doctrinal sort.

But, as I say, there are exceptions.

Abortion is one such exception. In order to engage in this serious sin, a Christian must actually deny a cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith. He or she must deny that God is the Sovereign author of life who alone has the power and right to give and take away human breath and we also deny the creature we destroy his or her dignity as an image-bearer of God himself. In Chris­ tian belief, the significance of human be­ ings over all other species of animal life resides in the image of God (imago Dei) stamped on each person, as an artist signs his masterpieces. Although God created all things, only humans bear his likeness, and they bear it from conception. As Calvin put it, "Though the primary seat of

the divine image was in the mind and the heart, or in the soul and its powers, there was no part even ofthe body in which some rays of glory did not shine" (Inst. 1:15:3).

Bavinck, the great Reformed dogmatist, argued that "as long as Man remains Man, he bears the image of God," however tar­ nished and effaced.

If this doctrine is lacking in the church, surely it will be lacking in society. Before

the late Francis Schaeffer, a Reformation thinker, reminded the evangelical and fun­ damentalist world of this biblical doctrine, there was virtually no response from the evangelical church to the atrocity of abor­ tion. Roman Catholics, of course, had a theological impetus behind their opposi­ tion, but it was obscured by their inclusion of birth control as well as abortion.

And now, thanks to the efforts of the Schaeffers and their many co-laborers, a wide cross-section of the evangelical movement supports the protection of hu­ man life in its most vulnerable phase.

Clearly, humanity is determined by the imago Dei, not by concepts such as "viabil­ ity." Nevertheless, because we evangeli­ cals over the last two centuries have been given to feverish activity without much theological reflection ("Don't bother with all that' head stuff' -let's just get out there

and get it done!"), we are single-issue people. We can only handle one issue at a time. As important as the abortion debate is, the anger that people SUCh as Francis Schaeffer felt in ·response to it was moti­ vated by ·a theological conviction-the same · well-spring that produced anger at the pollution of the environment (cf. his freshly released Pollution & The Death of Man), outrage at the racism rampant in evangelical circles (cf. Two Contents, Two Realities), and frustration over the injus­ tices of the powerful over the weak.

The abortion debate has been led, like the abolitionist and civil rights movements, as a protest against the oppression of the weak by the strong, picking up on the rich biblical language. "Blessed is he who has regard for the weak" (ps. 41: 1); God "will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight" (ps. 72: 12). And yet, while many evangelicals oppose abortion, there is a curious silence on nearly every other issue where the pro-life ethic, commanded by Scripture, is at risk. One cursory glance at a concor­ dance will reveal how concerned God is about the treatment of the homeless, the poor, the weak, the minorities ("aliens and strangers"), and others too often marginalized.

Words like "oppress," and pejo­ rative barbs from God about "you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, 'Bring us some drinks! '" (Am. 4:1). "'I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed and the mansions will be demolished,' declares the Lord" (Am. 3:15). The people of God are entrusted with a special obligation to social justice: "Defend the cause of the wea..1c and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy" (ps. 82:3-4). God hates op­ pression with the same intensity with which he hates abortion, but are we as consistent in our righteous indignation?

Like abortion, apartheid is a theologi­ cal as well as ethical question. To deny life and justice to the unborn or to the unwhite is not only a serious sin (such as selfishness or racism), but a deliberate system, com-

Continued on next page JULY/AUGUST 1992

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Continuedfromprevious page

the racist government of P.W. Botha. In the meantime, Jessie Jackson expressed plete with biblical proof-texts twisted be­ outrage at Democratic presidential nomi­ yond recognition. While those committed nee Bill Clinton's criticisms of a rap song to being faithful to the Christian creeds and encouraging black violence against whites.

Reformation confesSions declared apart­ When will "reverends" transcend pagan heidin South Africa a heresy, evangelicals party lines? here at home have shown more ambiva­ Think ofother issues involving the doc­ lence. While Jerry Falwell and other leaders trine of the image of God. It is the moti­ of the Christian Right courageously de­ vation behind our concern for the victim of fended the human rights of the unborn, a savage murder; our horror at seeing chil­ Falwell returned from his trip to South dren searching for food in garbage bins Africa declaring that Archbishop Desmond behind a restaurant while their mothers Tutu, whose pleas for a peaceful transition hold up signs that read, "Will Work for from apartheid to democracy have kept Food and Diapers." It is that conviction South Africa from bloodshed thus far, was that breaks our heart when we see a prosti­ "a phony" and urged Christians to support tute selling her body to keep alive, while rr======================================;1 others (including those who participate in the same industry through pornography and other forms of sexual enter­ tainment) pour shame and contempt on them.

It is that conviction, that religious belief, that binds us to our neigh­ bors and to their iilter­ ests, regardless of whether they are be­ lievers or share our same values or our eth­ nic, cultural, or linguis­ tic heritage. Not long ago, a friend and I went through the drive­ through window at a fast food spot. The fact that the server -had a thick foreign accent, characteristic of fast­ food franchises in Southern California, and ~tmyfriendnever shied away from mak­ ing his racism a matter of public record, made me cringe as I prepared for the inevitable. Sure enough, this friend made some typically racist remark. The sad thing is, he's a pastor.

The odd thing is, he's a rabid opponent of abortion. But is he consistently pro-life?

Evangelicals raise no qualms when the United States commits Infonnation on this chart taken from The People's Relion millions to Israel or

by George Gallup and Jim Castelli; Macmillan 1989 spends millions on a

=Top 10

·Social Concerns

Among White

Evangelicals

1.

Anti-communist

80%

2. Anti-abortion

3.

Peace 4.

NRA

400/0

5.

Environmentalism 390/0 6.

Pro-Israel 7. Civil Rights 8. Business

9.

Union

10. 'Women's Rights

2 •

JULY/AUGUST 1992

210/0 20%

military campaign to free a tiny; but wealthy, oil state with no regard for de­ mocracy, but when it comes to talking about the emergency in Somalia, Mrica, with hundreds dying every day from star­ vation, the sentiment seems to be, "We have our own problems here at home."

Evangelicals rightly protest the murder of the unborn and decry the silence of those who refuse to defend those who have no voice to defend themselves. Nevertheless, that same silence hovers secretly over the same impassioned group when children die senselessly after they're born. Shouldn't there be an outrage of equal proportions?

Isn't life life? Or are we just caught up in the glitz and glamour of political debates?

Are we really pro-life?

Until Christians put their theology fIrst, their activism will be little more rationally motivated than that of Hare Krishnas pass­ ing out flowers in airports. We will be moved along, one issue at a time, by char­ ismatic and energetic leaders and our inter­ nal contradictions (such as calling our­ selves "pro-life" when in truth we rarely speak up for the poor and oppressed after they're born) will not win for evangelical­ ism respect in the eyes of the world for having the courage ofits convictions. What convictions? Activism, agendas, and practical involvement are not convictions.

Indeed, these things mean nothing without convictions and convictions come from deeply held beliefs about God and our­ selves. And folks, that's theology.

Michael Horton is the president of CURE and the author of Putting Amazing Back IntoGrace (Thomas Nelson), Made In America (Baker), and the editor of The Agony o/Deceit (Moody) and Power Religion (Moody).

For Further Reading • George Grant, The Disposessed (Cor­ nerstone Books). Getting beyond the "left" and "right" rhetoric, George Grant offers some of the wisest Christian reflection on one ofthe issues that Christians should find most disturbing: homelessness. .

• Max Stackhouse, Creeds, Society, and Human Rights (Eerdmans). For hard, cold facts on the Herculean role Reformation Christianity has played in shaping human rights, look no further.

• For a look at both sides of an important debate, see Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger (IVP) and David Chilton's Rich Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators (Dominion Press).

modernREFORMATION

free decision but as a state obligation, and therefore tum from it.

In The Bible and the Schools, Douglas noted quite properly that "what the Roman Catholics, the Baptists, or the Presbyteri­ ans can command of the public treasury, or in other public support, so in time can the Moslems or the Mormons as they grow politically stronger." A few years ago I gave politically conservative Harold John CURE GUEST WRITER Ockenga some worrisome moments when edly removed forever from alienation. The at his "historic Park Street Church" in answer, however, is hardly a theocracy, for Boston I declared, as a Christian Education the problem of "watching the watchers" is Conference speaker, that I fully agreed that just as real there, and the possibilities of prayer in public schools should be banned. hypocrisy are considerably greater. But It is perfectly obvious that such prayers either open up the how can we deal possibility of with the seculariza­ Mormon or Mos­ tion process in our lem prayers, or existing democratic promote "non­ society, where the sectarian" prayers climate of opinion that are justas bad, becomes distinc­ since they are not tively less Christian Trinitarian as every day passes? prayers in the I suggest three fun­ Name of Jesus damental ground (Col. 3:17). Ifwe rules. want to integrate 1. Itisnosolution historic Christian to institutionalize worship with the Christian values, educational task, even ifour Constitu­ the parochial tion permitted it, school is the rem­ which it does not. edy. We cannot America cannot be expect the state to considered a Chris­ tian land in the sense that a specific corpus do the church's business. Where it at­ of doctrine has been incorporated into its tempts to do so or is made to do so, the result is utter confusion ofLaw and Gospel founding documents: these documents es­ and the mixing of the Two Kingdoms. In tablish a concept offreedom and of inalien­ able rights that is thoroughly biblical, but C.S. Lewis' terms, AsIan (the Christ­ they expressly disavow the establishment symbol) and Tash (the Antichrist) are syncretistically blended into the monster of religion. If, therefore, misguided right­ ist Christians try to argue that nonetheless "Tashlan." Marty is correct that ours is no longer the "placed" Christianity of the founding documents do make Christi­ anity our national faith (on the basis of Constantine or of the medieval "Corpus general references to the "Supreme Being" C hristianum"; we have both the agony and the privilege, like the early Christians, of and eternal principles), they end up pro­ moting, not historic, biblical Christianity functioning in a pluralistic society as at all, but what Robert Bellah calls "civil "strangers and pilgrims on the earth," hav­ religion," a vague national cult virtually ing "here no continuing city, but we seek indistinguishable from Deism-and that one to come."

2. It is no solution to legislate non­ does Christianity more harm than good, for it obscures the uniqueness and finality of revelational mores in the name of revela­ tion, or to legislate even genuinely scrip­ Jesus Christ (In. 14:6; Acts 4:12). More­ over, as such widely diverse writers as tural moral teachings when they do not

Cushing Strout, Martin Marty, and Justice have direct and demonstrable social ne­ William O. Douglas have observed, the cessity. Christians have just as much right

establishment of Christianity in England as non-Christians to speak out and to influ­

ence legislation in our democratic society.

and elsewhere has done Christianity ir­ reparable harm, since people no longer Continued on next page . come to regard Christianity as a matter of

Legislating Morality

Should Christians seek to impose their values in a pluralistic America?

DR. JOHN w. MONTGOMERY

•

The dilemma for today' s American Christian is most acute: he knows that "except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it"-that the very survival of our nation" depends upon its alignment with eternal values-yet he knows equally well that our country stands for freedom in matters of religion as in other matters, so that he cannot impose particular religious beliefs (even though they actually represent divine truth) on his fellow citizens. In the earlier days of our nation's history, this dilemma, though al­ ways present in theory, was not especially troublesome in practice, since the vast majority of people-the "men on the street"-at least gave lip service to the biblical faith. But now religious and philo­ sophical diversity has reached such a point in the United States that attempts to pro­ mote any particular religious position are sure to draw fire from adherents of other views. And the Supreme Court, in its school prayer decisions and other similar judgments, has made plain that it will not tolerate even indirect means of "establish­ ing religion" in subversion of the First Amendment.

This is precisely the agonizing situation that encourages Professor Singer in his Theological Interpretation of American History to argue that in choosing democ­ racy we departed from biblical faith and that the only genuinely scriptural form of government is theocracy! He at least rec­ ognizes a very real problem: in any democratic society, the number of non­ Christians can conceivably come to ex­ ceed the number of Christians, thereby permitting the elimination of biblical stan­ dards and the inevitable collapse of that society. Even the constitutional exclusion of "certain inalienable rights" from demo­ cratic revision does not solve the problem, for-as in the Roe v. Wade abortion deci­ sion' where the court redefined "person" in nonbiblical terms so as to exclude the un­ born child from constitutional protection of his right to life-a non-Christian Su­ preme Court can reinterpret the Constitu­ tion so as to alienate the very rights suppos-

JULY/AUGUST 1992

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Continuedfrom previous page The question is: how far should Christians go in exercising this right? On the negative side, they do neither the society nor the Gospel any service when they endeavor to legislate their own temporal values (such as prohibition, local liquor options, spe­ cific Sunday closing laws, and the like) as if these derived from Scripture. The result can only be a loss of respect pn the non­ Christian's part for the Scripture if he be­ comes convinced that the non-revelational idea really does come from the Bible, or a loss ofrespect for professing Bible-believ­ ers if he discovers it doesn' L And if Chris­ tians employ their majority status to leg­ islate genuine biblical teaching which, however, cannot be demonstrated to the non-Christian to have social necessity (such as anti-profanity ordinances), they will surely drive the unbeliever away from the Cross by giving him the impression that Christianity is a religion not of the Gospel but of tyrannical legalism 'in which Chris­ tians' force their peculiar beliefs on others whenever the political opportunity arises.

As I stress in my book, The Law above the Law, Christians often forget that there is a Last Judgment coming that will right the wrongs that human legislation is incapable ofrectifying. We must not get the idea that every moral truth in Scripture is to be implemented on earth by human sanctions.

Our task in a secular society is not to force the society, come what may, into a frame­ work for God's Kingdom, but rather to bring it as close as we can to divine stan­ dards consistent with effective Gospel preaching to the unbeliever.

3. We should actively strive to legislate all revelational standards whose societal importance can be demonstrated to our fellow citizens, and where we are unsuc­ cessful in legislating them we should do all in our power to create a climate ofopinion in which they will eventually become ac­ ceptable. In many instances not only are the ethical concerns of the day pronounced upon by Scripture, but the validity of the scriptural position on them is independently demonstrable to a non-Christian audience.

Thus, for example, open housing and equal pay for equal work (Acts 17:26; Gal. 3:28), stringent narcotics laws and rigorous en­ forcement of them (I Cor. 6: 19-20), anti­ abortion laws (Ps. 51: 5; Lk. 1: 15,41,44)­ in all these instances a powerful case can be made on scientific, social, and ethical grounds meaningful to the non-Christian, apart from the biblical justification for these same values. Christians have a holy 4 •

JULY/AUGUST 1992

responsibility to serve as salt and light in the world in such instances, andwhere they succeed in bringing about an elevation of societal standards they can point the non­ Christian to the revelational source of their beliefs, thereby creating a powerful impe­ tus for the unbeliever to consider the claims of Christ. Seeing the believer's light so shining, the non-Christian will be impressed by the Christian's good works, and will glorify the Father in heaven (Mt. 5: 13-16).

We must not get the idea that every moral truth in Scripture is to be implemented on earth by human sanctions Tension remains, however, and it can­ not be overcome in a secular society; it is the price of living in a fallen world. On the one hand, we must not permit the non­ Christian to conclude from our political or social actions that Christianity is a religion of legalistic compulsion. Thus, in matters such as divorce legislation, we may well conclude, as I have argued elsewhere, that a parallel no-fault divorce ought to be available to those who want it, since to compel non-Christians to divorce accord­ ing to Christian standards when they have married according to pagan standards is to lay upon them a burden they may not be able to bear: "Moses because of the hard­ ness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so." Yet, on the other hand, short of creating a stumbling block to the non­ Christian that would keep him from the Cross, we need to push pluralistic America toward biblical values until itsays "uncle"­ for only by the maintenance of God's standards can we counteract the "leveling" process which brings us to lowest-com­ mon-denominator secularity and jeopar­ dizes our very survival as a free people.

We must not, for example, conclude that because Christianity cannot bepreached

in the public schools, we can do nothing to prevent the teaching of Deistic civil reli­ gion,evolutionary secularism, Transcen­ dental Meditation, or the latest religio­ cultic fad. The same Constitution that protects obnoxious Mrs. 0 'Hair from hav­ ing Christianity rammed down the throats of her offspring protects the Christian student from metaphysical poison. Chris­ tians should scream bloody murder at school board meetings where their constitutional rights are being trampled and should liti­ gate the issues in the courts when they do not obtain satisfaction. Positively, Chris­ tian teachers in the public schools have every right, as well as a clear moral obli­ gation, to introduce the facts of biblical history and the objective accomplishments of the Christian church into their instruc­ tion, and they should encourage open, free, and non-evangelistic discussion of reli­ gious issues (in which the merits ofChrist's Way will readily surface!) as a necessary part of liberal education. After a careful discussion of the legal and constitutional issues involved, attorney Christopher Hall rightly argues: The manner in which educators evade a discussion of values indicates that there is dangerofoveremphasizing discretion. Given the nation-wide misunderstanding of the nature and extent of the court rulings in this area. it is all too easy for the Christian teacher to utterly fail to share his or her faith because they "do not want to stir up trouble." Put in these words, no Christian anywhere would want to "stir up trouble." Had the early Church thought of it in that way, Peter would not have defied the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:1-20 and 5:27-29) and Paul would not have of- . fended the "devout and honorable women, and the chief men" of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:46-50).

Harold O. J. Brown does not exagger­ ate when he speaks of the "passivity of American Christians" and the gutless manner in which so many professing evan­ gelicals abrogate their responsibilities to their society in the interest of "not of­ fending."

If we have any reason for existence as a nation, it is surely our historic stand for freedom- freedom without which living becomes mere existence-that freedom which is a necessary condition for the meaningful proclamation of the eternal riches of Christ. In Lincoln's most famous evocation of freedom, he did not limit himself to his own country, but declared: "Government of the people, by the people,

mode rnREFORMATION for the people, shall not perish from the dom-Ioving people, no longer are willing earth." And Julia Ward Howe, a year to die for the freedom ofothers, we shall no earlier, made the essential connection be­ longer merit freedom for ourselves. tween God's redemptive work in Christ and the national purpose to which we are (or should be) committed: "As he died to For many years one of America's leading make men holy, let us die to make men apologists, Dr. John W. Montgomery is cur­ free." Christians must not be content with rently professor of Law at Luton University, their own freedom; nor should they be even England. He is the author of numerous books, remotely perceived to be out to undennine including The Law Above The Law,The Suicide the freedoms of their unbelieving neigh­ ofProtestant Theology, Human Rights, and The bors, but must never be satisfied until their Shaping ofAmerica. This article was adapted neighbors enjoy the same peace, safety, from the last volume, with permission from and freedom as they. When we, as free­ Bethanv House.

For Further Reading • For examples of argumentation relative to the abortion issue-which Professor Witherspoon of the University of Texas School of-Law rightly considers the grav­ est moral and constitutional issue of our day-see the Human Life Review, and my contributions to Birth Control and the Christian, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Jurist.

• T.S. Eliot, Idea of a Christian Society (HJB).

• Gary Scott Smith ed.,God & Politics (P&R)

An Interview with Sir Fredrick Catherwood

An outspoken leader in the EuroEean Parliament, Sir Fred is a deeply committed Christian, the son-in-law ofthe late Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, and President of the Evangelical Alliance. He and his wife, the distinguisEed Lady Catherwood, reside in Cambridge, England.

MR: Why is the Reformation faith so important to you in your calling as a political statesman?

Sir Fred: It makes you realize -that the Christian faith is like a great cathedral, where every arch has a part to play and it's all inter-related. It's not just bits and pieces without any rhyme or reason, but an integrated world-view. I think Calvin's Institutes helped me a great deal, as well as reading the Westminster Confession and Catechisms. But what really encouraged me along in this area were the Friday night discussion groups with my father-in-law, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones. I was very "wooly" at the time, and put forth ideas with a certain boldness that he found intriguing. In fact, he later told me that he was so rough with me in those days because I liked to question and he thought I could stand it.

family, the church, and the state. The powers that exist are ordained by God and, therefore, if, as a Christian, you have the opportunity of taking part in governance, that is ordained by God. I think that is very important for Christians to do, since they have the moral law. Therefore, we owe it to our neighbors to base our laws as much as possible on that divine moral law.

So, we argue the case and try to convince our neighbors of the wisdom in going in that direction. This is the civil use of the law. We have seen the results of the secularist "experiment."

It's been one colossal failure. There is a great public debate that has to be engaged in by Christians, who must have a firm basis for understanding public and social issues, which Reformation theology has and Pietism does not. It is a struggle for hearts, souls, and minds.

MR: How would you characterize the Reformation witness in the U .K. right now?

MR: You've been an outspoken critic of nationalism in your own context. As you look across the Atlarttic, do you have similar worries about America?

Sir Fred: It's growing quite strongly, but so are other groups and movements. There is a danger, though, that many of the reformed churches in Britain have not sufficiently resisted: A hardening of the arteries. There are those who have become so hard-line that they are too interested in the architectural detail of that cathedral I was mentioning, instead of realizing the purpose ofthe structure: It's there to house a church, the people ofGod. Although we believe we have the power ofGod behind us when we preach the gospel, we still must go out and actually do that.

Sir Fred: I regret to say that I do. Nobody sees his own nationalism. It's a spirit that you only perceive outside the system. Other people are very conscious of American nationalism. There is this great ball of wax: called "the American way of life." The trouble is, a lot of American Christianity-Fundamentalism, certainly---is wrapped up in this great ball of wax:. American missionaries are now quite clear about this, I think. But I would also like to say that we ought not to run America down. I see it as a friendly, not hostile, critic.

MR: Many evangelicals think that Christianity has very little to do with this world in terms of giving us a way of looking at the arts, politics, science, etc., in a constructive way. How has your faith been challenged in this area by Reformation theology?

MR: Since you are in lay leadership in the church as well as the state, what hopes do you hold for a second Reformation in our time?

Sir Fred: Well, I believe that reformation and revival are the

Sir Fred: Well, first, God created three great institutions: The

Turn to Sir Fred on page 18

JULY/AUGUST 1992

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Confess.

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••

Lutheran

Luthers Small Catechism:

"You shall not kill."

What does this mean?

Answer: We should fear and love God, and we should not endanger our neighbor's life, nor cause him any harm, but help and befriend him in every necessity of life.

Reformed The Heidelberg Catechism Q. 105: What does God require in the sixth commandment?

That I am not to abuse, hate, injure, or kill my neighbor, either with thought, or by word or gesture, much less by deed, whether by myself or through another, but to lay aside all desire for revenge; and that I do not harm myself or willfully expose myself to danger. This is why the authorities are armed with the means to prevent murder.

Q. 106: But does this commandment speak only of killing?

In forbidding murder God means to teach us that he abhors the root of murder, which is envy, hatred, anger, and desire for revenge, and that he regards all these as hidden murder.

Q. 107: Is it enough, then, if we do not kill our neighbor in any of these ways?

No; for when God condemns envy, hatred, and anger, he requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to show patience, peace, gentleness, mercy, and friendliness toward him, to prevent injury to him as much as we can, also to do good to our enemies.

Luther If you want to know how you should love your neighbor and want to have a dear illustration, then note carefully how you love yourself. When in need and danger, you would certainly very much like to be loved and helped by all the advice, means, and powers of all men and creatures. Therefore you need no book to teach and admonish you how you should love your neighbor; for you have the finest and best book, containing all laws, in your own heart.

You need no teacher in this subject; just consult your own heart.l God does not say: Thou shalt love the rich, the mighty, the learned, and the saint. No, this free love and this most perfect commandment does not restrict itself to, and select, certain people only; there is no respect of persons. For that is how the false, carnal love of the world acts.

It looks only to the persons and loves as long as it has hopes of some benefit. When hope and benefit cease, the love also ceases. This commandment, however, calls for free love toward everyone, no matter who he or she is, whether friend or foe; for it seeks neither benefit nor profit; rather it gives them.2 1. E. Plass, What Luther Says, p. 830, 2581 2. ibid, p. 831, 2585

Calvin Say that your enemy does not deserve even your least effort for his sake; but the image of God, which recommends him to you, is worthy of your giving yourself and all your possessions. Assuredly there is but one way in which to achieve what is not merely difficult but utterly against human nature: to love those who hate us, to repay their evil deeds with benefits, to return blessings for reproaches (Mt.5:44). It is that we remember not to consider men's evil intention but to look upon the image of God in them .... lOur neighbor bears the image of God; to use him, abuse him, or misuse him is to do violence to the person of God who images himself in every human soul, the Fall notwithstanding.. ..Not only do I despise my flesh when I wish to oppress someone, but I violate the image of God which is in me.2 1. Institutes,3.7.6 2. Quoted by John Leith, Calvin's Doctrine o/the Christian Life, p.191

6 •

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mode rnREFORMATION (Stambaugh and Balch, 1987:111-113).

The Rich & the Poor in Paul's Theology Is poverty a pro-life issue?

MARK R. GORNIK

•

CURE GUEST WRITER

Our modem word is a study in socio­ eonomic contrasts. Take South Africa.

The average household income in Soweto, a black township on the edge of modem Johannesburg, is estimated to be only a quarter of that of Johannesburg "proper."

By the most conservative estimate, be­ tween 20 and 49% of the population of Soweto live below the poverty line, with 80% the more likely figure. Hunger, housing shortages, unemployment, lack of health care, high infant mortality, and substandard education mark life for this urban community (Wilson andRamphele, 1987:67). Nextdoor in Johannesburg, there is no short­ age of health care, education is well­ funded, food is plentiful, and decent housing abounds. Life for the afflu­ ent white minority remains a stable existence, insulated from the masses of impoverished South Africans.

A typical eastern U.S. city such as Baltimore is not all that much different. So-called downtown re­ vitalization has produced a national aquarium, high-priced shops and res tuarants, a convention center, high-rise office buildings, and loft apart­ ments. Yet ringing this center of power and affluence are inner-city neighborhoods with long-neglected high-rise housing projects, slum apartments owned by a local oligarchy, vacant housing owned by "in­ vestors" from around the country, limited health care, unemployment exceeding 20%, and hunger. Both Baltimore and Johannesburg/Soweto are a microcosm of the increasingly global disparity between the rich and the poor. By the year 2000, more than 20% of the world will live in slums and "squatter" settlements of Two­ Thirds World cities (Linthicum, 1987:6).

In 1983, the 1.5 billion followers of Christ received an "annual income totaling U.S. $6.5 trillion and ... own(ed) two-thirds of the earth's entire resources" (Barrett, 1983: 146). And "whereas 52% of all Christians live in affluence and a further

35% are comparatively well off, 13% live in absolute poverty." That is, there are more than 700 million affluent Christians in sight of 195 million Christians who live in absolute poverty, a condition ofdisease, malnutrition and illiteracy below any stan­ dard of human decency (Barrett, 1983:147-148). The economic gap divides cities, and itdivides the church. Economic suffering is all around us and cries out for justice.

Defining Rich and Poor Defining who were the rich and poor in the first century is a vital issue. Many now agree that closely related to wealth and poverty in the New Testament period is the issue of social status. First, a small con­ spicuous minority comprised the upper social stratus, headed primarily by the em­ peror, but including various other mem bers of the aristocracy. Usually they were not only wealthy and living a life of leisure, but they enjoyed many special privileges, such as favor with the law. Among the lower strata, the intermediate level was comprised of those of moderate substance, such as merchants and craftsmen. The lowest level were those who did construction and piece­ work at the docks and who owned no prop­ erty. Many were reduced to begging; some were able to find patrons or benefactors.

Even lower on the status scale were slaves

Wealth, Poverty, and Status in Corinth The city of Corinth provides a good example of the interrelationship between status, wealth, and poverty in the Chris­ tian community.

Many in the Corinthian church were of low status, the throw-away people of the Greco-Roman world (I Cor. 1:26-31). God chose the lowly as evidence of the trea­ sure of his kingdom. But the social and theological newness of God's reign was not found in the homogeneity ofthe church, but in how it was composed of a cross­ section of urban society. Included in the church were not just the lowly but those of comfortable means such as Crispus, a wealthy ruler ofa synagogue (I Cor. 1: 14; Acts 18:8), and Gauis, Paul's personal host and host of the whole church, which indicates he was of some financial means (I Cor. 1:14; Romans 16:23). Chloe (I Cor. 1:11),Stephanas (I Cor. 1:16), Fortunatus and Achaicus (I Cor. 16:15) were also likely to be people of financial means and status (Meeks, 1983:57-58; Tiidball, 1984:99).

Given this background, "many of the problems at Corinth can be understood in the light of the fact that people from different social classes still found it difficult to re­ late to each other even after their conversion to Christianity. They would be aware that, as far as God was concerned, such distinctions were no longer ofany importance (I Cor. 7:22; Col. 3:4) and yet in real­ ity mutual acceptance still had to be learned through hard experience" (Tidball, 1984:99).

Was there a tendency for those with financial means, social skills, and intel­ lectual gifts to look down on others rather than place their strength in the cross (1: 18, 2: 1-6)? Perhaps this is part of the self­ conceit that Paul confronts in chapters 3 and 4 (Tidball, 1984:99-100). In the dis­ cussion of lawsuits in 6: 1-8, it would seem that the wealthier Christians were the ones most adept at making the legal system work for their benefit, and it is to them that Paul addresses his comments.

Detachment from possessions is a symbol and mandate of faith because the value system of this world is giving way to a new order (7:29-31).

Gerd Thiessen has argued that in I

, Continued on next page JULY/AUGUST 1992

• 7

I1l0dernREFORMATION

Continued/rom previous page Corinthians 8:7-22, the weak are the poor, and the strong are the socially powerful and wealthier members of the Corinthian church. The strong would have been fa­ miliar with meals where meat was served.

The poor on the other hand rarely ate meat, and associated its consumption with idola­ try (Thiessen, 1982: 121-143). In I Corin­ thians 11:17-34, the hosts of the church invited their social equals to a meal, leav­ ing the poor out (11:21). The basic divi­ sion between the (relatively) poor in I Corinthians 11:17-34 is between the eco­ nomic "haves" and the "have-nots," with the rich adding humiliation to the lot of the poor (Meeks, 1983:68).

Servanthood within the body of Christ becomes the common denominator (ch.

12). Love in action will break down the barriers that status and wealth have created as the new community is guided by the Spirit, not Mammon (ch. 13). "Wealth in the body of Christ becomes an opportunity to serve, prestige a call to humility" (Conn, 1988:95). Finally, economic sharing with other churches, even though many of the Corinthian believers were of little finan­ cial means, was to be a regular part of their communal life (16:1-2).

Widows, Wealth, and Justice Widows, a familiar Old Testament category of those who are poor and vulner­ able to exploitation (Lev. 19:10; Zech.

7:9-10), are to receive special attention from the church (I Tim. 5:3-16). The widow without a relative, who in her need is left to trust in God alone for her suste­ nance, is to be taken care of financially by the church (I Tim. 5:3,5). She is the one who would have fallen through the various secular, kinship, and religious social safety nets (Winter, 1988:95). A certain structure is developed to make sure that the poorest were cared for.

The poor are not just those who have lost honor, but include those who are hungry as a result of famine (ie. Rom. 15:26; Gal. 2:10). In other passages low status is linked with low economic conditions (II Cor. 11:27; Phil. 2:8; 4:12). Redemption for Paul is holistic, so he sees God concerned for the person in his or her material need and social context (II Cor. 8:4; 9:1,12-13; Rom. 15:25; Lim, 1987:159).

First Timothy 6:3-10, 17-19 summa­ rizes many of Paul's points regarding wealth. It is clear from the way Paul relates the refutation of false doctrine with eco­ nomic matters that wealth and poverty are 8 •

JULY/AUGUST 1992

_

not peripheral matters to the gospel. God­ liness is not a means to financial prosperity (6:5). Contentment is found in Christ, participation in God's kingdom, and basic provision (6:6,8). The Lord is to beglorifed through the proper use of possessions (6:17).

Negatively, the pursuit of wealth can be a deadly distraction from the faith (6:9,10), especially when it is at the expense of others (6:7; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5). Pride and self-security are two vital dangers (Insley, 1989:23). Rather than pursuing posses-

greed and avarice have produced. Abun­ dance has brought emptiness and material wealth has brought spiritual bankruptcy.

Paradoxically again, the faith ofthose who are materially poor and whose lives are rooted in the Scriptures and God's re­ demption is often expansive and rich, a well of spiritual refreshment from which they drink for their nourishment. Butwhen Paul speaks of the poor, he is not talking about the spiritually needy, but about the hungry, the broken, and the marginalized.

Paul's Social Status

The social and theological newness of God's reign was not found in the homogeneity of the church, but in how it was composed of a cross-section of urban society sions through injustice (6: 10), the wealthy are to be rich in good deeds and economic sharing toward the poor (6:18; cf. II Cor. 8:21). A proper view of wealth and pov­ erty has a present and future dimension (6:19).

A more in-depth study of Paul's theol­ ogy regarding wealth would entail looking at the Pauline vocabulary and phrases of riches , wealth, treasure, possessions, abundance, power, nobility, and pre-emi­ nence (Boerma, 1979:9). It would look more closely at the relationship between work, which produces wealth, and the ac­ cumulation of possessions (cf. Eph. 4:28; II Thes. 3:6-15).

Hermeneutical dangers abound in reading the New Testament regarding the rich and poor, particularly for affluent evangelicals. One tendency is to spiritualize the poor as being the pious. The concept of spiritual poverty, our complete need for God's grace, is obviously very strong in Paul. And in the West, the greatest spiri­ tual and moral poverty may be that which

As a Roman citizen, Paulhad the privi­ leges and status of the elite of his society.

In addition, he was educated by Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Evidence of his high social status is found in his access to the high priest (Acts 9:1-2) and his occasional ex­ ercise of the rights and privileges of his citizenship (Acts 16:37; 22:25; Tidball, 1984:91-92). Yet Paul took on theoccupa­ tion of an artisan working with his hands, an employment despised by the elite and affluent (Hock, 1980:35), though not by the Jews. This in part explains why he spoke of having no status (I Cor. 4:10,12).

As an urban missionary and church worker, Paul spent long hours supporting his unique apostolic vocation as an artisan, plying his trade in the workshop as a tentrnaker (I Thes.2:9;ICor.4:12;IICor.11:27,7). On occasion, it is likely that this placed him near the central marketplace of the city, where he would have spoken of his faith.

The life of an Urban artisan was not easy: Traveling and plying a trade were always exhausting and were frequently painful; con­ sequently he could always sumarize his ex­ periences in catalogs of sufferings. Paul's travels, like those of other itinerant artisans and teachers, were often punctuated by de­ lays, difficulties, and dangers. Once he was in the city there were days, perhaps weeks, of staying in inns before Paul found lodging in a household; and instead of simply becoming its resident intellectual, as was his apostolic right, he refused to be a financial burden and so found work making tents and other leather products to be self-sufficient. Making tents meant rising before dawn, toiling until sunset with leather, knives, and awls, and accepting the various social stigmas and humiliations that were part of the artisans' lot, not to mention the poverty-being cold, hungry, and poorly clothed (Hock, 1980:37).

His aquaintance with the hardships of hunger, oppression, and marginalization are well cataloged in I Corinthians 4: 11-13

modernREFORMATION

andIICorinthians4:8-9,6:4-10,12:10and 11 :23-28. In essence, Paul pursued downward mobility for the cause ofChrist, exchanging a high status identity for a low status identification. Paul placed his ap­ ostolic identity not in the privileges of the powerful to which he was entitled, but in the sacrificial service of Christ. Through his example, Paul showed us the way to be cross-cultural and to build bridges across the economic gap. Given the integrity of his life, Paul was able to teach with author­ ity about contentment (Phil. 4:4,5,11; I Tim. 6:6-9), stewardship (I Cor. 10:31), simplicity (I Cor. 7:30,31), work (I Thes.

4: 11), costly urban di"scipleship (Phil.

2:4-8), and to warn against coveteousness (Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5) and greed (I Tim. 6:7).

Apostleship and the Poor In Galatians 2: 10, Paul invites us to understand his apostolic ministry in terms ofhow he "remembers the poor." Paul tells the Galatian readers that in response to the Jerusalem pillars' request to remember the poor, he is already fully engaged in this task, and that it is nothing additional to the exercise of his apostolic office. Relief, solidarity, and love for the poor are integral to his apostolic office.

The offering Paul is collecting is not his attempt to buy Jerusalem's acceptance nor an act of subservience to their leadership (Hurtado, 1979: 10). Rather, Paul explains that his purpose in Jerusalem regarding funds for the poor is to meet the needs of his sisters and brothers (Acts 11:29-30).

Whether the Jerusalem church was poor because offamine or difficulties in manag­ ing their resources, Paul took the poor to be those who in some serious manner lacked the basic necessities to sustain life (cf. 1 Tim. 6:8). "To remember" the poor for Paul was not a Thanksgiving food basket program or a general bid for cognitive remembrance, but rather a concrete and ongoing action. , His background, provided by the Dam­ ascus road meeting with Christ, was with the historic person of Jesus Christ who, in word and deed, proclaimed good news to the poor (Luke 4: 16-21, 43). Paul's apos­ tolic message of words and deeds demon­ strates the same wholeness of the life and message of Jesus. The collection is the redemptive deed side of the Gospel (Gal. 2:2), the action accompanied by speech­ redemptive word alongside redemptive deed.

The importance of Galatians 2: 10 for Paul's theology of wealth and poverty is twofold. First, Paul's relief work on behalf

of the poor is integral to his apostolic vocation from its initiation, and therefore the formative role it takes in his theology and mission strategy is not surprising.

Those most vulnerable to loss of social place and life are near to God's ~eart, and Paul organizes the church accordingly.

Secondly, the collection ofGalatians 2 can be understood as a "prototype" collection for the other Pauline collections, as men­ tioned inl Corinthians 16:1-4, II Corin­ thians 8-9, and Romans 15:27-29 (Nickle, 1966).

To remember the poor for Paul was not aThanksgiving food basket program or a general bid for cognitive remembrance, but rather a concrete and ongoing action.

Following the Jerusalem collection model in Galatians 2, Paul directs in 1 Corinthians 16: 1-4 that on the first day of the week, "each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his in­ come, saving it up, so that when 1 come no collections will have to be made" (I Cor. 16:2). The "collection" (I Cor. 16: 1) is a demostration of reconciliation (Jew and Greek) in Christ, the same course of action as undertaken by the church of Antioch (Rom. 15:27). A spiritual exchange is responded to by an economic exchange, all rooted in the riches of Christ.

The multiple dimension of sharing is captured by some of the words and phrases Paul uses for the collection (Dahl, 1977:37-38; Young and Ford, 1987:176-177). It is a collection (I Cor. 16: 1,2), a partnership, fellowship, sharing (Rom. 15:26; II Cor. 9:13), a service, relief work (Rom. 15:31; II Cor. 8:4,9:12,13), priestly religious service (Rom. 15:27; II Cor. 9: 12), a gift of grace, grace (1 Cor. 16:3; II Cor. 8:6,7,9), and a blessing (II

Cor. 9:5).

In essence, Paul is critiquing the Greco­ Roman system of benevolence ·that held that only those who could offer somethiilg in exchange would receive something (Young and Ford, 1987:178). The bene­ factor or patron expected something in return for a favor of food or money , and so most favors were given to those most prosperous, who could be expected to one day return something, whether it be a vote, statue, or honorary degree (Stambaugh and Balch, 1986:64). People reduced to the lowest straits of destitution were left with begging as a principal means of obtaining income, unless they were Roman citizens and eligible for "public assistance" (the com dole). In the church, giving away one's resources without a material return is a grace and service modeled after Christ's gift of his life, and an act empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Christology, Wealth, and Poverty Second Corinthians 8:9 brings together the themes of riches and poverty in the person and work ofJesus Christ. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." Drawing on their personal and corporate experience of God's grace (II Cor. 8: 1), Paul stresses the incamational aspect ofGod's mercy. Paul's need to speak to this topic suggests that the church . had not implemented his earlier suggestions (e.g. I Cor. 11:22, 16:1-4) and that class divisions persisted within the congregation.

What are the riches of Christ? John Murray took them to be the riches of the fullness of divine being (Phil. 2:6, 4: 19; Rom. 9:23; Eph. 3:8, 16), the riches of divine possession (psalm 24:1; Col. 1:16) (Murray, 1982:228-230).

Jesus abandoned his affluence in the incarnation. Christ's poverty in part con­ sisted of his giving up for a time the riches of his heavenly existence. But we cannot miss seeing his poverty as that of being subject to disgrace and humiliation on the cross (Rom. 15:3), and his subjection to exploitation (Isa. 53:3-12). Jesus incarnated himself in a sin-cursed world (Rom. 8:3-4; Gal. 4:4) and lived among the poor (I Cor. 1:26f; II COL 8:2). It is a poverty not unlike the marginalization experience of the Macedonian church (II Cor. 8:1-2). It is Jesus in his identification with the poor, forming a church: "Not from the world's

Continued on next page JULY/AUGUST 1992

III 9

IflfJ£il'fnRf f (1/-<\lATION

Continuedfrom previous page 'beautiful people,' but from the lower classes, the 'nobodies,' God chose those who for the most part would make up his people" (Fee, 1987:78). Jesus is the poor one, the servant, the peacemaker who ar­ rives in Jerusalem to bring forth salvation through his death (Zech. 9:9). He is the suffering servant who gave up so much; he was oppressed and humiliatedJor the sake of his people (phil. 2:8).

Through Christ's poverty, the church receives in exchange abundant and lavish riChes of grace (II Cor. 2:4, 5:18, 9:15) which become the foundational resource for mutual sharing. The church of the cross, the suffering church of the marginalized, becomes rich through the incarnation and its ecclesiastical implica­ tions. We reject this when we abandon the incarnation as a model for our life and mission (Bonk, 1989: 178).

ANew Community of Sharing The Corinthians had previously allowed social distinctions to divide their church during table fellowship (I Cor. 10:16, 11: 17-34), even though to despise the poor is to despise Christ (I Cor. 11 :22). In Paul's Christological model, within this new community of haves and have-nots called the church, socio-economic barriers are broken down (II Cor. 8:4,9: 13; Gal. 6:6).

The mutuality of the sharing of gifts and resources that the Kingdom demands will move them toward "equality" (II Cor. 8:13,14), though not a common commu­ nity of goods. Economic sharing is to be characterized by spontaneity (II Cor. 9:12; cf. Phil. 4: 18), freedom (II Cor. 9:7), and generosity (II Cor. 8: 14, 20, 9:5).

Equality is not rigid uniformity, but rather closing the gap between rich and poor in the body of Christ so no one lacks. Second Corinthians 8 and 9, using the language of anthropology, show that the reciprocity of resources, both spiritual and economic, worked together to forge a new unity.

Theologically,Paul teaches the importance of mutual sharing as part of God's "manna economy." In a manna economy, daily sustenance needs were met, making hoard­ ing futile, all ina spirit of trust for God's provision (II Cor. 8:15; Ex. 16:18). The church that shares economically is the jubilary community of Christ (Deut.

15:1-11).

The sharing of resources was to be with the poor (Gal. 6:2,10), other churches (II Cor. 8:3-4,11-17,9:1-5; Rom. 15:25-27), some church leaders (II Cor. 11:9; Phil.

10.

JULY/AUGUST 1992

4:15,17, 19), and "those who are without" or the "outsider" (I Cor. 5:12,13; Col. 4:5; I Thes. 4: 12). The outsider, the immigrant ofthe New Testament, is also to experience love for their well-being (Rom. 13:10; I Cor. 4:1; Ridderbos, 1975:299-300).

Economic generosity is to include "ev­ eryoneelse" (II Cor. 9:12; cf. Gal. 6:10).

All of this is both ministry to Christ and ministry in imitation of him.

This community of sharing was part of what it meant to be the servant people of God (Phil. 1:5, 4:15-16l II Cor. 8:1-5).

Servanthood was to touch both interper­ sonal relationships and the communal situ­ ation, breaking down barriers of status (Lim, 1987:135-138). Unlike the wide­ spread Greco-Roman professional and re­ ligious clubs, the church itself existed not for itself, but for the service of others.

The Economy of God Second Corinthians 8 and 9 showed us the relationship between God's economic activity and the economic activity of the church. Here we will see how the meta­ phor or analogy of the "economy of God" is expansive in Paul's letters. Young and Ford summarize the meaning of economy in Pauline thought: The Greek word from which economy comes is oikonomia, which extended its original meaning of "household administration" to embrace administration in general steward­ ship, treasureship, management, governing, provision, organization, direction, regulation, sustaining, distribution, planning and adap­ tation of means to ends. In the New Testa­ ment it is used by Paul to describe his own ministry (I Cor. 9: 17) but in such a way that it is inseparable from its content, the gospel as God's way of dealing with the world. This content is in Col. 1:25 summed up as the "oikonomia ofGod, " again inextricably linked with Paul's ministry, and Eph. 3:2 continues this dual focus. (Young and Ford, 1988:170)

Theologically, economy is used by Paul as a metaphor to understand God's activ­ ity, both among the church as God's house and over creation (Col. 1:25; I Cor. 9: 17; Eph. 3:2; Eph. 1:10,3:9; cf. Luke 16:2-4).

God's plan in history of reconciling all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10) is the cosmic and ultimate economic reality. Here, when we speak of an economy we speak of the management ofa household, which broadly means the site ofhuman livelihood (Meeks, 1989:3).

This economy of reconciliation is a new creation (II Cor. 5: 17). The fundamental

transaction ofthis new economy is Christ's death and resurrection (II Cor. 5:14,15,21; Phil. 2:6-11). In contrast to the limited goods economy, this economy is distinguished by its layers ofabundance (II Cor. 3:9, 4:7, 9:12, 14; Phil. 4:19). It creates a new set of kinship ties (II Cor. 12:14-15; Ford and Young, 1988:166-185; Meeks, 1983:66-67).

God as the author of creation and re­ demption is the economist or householder . ofhis world. As image-bearers ofGod, we are to image him as economists in his household. Every person has gifts and abilities; there are no throw-away people in God's economy. Part of our task as his co-workers (I Cor. 3:9; II Cor. 6: 1) is to see that the Lord's household (persons, re­ sources and gifts) is well managed (Meeks, 1989). To speak of our role in God's economy as household is to embrace the concept of stewardship, which is linked to the related themes ofresponsiblity, author­ ity, and obligation.

Practical Implications Some practical implications from Paul's theology of wealth and poverty include: 1. The church must show tremendous sensitivity to how issues of status, wealth, and poverty influence the way it functions and the people it serves. When the poor and socially marginalized have lost their voice in the body of Christ, universal or local, then the Church is in grave danger of losing its New Testament identity.

2. Paul's theology and mission prac­ tices issue a call to the recovery of an economically heterogeneous (mixed) ur­ ban church that is fully committed to jus­ tice for the poor. The practical implica­ tions for reaching the city are numerous.

For example, the local urban church as a gathering of a cross-section of society can play an important role in providing role models and "connections" for inner-city neighborhoods that are economically and culturally isolated (Wilson, 1987). Part­ nership relationships between rich and poor churches would be formed with the idea of pooling resources for God's mission in the city. One practical step for churches of economic means is to, at minimum, tithe building programs and missions budgets to congregations in poor urban neighborhoods that have programs or projects in need of funding assistance.

3. Paul's model, in imitation of Christ, of downward mobility and relinquishment of an esteemed status for the sake of the

Turn to Rich & Poor on page 21

mode rnREFORMATION poured so much of its energies into wiping out the growing religion. Privileges were given to the clergy, including tax-exemp­ tion, and before long the upper clergy were showered with the pomp and prosperity of secular princes. Constantine abolished death by crucifixion, the cruel games, the Before you set your sights on reclaiming {(Christian America," see what bawdy entertainments, discouraged abor­ Augustine had to say about confusing God's kingdom-building with our own tion, and called for an end to slavery.2 As Constantine carried on a Christianized ver­ MICHAEL S. HORTON , sion of the Pax Romana (Roman Peace), CURE PRESIDENT the Christians themselves saw the Roman A few years ago, I had a discussion with tians to pursue. Should we fight for our Empire as the civilizing, peace-keeping, U.S. Senate chaplain, Dr. Richard empire? After all, it is a Christian empire and justice-preserving glue holding the Halverson, and he told me how difficult it and doesn't the pagan takeover parallel the world together. Meanwhile, Salvianus is to travel around the world and have other plundering Israel experienced at the hand (440-455), a Gallic priest, wrote a book American believers traveling with him ex­ of other nations? Ought we to do nothing? arguing that the catastrophe was due to the press their faith in extremel y cultural terms. Or, should we accept the situation and see failure of the Church to uphold traditional morality. The lives of the Living in Washington, he says, "No one the barbarian invaders (in common Christians, and even actually says it, but it's there, and that is the our case, secularists) as those the clergy, had become scan­ idea that if we just get the right man-and who need the gospel? Rather dalous under imperial favor, ithas to bea man-in the WhiteHouse,and than arguing over whose and Salvianus appears to have the right people in the Supreme Court, empire it is (a pretty moot thought that moral reforma­ we'll have the kingdom of God. Now let's point when the other guy tion was the answer. Never­ get to it!" And then Dr. Halverson quoted has control), shouldn't we theless, Salvianus did not a penetrating question from Malcolm see this as a missionary op­ blame the barbarian pagans, Muggeridge: "'What if the church had portunity-Godbringing the but the Christians who ex­ pinned its hopes on the Roman Empire?' I heathen to us? celled the barbarians in im­ can'tforget that," Dr. Halverson added, "at morality. Such portraits, of a time when the church is pinning its hopes Getting It Back The age of martyrdom on the good '01 U.S.A." Jerome in his study course, ~ught ~ot to be relied upon entrrely, smce they come Imagine you are a Christian living near and persecution created a Rome in the year411, when the barbarians longing for the second coming of Christ to from the polemics of monks who consid­ deli ver them and vindicate ered anything less than monasticism sub­ sacked the seat ofthe Empire, their cause. There was very Christian. Nevertheless, the reports abound an empire that had become little interest in reforming a and leave us with the general impression identified with the City of society that considered them that the church at the time of the invasion God upon the earth. For so enemies ofthe empire simply was itself an inglorious institution within a long the center of the uni­ because they claimed Jesus generation of its official establishment as verse for pagan Romans, the Christ was their only Lord. In the imperial religion. city of Rome continued as fact, much like the It is against this backdrop of newfound the center of the universe for Anabaptists centuries later, prosperity that the Christians faced the the Christians as well. The the church father Tertullian Gothic invasion in 410. city of man had at last been asked, "What has Athens converted into the city of [philosophy] to do with Withdrawal God. Here Paul nurtured the The church father Jerome represents the Jerusalem [faith]?" and in­ small community of Jewish Augustine ofHippo sisted that one could not be a most traditional response: The destruction and Gentile Christians, and here Peter was martyred. But now, the City Christian and a Roman emperor.1 After of the Roman Empire was such a catastro­ of God had been taken by the heathen and surviving successive waves of persecu­ phe as to signal the end of the age, and the apparent collapse ofthe Roman Empire tions, the Christians were gaining tremen­ Jerome retired to a very ascetic life, en­ was equivalent in many minds to the fall of dous credibility. When in 311 AD he couraging monasticism as the way of han­ the Christian church itself. How could confronted an army whose general was dling the invasions. Christians ought to God allow this? How were the Christians relying on pagan magic, the new Emperor separate from the barbarians and take what Constantine knew he would have to find a bits and bobs of the glorious Empire they to make sense of this catastrophe?

In this article I want to tear out a page or greater source of power. While in prayer, could as they left. Preserving "the faith two from church history, which I think Constantine tells his friend, church histo­ once and for all delivered unto the saints" many readers will find instructive as we rian Eusebius, that he had a vision of a included the preservation of the Roman look at our own situation in American cross in the sky that read, "B y this sword traditions, history, and customs. "How can we be safe if Rome perishes?" Jerome Christianity. The same questions have conquer!"

After his military success, Constantine lamented. been asked, with the same issues at stake, and church Fathers took sides over the set out to make Christianity the official Continued on next page most prudent course of action for Chris­ religion of the very empire that had just

Augustine

&

Jerome

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Continued from previous page Apologists for the church sought a number of lines of defense against the suggestion made by many Romans that it was Christianity that corrupted the Empire and brought this disaster. Some apologists argued that it was the Christian faith that was the reason for Rome's glory, citing the facts-and they were facts, that even be­ fore Constantine officially declared in fa­ vor of Christianity, the believers had an enonnous moral influence in society.

task to convert its new barbarian masters. 3

The African bishop, therefore, saw the crisis as an opportunity. If Rome, the City of Man, is ultimate, the Gothic invasion is intolerable. If,·on the other hand, the City of God is eternal and heavenly, outliving the rise and fall of earthly empires, the invasion is an unparalleled missionary op­ portunity. After all, instead of taking the Gospel to these pagans, it is the pagans themselves who are coming to the mission­ aries! It all depends on how one looks at it.

Augustine does not hesitate to defend

What An Opportunity!

While Jerome, Salvianus, and other apologists saw the sacking ofRome in 410 as an omen of the end of the world, and responded either by withdrawal or a call to recover the faith (read culture) of the Em­ pire, the great African bishop used his pen for other conclusions.

Augustine (354-430) laid out his ap­ proach to the new situation by writing that great classic of Western civilization, The City of God. In this world, the wheat and tares grow together; love struggles with selfishness for dominion. In the City of God in heaven, there is only perfection, joy, peace, and love. But this does not even describe the church, for "there are wolves within and sheep without," and not even the Christians themselves can attain moral perfection. Thus, Augustine countered the moralistic utopianism ofmost other apolo­ gists and, therefore, undermined the foun­ dation for a supposed revival of imperial fervor. We ought not to confuse nostalgia forrevival ofreligion. Only in eternity will truth, beauty, goodness, and love triumph finally. Therefore, in this world we par­ ticipate on a human level with our neigh­ bors and do our best to evangelize and participate in the City of Man as salt and light, but we must never confuse the City of Man with the City of God. As Henry Chadwick puts it, Augustine saw the Church existing for the kingdom of God, the true 'eternal city,' be­ yond the rise and fall of all empires and civilizations. Even 'Christian' Rome could claim no exemption from the chaos and de­ struction brought by the barbarians. Augus­ tine never supposed that the interests of the Roman Empire and the kingdom ofGod were more or less identical. ill relation to the church, he thought, the government had a positive function to preserve peace and lib­ erty. But the barbarians who attacked the empire were not necessarily enemies to the city of God. It would be the western church's 12.

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Only in eternity will truth, beauty,

goodness, and love triumph finally.

Christianity against the charge that it con­ tributed to the collapse. The Romans, he said, "should thank Christ for the boon that, out of regard for His Name and in disregard of the traditional usages of war, the barbarians gave them immunity in spa­ cious Christian buildings .... Bear in mind that, in recounting these things, I am still dealing with those ignorant dupes who gave birth and popular currency to the saying: 'If there is a drought, blame the Christians.' As for those among them who have received a liberal education and ap­ preciate the value of history, they can very easily inform themselves."4 While de­ fending Christianity against the false charges of the pagans who tolerated or even embraced the faith while all was well, Augustine did not see that as his primary obligation. The following passage from The City of God captures Augustine's vi­ sion: ill this unfriendly world, in evil days like these, the Church through the lowliness she now endures is winning the sublime station she is to have in heaven. Meanwhile, the sting of fears and ache of tears, the vexatious toil and hazardous temptations, teach her to rejoice only in the healthy joy of hope. With so many sinners mingled with the saints, all

caught in the single fishing net the Gospel mentions, this life on earth is like a sea in which good and bad fishes caught in a net swim about indistinguishably until the net is beached, and the bad ones are separated from the good. Only then does God so reign in the good, as in His temple, that He may be all in all.. ... So it falls out that in this world, in evil days like these, the Church walks onward like a wayfarer stricken by the world's hostil­ ity, but comforted by the mercy of God. Nor does this state of affairs date only from the days of Christ's and His Apostles' presence on earth. It was never any different from the days when the frrstjust man, Abel, was slain by his ungodly brother. So it shall be until this world is nO more.s

That last remark is especially impor­ tant, since Augustine develops it as an essential aspect of his argument. In Gen­ esis, we see emerging two lines: The line of Cain (the ungodly), and the line of Seth (the godly). Throughout the story of re­ demptive history, these two lines, fonning the City of Man and the City of God, struggle with each other. Not for one moment are these two cities to be con­ fused. Each has its own God-ordained purpose. One is earthly, temporal, chang­ ing, cultural; the other is heavenly, eternal, unchanging, and transcendent of human wisdom, values, and opinions.

Nevertheless, Augustine was advocat­ ing neither a hostile take-over of govern­ ment (confusing the City of God with the City of Man), nor monastic isolation and withdrawal. As Tillich expressed it, "There is the unity which overcomes the split of reality, and from this point of view it [Christian involvement in the world] is a work of love. If this is understood by the emperor, he can become a Christian ruler.

Here we have the ambiguous valuation: the state is partI y identical with the kingdom of the devil and it is partly different from it because it restricts the devilish powers."6 In other words, by our involvement in the City of Man, as salt (a preservative) and light, we can actuall y restrict the evil influ­ ences of that realm. We can bring the eternal to bear on the temporal affairs; grace to bear on nature; love to bear on greed and selfishness. The Christian can be involved with the most corrupt worldly institutions, but must never confuse them with the kingdom of God-not for one moment, not even when those institutions are perceived as being paragons of moral -_ virtue.

The church historian Philip Schaff wrote, "While even Jerome deplored in the

rnodernREFORMATION

destruction of the city the downfall of the empire as the omen of the approaching doom of the world, the African Father saw in it only a passing revolution preparing the way for new conquests of Christianity."7

City of God. What Jerome saw as the herald of the apocalypse Augustine simply viewed as one of the passing revolutions that disturb ,the peace of earthly kingdoms.

The expectation ofan earthly, geo-political millennium was always prone to confusing the two kingdoms, Augustine argued, and creating either revolution or ascetic withdrawal. Tillich writes ofAugustine's view, "But one thing was clear for him: there is no thousand-year stage in world history, no third age. Chiliasm or millennialism wasdeniedbyhim. Christ rules the church in this present time; these are the thousand years ....We are in the last period; it is a sectarian heresy to say that another state must still be expected. The medieval sects, of course, expressed this heresy."9 So did the Anabaptists, with one group separating entirely from society and another group initiating a military take-over of a German city.

Today, once again, millennialism dominates. Postmillennial utopianism (there is a form ofpostmillennialism that is not utopian) and premillennial withdrawal

important. Augustine's vision excludes such arrogance of time and place, with the eternal City of God as the goal of human history rather than the hopes we place in earthly kingdoms.

Once again, in our own day, suppose one were to get up in some evangelical So What Was The Outcome? congregations and announce the fall of Eventually the Church settled in to America, with the additional remark, "But Augustine's realization that the fall of the Roman Empirewasn'tthe end ofthe world. this doesn't make much difference in the Clovis, King ofthe Franks, was baptized in long view. Nations come and go, and 496 and many of the other barbarian rulers America is no different. A new nation or had been evangelized before their inva­ empire will emerge in place ofthis one, and sions by missionaries. With the baptism of the kingdom of Christ will not sustain the Clovis came the mass-conversion of the slightest setback because of it. Mter all, Germanic barbarians. Christianity spread America never was a Christian nation, but with each wave of invaders and these very a mixture of Christian people and moralis­ tic pagans. The founding fathers consisted mobile converts themselves took their new both of those who worshiped the true and faith with them beyond the frontiers, deep intoAfrica,Asia,Europe,andBritain. Sig­ livingGod,andmanywhocalledtheresur­ nificant gains were made during this pe­ rection of Christ the world's greatest blas­ riod among the Arabs as well. China had phemy! Ourfoundingfathersareperfectly the Gospel planted in its soil in the early 7th suitable for our patriotic admiration, but century. taken as a whole, should not be regarded as In many cases, the successors of the outstanding believers. The kingdom they pagan invaders were to become defenders founded, though influenced by the king­ of the faith, unparalleled even under dom of Christ, was clearly another, Constantine. As Kenneth Scott earthly kingdom in the City ofMan. " Latourette observes, "The collapse We may wish, like Salvanius, to waste away the hours complaining ofthe Empire freed Christianity from about the moral decline ofour nation the restrictions placed on it by its and the church. But this too is notthe close association with that regime root of the problem, as Augustine and gave greater opportunity for its saw it, nor indeed as I think we inherent genius to express itself than should view it. Augustine returned was true in the East, where the Ro­ man state persisted."8 Scandinavian to his high doctrine of grace for the ultimate answer. Human beings are rulers, for instance, would be much more open to Christianity if they did born into this world sinners, Godnot have to adopt the Roman Empire haters, selfish, and rebellious. They as well. are born for the City of Man and we should expect the world to beworldly.

In short, the outcome was both Only God's sovereign grace, reach­ positive and negative, but on the ing into time and space history, can whole, the barbarian invasions pro­ bring us to faith and spiritual life, vided for the most explosive mis­ engrave a love of God and neighbor sionary expansion to that date and upon our hearts, and keep us in faith. without it, Christianity would be a Pagan morality and virtue is possible footnote in history books on the rise in the City of Man, since all people and fall of the Roman Empire.

Happily, Augustine pointed the way bear God's image. They can even ,...? come up with a fairly just political beyond this-worldly attachments to Do we confuse God s Kmgdom wah Amerzca. and social order, since that image the most amazing advances of Christ's kingdom. In 497, the last Roman (there is a form of premillennialism that is includes the law of nature written on the Emperor ruled and the pagan rulers now not isolationist) both blend with American human conscience, whether Christian or assumed the Roman titles. The Holy Ro­ nationalism to give the impression that not. But salvation can never come from the man Empire of medieval Christendom it­ somehow the mission of America (the Pax City of Man. Ultimate justice, righteous­ self was the product of this barbarian in­ Americana, if you will) is equivalent to the ness, love, and peace can never be secured vasion and conversion. mission of the Church. If American soci- in this war-zone, which the devil calls ety worsens, it is somehow of ultimate home. While we are expected to be salt and So What Does All ofThis Mean for Us consequence, so we become obsessed with light-and that means raising our children During An Election Year? apocalyptic visions, reading the newspa- to take their places ofinfluence in society­ Augustine could handle the fall ofRome per and our Bible as though our generation because this was the City of Man, not the in this place and this time were really most Turn to Augustine on page 22 JULY/AUGUST 1992

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A Transforming Vision of Life So many Christians, so little influence; why?

DR. S1EPHEN MONSMA

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CURE GUEST WRI1ER

prime time tensions and tragedies is that they do so with never a reference to God or prayer.

But then sometimes television gives us slices of real life. And things are different.

The CBS show, "48 Hours," once featured a series ofvignettes from Dallas's Parkland Hospital. Suddenly faith in God was present on prime time TV. A family prayed to the "Great Physician" prior to a relative under­ going hazardous brain surgery, and the relatives of another patient-when given a bleak report on their loved one's condi­ tion-said with Christians down through the ages, "She is in the hands of God." Why the difference? Why is God no­ where to be found on prime time TV dra­ mas, but suddenly present when real people, facing real tragedies, are caught by cameras and mircrophones? Faith in God is in evidence when real life dramas unfold • Nearly 40% of American adults claim to be "born because Americans in­ again" Christians and to have received Jesus Christ as deed are a deeply reli­ personal Lord and Savior. gious people. Polls con­ • Most American adults believe "The Bible is God's tinue to disgorge the fig­ written Word and is accurate in all that it teaches" (56% ures that document the agreed strongly, 18% somewhat). strong religious commit­ • Nearly two-thirds of the public (64%) had watchedl ments of the American listened to Christian programming over the last month. people. These commit­ ments are not merely to a vague religiosity, but to many of the basic, his­ • Only 1 in 10 Americans believe.in all of the Ten toric teachings of Chris­ Commandments; in fact, most "born again" evangeli­ tianity. In terms of pro­ cals believe that "The Ten Commandments are not fessed beliefs, 86% of the relevant for people living today" and cannot even name public believes the Bible half of them. to be either the actual, • Non-Christians are significantly more interested in the or the inspired literal issue of human rights than Christians. word of God; 84% be­ • Southern Baptists, Baptists, and evangelicals in gen­ lieve heaven exists, and eral were more likely than any other group to object to 67% believe in the exist­ a non-white person living next door. ence of hell. In terms of Statistics taken from G. Barna, The Barna Report: 1992-93 (Regal); practice, almost 40% of J. Patterson and P. Kim, The Day America Told The Truth (Plume! all Americans attend re­ Penguin); G. Gallup, Jr., The People's Religion (Macmillan). ligious services at least

The command to love our neighbor is also an invitation to engage the mind and heart in a transforming vision of life. In this article I want us to take a look at the Christian's responsibility to develop a Christian mind-not only for their ben­ efit, but for the good of their neighbors.

Popular television dramas-in their ongoing attempts to hold and entertain audiences in a highly competitive busi­ ness-often present life lived at the edge.

Hostages are taken by a deranged person while their relatives wait in fear and ten­ sion mounts, emergency medical crews struggle to save a flickering life, and lives are shattered by marital infidelity and di­ vorce. What often strikes me about these dramatizations of persons caught in those

According to the latest surveys ...

...And yet,

14.

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once a week and almost 70% report pray­ ing frequently. Religious commitment cuts across education, social class, and age groupings.

But this leaves the question ofwhy God is excluded from TV dramas. Surely the answer lies in the fact that even though most Americans are profoundly reli­ gious-even significantly Christian in orientation, there is little Christian influ­ ence in American cultural life. As a result, not only TV programming, but also newspaper articles, popular music, mov­ ies, the visual arts, and popular literature are marked by a profound secularity in outlook and values. Business, medicine, science, and technology are pursued with­ out reference to God. Similarly, when issues of public policy arise, they are weighed, debated, and decided for the most part without reference to biblical principles and the role of God in the life of nations.

When it comes to the cultural life of the United States-entertainment and poli­ tics, business and agriculture, science, education and technology-Christian faith is almost nowhere to be found. The United States is therefore thorougly secular in the sense that Christianity is simply consid­ ered irrelevant to national and cultural life.

God is not needed. He can be ignored and no one will miss him.

The end result is that one finds a thor­ oughly secularized culture in the midst of a predominantly Christian population. The anomaly couldn't be greater. How can this be? The answer is suggested by the title of a lecture I once heard the Christian soci­ ologist, Os Guinness, give: "Fit Bodies, Fat Minds: Why American Christians Don't Think." That title captured an im­ portant, but tragic, truth which does much to explain the anomaly of millions of Christians in this nation having little cul­ tural or social impact.

Guinness's title had it right: Many Christians, along with many non-Chris­ tians, are taking more seriously the need to eat properly and exercise regularl y. There are even Christian books available on fit­ ness and some churches have sponsored highly popular aerobic classes. But the minds of American Christians have grown fat. Today's Christians, for the most part, no longer have a Christian mind with which to understand, critique, and give guidance to Washington, Hollywood, and Wall Street-or Main Street, U.S.A.. They have lost the ability to think Christianly.

Harry Blamires has described the current state of affairs well:

nu Jd('rIlR~f-()K\1All(}'\ There is no longer a Christian mind .... As a thinking being, the modem Christian has succumbed to secularization. He accepts religion-its morality, its worship, its spiri~ tual culture; but he rejects the religious view of life, the view which sets all earthly issues within the context of the eternal, the view which relates all human problems~social, political, cultural-to the doctrinal founda~ tions of the Christian Faith, the view which sees all things here below,in terms of God's supremacy and earth's transitoriness, in terms of Heaven and Hell.

Christians today can think in terms of their faith about spiritual matters as they relate to individuals and small, informal groups. There are terms and categories of thought which provide a framework within which they seek to understand and evalu~ ate. But they stumble and fall, or are simply struck dumb, when called upon or have the opportunity to speak in Christian terms to the worlds of commerce, politics, art, and entertainment. They have lost a Christian mind on matters such as these in the sense that they do not have the terms and categories of thought with which to construct a framework for understanding, analyzing, commenting, evaluating, and recommending courses of action.

So Many Christians, So Little Influence Why the difference? Why can Chris~ tians think as Christians about events dealing with personal, private relation~ ships, but can only think in secular terms when it comes to questions dealing with public, societal relationships? Why is it that Christians have such convictions about how they are supposed to behave with their spouse, but do not relate their convictions in the public sphere to their Christian be­ liefs? I would suggest that this is due to Christians having adopted an unwarranted, unbiblical religious~secular division. Re­ ligion and the rest of culture are seen as distinct worlds that are to be kept in sepa­ rate, sealed-off compartments ofone's life.

Religion speaks to the religious dimension of one's life, to the private, "soft" world of individual relationships, values, love, and compassion. It is tolerated and even treated with a certain measure ofrespect as long as it stays in its assigned sphere. But Chris­ tians are discouraged from contributing as Christians to the public, cultural life of American society. They are told to check their religious convictions in at the door through which they go to engage in the cultural, public life of the nation and its communities. They can pick it back up

again as they exit.

The tragedy is that the Christian church has to a large degree acquiesced. to this division. It has lost both the will and the ability-the concepts, categories, and frameworks-to speak to contemporary cultural issues. If popular culture is to be reformed by a leavening Christian influ­ ence, Christians themselves must first be reformed. They need to recapture the vi­ sion ofa dynamic, culturally relevant faith, and then they must learn to think about culture and the world about them in Chris­ tian terms. In the rest of this article I first want to argue at greater length why Chris-

If popular culture is to be reformed by a leavening Christian influence, Christians themselves must first be reformed. tians should seek to influence popular cul­ ture, and then I shall explain more fully the meaning of such cultural impact.

Why is cultural impact important?

Some may question whether it is even important for Christians to recapture a Christian mind and, by using it, to speak to questions and issues of the day. Mter all, Christianity, as we have already seen in the data, has flourished under such conditions.

The gospel is being preached, sinners are being saved, and the healing power of Jesus is mending lives broken by the storms of this world. So what if Christians are ignored by the leaders of American cul­ ture? But I would argue that there are three basic reasons why it is unwise and simply wrong for Christians to ignore the process of critical thinking and the development of a Christian mind.

First, developing a Christian mind with which to act in this world is a matter of discipleship and obedience to God. Christ is Lord over all oflife, including culture as well as religion. The Dutch statesman and

theologian Abraham Kuyper once said that there is not one square inch in the entire creation-whether in politics. business, science, art, literature, about which Christ does not cry out, "This is mine! This too belongs to me!"

This inclusive .nature of Christ's lord­ ship is clearly spelled out by the apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Colossae: "He is before all . things, and in him all things hold together... , so that in every­ thing he might have supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to him­ self all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Col.l:17­ 20). "All things" includes all of culture, all of life.

Yet many Christians today act as though Christ were lord only of a narrowly de­ fined religious sphere, leaving the rest of life to be shaped by those who do not know him. Christ is lord when one engages in morning devotions, but the rest of the day is allowed to be directed by a secular mind-and this is not someone else's mind, the "secular humanist" imposing his or her outlook, but the secular mind of the "be­ liever" himself. Jude's warning stillap­ plies: "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 3). The "faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints," for which Christians are called to contend, is the full, complete gospel that recognizes Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord over all.

To reduce that gospel to something less is to fail in our responsibility to contend for the apostolic faith.

Jesus Christ described his followers as "the salt of the earth," "the light of the world," and as "a city set on a hill," which "cannot be hidden" (Mt.5: 13-16). Clearly, Christ expects his church to be an influ­ ence in this world, and not a refuge where people can escape from this world. He did not preach a gospel of withdrawal from a hurting world, nor did he present his king­ dom as a quiet place separate and sealed off from the world of his day. Christ himself gave us a clear example of what he expects his followers to do and to be.

The apostle Paul set a clear example for today's Christians when he took the gospel to the leading commercial and cultural centers of his day: Corinth, Ephesus, Ath­ ens, and Rome. In Athens he reasoned

Continued on next page JULY/AUGUST 1992

• 15

modernREFORMATION

Continuedfrom previous page with Stoic and Epicurean philosophers, quoting their own thinkers and poets. He witnessed before the Roman governors, Antonius Felix, Porcius Festus, and Herod Aggripa, and exercised his right as a Ro­ man citizen to be tried in Rome before Caesar himself. Paul, out of obedience to Christ, struggled for the gosp~l in the mainstream of his culture. , A second, related reason why it is im­ portant that Christians bring a Christian mind to bear on the cultural arena is that it is impossible to live consistent lives of love without doing so. If Christians truly love their neighbors, they will seek both their spiritual and their physical well-be­ ing. But when Christians leave culture in the grip of secularized outlooks and values, they are showing a callous disregard, not a concerned love, toward their neighbors.

There are young persons in secular col­ leges and universities today whose faith is being weakened or an already weakened faith· is kept from growing, because they are being taught, either explicity or im­ plicitly, that Christianity is not intellectu­ ally respectable and that it cannot stand up to reason or is incompatible with science.

There are many people whose faith is being kept from developing because in the novels they read and the movies they see the Christian faith is ignored or ridiculed.

In today' s popular novels and movies cler­ gymen and other religious·people always seem unreasonable, harsh, or bigoted; it is the irreligious characters who are psycho­ logically healthy, reasonable, and under­ standing. And are Christians simply to ignore those who are being destroyed by the pornography industry and its commer­ cial mixture of sex and violence? Do Christians truly show love to their neigh­ bors when they witness to them in a Sun­ day afternoon door-to-door canvass, but are nowhere to be found on Monday morn­ ing when they face an uncaring govern­ mental bureaucracy or unsafe working conditions at the local factory?

- The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches Christians not to pass by the hurt and lonely people of this world, and yet, many of us pass by those who have been hurt by the effects ofan increasingl y secu­ larized society.

The third reason why Christians need to develop a Christian mind is this: If they do not develop a Christian mind, they will, by default, develop a secular mind. Neu­ trality is not an option. It is impossible to escape religious presuppositions in educa­ 16.

JULY/AUGUST 1992

tion, science, the arts and entertainment: They will either be shaped by truth or the false imaginations of secularism. And we cannot simply criticize the immorality of a "godless culture" while we remain largely godless in our own way ofthinking. Chris­ tians who attack pornographic materials and yet are unconcerned about helping the unwed mother down the street fail to con­ front secularism in a convincing, consis­ tent manner.

If we do not begin to think about what we enjoy, believe, value, and experience, not only will we be ineffective in the cul-

If they do not develop a Christian mind, they will, by default, develop a secular mind.

Neutrality is not an option. ture; we will ourselves be secularists, ex­ cept during those precious hours when we are engaging in "spiritual" activity. So, the titillating pornography that demeans women and makes a mockery of marriage will be enjoyed, supported, and laughed over by Christians and non-Christians alike; Christians as well as unbelievers will rush out to purchase bigger, newer, natural re­ sources-depleting consumer products as soon as, or maybe even before, they can afford it, as a sign that they have achieved success. Christian businesspeople will make decisions based purely on market considerations, without a thought to their impacts on the natural environment or the welfare of workers. This, after all, is what everyone (i.e., non-Christians) are doing; no one expects anything else.

Conclusion What we need in the church today is not more hit-and-miss protests, while involve­ ment in culture itself is avoided. We must not simply attack the world for being un­ godly, when it is believers who are sup­ posed to be "salt and light." Christians ought to shape culture by making movies,

not just protesting them. But that means good movies! They have to be realistic, meaningful, and moving, not celluloid "tracts." Christians must not only tell their co-workers, employers, and em­ ployees what they are doing wrong; they must provide good examples of what can be done. The New England preacher, Jonathan Edwards, was not only the leader of the Great Awakening, but a leader in science, philosophy, and theology, and was the president of Princeton. The Christian convictions of the 19th century British statesman, William Wilberforce, made him the leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade.

But does one have to be a C.S. Lewis in order to influence the culture? I believe that reformation in our culture will only begin when millions of ordinary Chris­ tians become extraordinary Christians, living simply and faithfully before the Lord and their neighbors. One final note of warning ought to be added here. Our task is to be faithful, not to bring about incremental improvements in culture. Our offering to God, out of gratitude for a salvation already accomplished in Christ, is to present our bodies as living sacrifices.

It is up to God in his sovereign will to decide what fruit our offering will bear.

For only God can change culture, not us.

Hebrews 11 speaks of heroes of faith who "conquered kingdoms, administered jus­ tice, and gained what was promised... , whose weakness was turned to strength."

We can all rejoice when men and women, in faithful obedience, are used by God to achieve much. But Hebrews 11 immedi­ ately goes on to describe others who "were tortured and refused to be released," and faced "jeers and flogging while still oth­ ers were chained and put in prison .... " Two different pictures. Their faith was the same and their actions in obedience to God were the same, but God chose to make entirely different uses of their prof­ fered service. It is always this way with faithful Christian living. It is the faith­ fulness that is important. The results are up to God.

Dr. Stephen Monsma is professor of political science at Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, and the author of several articles and books, including, Pursuing Justice in a Sinful World (Eerdmans).

In tervie-wMR: What concerns you the most about evangelical action in the abortion debate?

Terry: Most evangelicals aren't involved in the process. What they're doing that is a problem is that they are letting the wicked rule. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:2, "When the righteous rule, the people re­ joice. When the wicked rule the people mourn." Now let's take a step back and ask the question, what is righteous, or what is righteousness? Righteousness is defined by the Word of God. So when the Bible says "when the righteous rule," it's talking about righteousness as defined by the Ten Commandments, the ~ Mosaic law, that which was confirmed and expanded on through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now tragically, while there some good people involved in leadership in our culture (By the way, rulership doesnotjust involve the political arena, it involves all the power bases: the medicines, the arts, the univer­ sities, the media, the press, the primary and secondary education), when the wicked rule in these areas, people mourn. And tragically, with a few good exceptions, the power bases are in the hands of the en­ emies of the gospel.

The National En­ dowment for the Arts is funding ho­ mosexual pornogra­ phy and blasphemy with our tax money!

Universities are continually under­ mining the faith of young people who come to colleges.

It's against the law to have the Ten Commandments on a wall in a public school, or for a pub­ lic school teacher to read the 23rd Psalm, but she'll tell a kid where to get a condom, or how to fornicate, or how to rebel against his parents. So, the tragedy is that most of the Christian church is going on with business as usual while this country is being driven into the mouth of hell by godless, humanistic prophets of Baal.

MR: Randall, one of the problems that we see and where we want to get your reflec­ tions, is that the evangelical church seems more preoccupied with power in terms of

Randall

Terry

Founder ofOperation Rescue, one ofthe nation's leading pro-life groups. We were able to spend some time with Randall at the Christian Bookseller's Convention this past July, in Dallas, Texas. We shared a common appreciation for the anointed T­ shirts and Christian popcorn.

control than with the power ofthegospel­ there is almost a gospel of power, as op­ posed to the power of the gospel. I mean, how far are we going to get with our non­ Christian neighbors by calling them "hu­ manistic prophets of Baal"? Furthermore, isn't there a danger of some people confus­ ing civil righteousness with the gospel?

Terry: Oh, of course. Individual con­ version is a matter between the Holy Spirit and the indi­ vidual. We are not talking about legislating faith.

We are talking about legislating morality. And I would have to disagree because most Christians still are in the never-never­ land of "I'm just called to preach the gospel," with a very narrow understanding of the gospel. In other words , a "Four Spiritual Laws" fire es­ cape. That's what they mean when they say ''I'm just called to preach the gospeL" My conten­ tion is this-the gospel is from Genesis to Revelation. The whole counsel of God is from Genesis to Revelation . To under­ stand God, to understand the Godhead, to understand his requirements for men, re­ generate and unregenerate, you've got to look from Genesis to Revelation.

MR: You would say the Gospel includes the Law? That part of the Gospel is

I1zodernREFORMATION

obedience?

Terry: Well, of course. I mean, Jesus said, "I did not come to destroy the law, I came to fulfill it" Paul said in Romans chapter 3, "Are we saying that through faith we nullify the law of God? May it never be!"

MR: Isn't that confusing the Law and the Gospel? Especially if we say that that is part of the Gospel?

Terry: No, because, frankly, I think what is confused is the Gospel that we have proclaimed in the modem church. Indi­ vidual salvation, you and I agree whole­ heartedly, it's a matter between an indi­ vidual and God, conviction by the Holy Spirit, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit.

But moral righteousness-that is where the crisis is! The crisis in this culture right now is that there is no definition of right and wrong and the sole pillar and support of the truth (paul wrote to Timothy and said the church of God is the pillar and support of the truth) the light of the world, the salt of the earth-us- we who have moral standards that are unchanging, uncompromisable, unimprovable, unrevisable, we aren't heralding them! We are letting the humanists define the agenda and define the rule of debate! They are saying to us, "You can't talk about God, you can't talk about moral absolutes in school, in the judiciary, in the prison sys­ tems, you can't talk about [it] in universi­ ties." And we are saying, "Oh yes, okay, yes, we agree with separation of church and state, we'll do that." That's absurd!

While we agree with separation of church and state institutionally, we certainly aren't saying that men and women like Henry Hide or Bob Doman or any number ofmen in political office or any number of people in universities or media, that they can't participate in the process because the foundation oftheir beliefs is the unchanging principles of the Bible. Otherwise, you're saying only the pagans can rule. (Which is what the pagans would like to say, by the way.)

MR: We already have the transcendent absolute authority of God's Word in the Bible-the church has that. But if getting that out there and enforcing it, getting institutions to back it through legislation or through lobbying-if that really is the an­ swer, then why is the church itself, the soContinued on next page JULY/AUGUST 1992

• 17

InodernREFORMATION

~

called depository of all of this, so remark­ of marrying Christianity to a particular

ably adulterous itself? Isn't it the case that political ideology that may actually have

we're not preaching the Gospel-in spite very little in common with biblical faith?

ofall the evangelistic programs, and there­ We ought to get involved, of course, but

fore, not having the kind of response that there is a danger of being shaped by the

we would expect? Aren't we going about very world we're trying to change. It's not

it backwards? . an "otherwordly" pietist asking that, but a

Reformation Christian who really wants

Terry: No, I don't believe so. Histori­ the Gospel to be clearly understood and

cally, the church ofJesus Christ (just let's proclaimed. say in this country or even since the Refor­ mation), the church has always had a Terry: Well, again, I don't think it's wholistic view ofits mission. Forexample, "either-or." I think that we're seeking to Wilberforce in England, who fought to make a division here that doesn't exist. I end slavery: Here is a man who would don't want the Gospel to be confused with preach the Gospel to prisoners. He would a conservative ideology, and I think you've go into prisons and preach the Gospel of struck something here because the evan­ personal regeneration. But here is a man gelical community that avalanched into who also fought to end slavery. The church political activism in the late 70s and early in America for two generations has been 80s basically took up the banner ofconser­ preoccupied with a Gospel of personal vative Republicanism, which was fine, but salvation and social escapism. We get a I don't think that people thought through guy saved, and then we get him into our the fact that, for example, we don't want church, and then that's it. We have no self­ liberal judges, and we don't want conser­ conscious plan or agenda or strategy for vative judges. We want God-fearing raising up bankers, raising up editors of judges. Just look at the recent Supreme newspapers, deans of universities. I mean, Court decisions with this supposed con­ think about it! Witherspoon, the president servative block that has shattered before of Princeton, who signed the Declaration our eyes. The conservative justices, ofIndependence-aPresbyterlan minister. O'Connor, Souter, and Kennedy have all If a minister of the gospel signed a revolu­ stabbed biblical morality in the back. So tionary document today he would be de­ obviously, they did not make their deci­ nounced from every pulpit in this nation, I sions in the fear of God. And that brings would assume, or most of them, as being a me back to my original quotation from the betrayer, as being somebody who's into Bible: "When the righteous rule"-not the Marxist ideology, as being a rebel, as be­ conservatives, not the liberals, when the ing ~omeone who broke the law ofRomans righteous rule. Now, am I saying only chapter 13. I mean, we would goon and on Christians can run or rule? No! Peoplewho and on because we are severed from our fear God. "The fear of God is the begin­ history. Psalm 88:12 says righteousness ning of wisdom." cannotbe done in the land offorgetfulness.

And as long as the church is severed from MR: But Randall, when you speak in that its history, we've got people saying all kind of military language, viewing the kinds of insane things that have no foun­ world as a battle-field instead ofa mission­ dation in biblical right and wrong and have field, doesn't that feed the caricature of the no foundation in Christian history. But conservative Protestants as dangerous hey, they sound good because nobody prudes who get all excited at the thought of knows any different! book burning, especially when journalists see Little RedRiding Hood on thelistof.. ..

MR: And on pietism-the escapist im­ pulse of American revivalism--we would Terry: Listen! Listen, don't play to your certainly agree, and Reformation Christians enemies. Don't let your enemies set the have always been actively involved in the standard. They are going to try to carica­ culture. At the same time, S~ren ture us, they are going to try to stigmatize Kierkegaard made the comment that the us with some fluke, weird thing out there.

Reformation began as a religious move­ Forget about them. We march to the drum ment that became a political movement, beat of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do what whereas what he saw going on in his day he says is right. They called the master of with Romanticism and Nietzsche and so the house Beelzebub, prince of demons, forth was a political movement that was and he said they will do the same to his becoming a religious movement. I suppose followers. So why do we give a hoot what our concern would be, Isn't there a danger the crucifiers of Christ think about us?

18.

JULY/AUGUST 1992

Why do we cuddle up and try to win the approval of those who reject ourSav­ ior? Forget what they think. What matters is what God thinks. Nowobvi­ ously, as much as lies within you, live peaceably with all men. All right, be kind, gentle unto all men, especially those of the household of faith. I'm not talking about being obnoxious, butl am saying we must be courageous, forth­ right in our stand for what is right. See, Jesus didn't just say blessed are you when they persecute you because of me. He said, blessed are you when they persecute you because ofrighteousness, because you stood up for what is right.

When Jesus went into the temple and started throwing tables around, chasing people with a whip, I don't envision three little Jewish ladies in the corner saying, "He's such a nice Jewish boy."

And we are trying to be nicer than Jesus!

MR: When is someone going to turn

over some tables here at C.B.A.?

Terry: Ohplease,don'tgetmegoing.

Continuedfrom Sir Fred on Page 5 works of a sovereign God. I'm not on Finney's side of things, where you simply create a revival through mechanics. But I am impressed with the fact that throughout church history revival only came against the backdrop of teaching, solid preaching, and so forth, so that evangelism can reap the harvest ofwhat has already been sown. We have a big job ahead ofus in terms ofsowing seeds before we can expect true reformation and revival. We have a duty to preach the Law and the Gospel as well as we can, and to show our love for people in the things where they see that they have a need: single­ parent families, children being thrown out by their families, and the like. Then they will believe you when you tell them that they have a need they've never thought about.

MR: Thank you so much for taking the time out of your to meet with us.

busy schedule

Sir Fred: It's been my pleasure.

modernREFORMATION

Thinking Like Christians in a TV Culture Beyond soundbites, slogans, images and bumper-stickers RICK RICHIE

•

CURE STAFF WRITER

Everyone loves justice in a crisis. The L.A. riots offered to TV viewers an opportunity to vent their fury at injustice no matter which side they took on the trial.

For some, massive looting and arson were hailed as a long-overdue response to an unjust distribution ofmoney and political power. For their law-and-orderneighbors, the justice called for was putting the rioting hoodlums in jail.

Even for those caught in the middle­ who saw that the riot began as a response to a real evil, but saw in the raiding of liquor stores more ofa party than a protest-there was a grand opportunity to pontificate, perhaps more so. They could condemn injustice on both sides.

For pastors, the very real question was whether to preach to the protesters from Romans 13 on obeying the governing authorities, or to preach to their oppressors from Amos on God's hatred of solemn assem blies when justice is neglected by the powerful.

Within a month, the issue ofjustice had receded for all but those who really lived in the crisis. Perhaps it is unrealistic to think that everyone who viewed the crisis on television bore responsibility to clean it up.

11any of us had never been to the communities burning down on our TV screens, or had any contact with any of their inhabitants. Perhaps we are not made guilty by our failure to redress every evil we ever see on television. But if guilt does not travel over the airwaves, is it not curious how self-righteously indignant we become in viewing these same situations?

Righteousness & Truth as Entertainment Righteousness and truth are very closely related. In the Old Testament, the prophets tell us that the people who forsake one forsake the other (e.g. Isaiah 59:14-15). To be righteous, one must be properly related to the true order of things. Anything which

severs us from truth is likely to sever us from righteousness.

Amidst all the cries for social justice, the attack on truth which undermines the possibility of justice goes virtually unnoticed. Today' s philosophers tell us that truth is whatever helps an individual function in his own tribe. 11y guess is that the use of the word "tribe" is supposed to make us picture a council of wise elders who have the best interests of society, and yes, of course, the environment, in mind­ in contrast to our individualistic society where self-interest and environmental rape prevail. If they had used the word "society" instead of "tribe," perhaps we would be more likely to remember that under Soviet Communism and National Socialism, truth was redefined to mean that which was helpful to the society, meaning the state!

Think carefully·before you surrender to this theory of truth that promotes itself as less arrogant (since it portrays us as limited, only knowing the "truth" of our society) and more socially conscious (since "tribal" function is so important to it) than theories that teach that there is one truth for all people. Not only will absolute truth be at stake, but true social justice cannot survive in its absence.

The philosophers who want you to see your own limitations in this matter of discerning absolute truth and justice will next tell you that they know what is good for the tribe. Your council ofelders will be a media elite. In today ' s culture of info­ tainment, the celebrity newscaster can already be seen as the medicine man of the '90s. He engages us in a communal trance where we see our political totem animals (an elephant, a donkey, and for a while, a weasel) fight our battles for us. None of us truly participates. (It is best for the tribe that power is in the hands of the few.) But there is emotional release.

Even those who do not sanction this

method ofdetermining what is true will tell us that most of us do function this way.

Media critics tell us that much of our conception of reality is affected by the predominant medium in our lives. Today, for most of us, that medium is television.

Television, unlike print before it, presents us with information upon which we are not expected to act.

Setting aside the question of whether what is presented is true, we have to ask ourselves what has happened to the connection between righteousness and truth if we receive our knowledge of the world from a medium that presents us with a world in which we are not active. Either television presents us with truth which we must act upon to be righteous, or the world it presents is not the truth.

Entering the Tribal Dream under the Totem of the Lamb? .

11any Christians have come to feel that their commitment to Christ seems a little unreal. Evangelical Christianity is to them a lifestyle, and not a life. It affects the type of entertainment they consume-their music, their romance novels, their wall­ hangings-but they fear that their faith has not made an impact on the real world. They have seen that their style of faith is, as as Guinness calls it, "privately engaging but publically irrelevant." They wish to pursue righteousness.

This is a valid concern. The question is what ought to be done about it. For many, the answer is obvious: activism. To affect the real world, they need to join a protest, or a political action committee. They need to write letters. They need to get on television and compete with the celebrities for their chance to speak out. We cannot let the news cameras show more people assembled in favor of the other side of the . great issues.

But wait. The desire to return to righteousness is godly, but what kind of truth is at its foundation? If we fear that our faith is powerless in the real world, our fIrst desire is to make it active in the real world.

Before we do that, however, we need to figure out what the real world is.

The real world is not the televised world.

This is not to say that the news is televised from a sound-stage; much of it is televised on location. The camera also creates its own location, however. If a television camera arrives, a small protest becomes larger than it is. The whole nation sees it.

It has become "real" for a lot more people.

Continued on next page JULY/AUGUST 1992

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modernREFORMATION

Continued from previous page Much of the more private action of two individuals sitting at a restaurant, discussing ultimate values, never makes it into televised reality. Because it is not shown on television, the art of persuasion is disappearing from our tribal consciousness.

How many other skills needed to maintain a just society will be lost for the same reason? Many of us see the danger ofbeing seduced by the values of television, but have we escaped the danger of using methods in fighting them that are themselves a product of TV culture? In short, are we fighting fire with fire or contributing to the unreality and thereby undermining the relationship between righteousness and truth for the long-term?

Before joining a cause, we ought to take another look at the world around us-the world immediately around us. What are our talents? What injustice needs redressing on our doorstep? What might we be able to accomplish because ofour gifts and training that -another Christian could not? These should be some of our first questions.

Taking in a pregnant girl whose boyfriend left her may not capture the headlines in the pro-life struggle, but it is reality. Taking an unskilled and unemployed worker and giving him or her training and an income may not attract the cameras and lights, but it is true and it is righteous. If we ignore these issues to join the televised protests for the sake of being covered, we have succumbed to a merely tribal view of truth.

We are trying to bring Christ into the collective trance. And yet, Christ did not come to save the TV world, but the real one.

Informed Involvement Infonned involvement in the world takes a lot of effort. Those who are already activists know about sacrifice and will welcome it. I am an optimist concerning this. While I do believe in the law of inertia, that it is difficult to get someone who is not moving to move, I do not think that it is as difficult to get those already in motion to follow a better course. We see this all the time. People who start with shrill activism quickly find out how much they don't know and begin to study. My only wish is that they could be directed to this sooner and more effectively.

Not only causes, but activists themselves are harmed by going into action without being informed. While Randall Terry is able to distinguish civil righteousness from the righteousness that comes to us freely 20.

JULY/AUGUST 1992

from Christ, not all of the leadership of Operation Rescue does. I heard one ofthe leaders in the Boston Area speaking of getting arrested in terms which a Catholic priest would reServe for penance! Being jailed was presented as a means to revival, a means of grace, a way to make up for past complacency. What does this do to consciences? Have those who decided not to join the movement forfeited salvation?

This type of teaching does not in itself harm the pro-life cause; but what does it do to activists, or to those who choose to be active in other spheres?

I also wonder what this type of teaching does to other less prominent paths to justice.

At one point in the pro-life movement, for example, some of those involved in Operation Rescue were reported to have spoken disdain full y ofprotesters from other pro-life organizations such as the Christian Action Council, which opposes civil disobedience. The opposition to civil disobedience was said to be a cover-up for a fear of being jailed. The more demonstrative act of sacrifice was automatically assumed to be the more righteous.

When righteousness is spoken of in these terms, many Christians will miss their real callings in order to follow the most sacrificial route available to them.

They will do this without asking whether their talents and training might be God's call into another field. They will do this without asking whether the sacrifice they make is even helpful to the cause in which they are active. Sacrifice by itself not a sure gauge of righteousness. St. Paul tells us that we might even deliver our bodies to be burned and achieve nothing by it. We need to guard against letting sacrifice, which is only valuable as a means to a given end, become an end in itself.

Looking back at history, we can see that even our most moral ancestors were often blind to social issues of which even the most obtuse of us are aware today. In all likelihood, we are blind to some social problems as well. It just might be that some brave individuals have kept themselves from involvement in some of the best­ known causes of the day to pursue other areas of justice of which most of us are not conscious. If from our pulpits we are told that every serious Christian must be involved in protesting, say, nude Marxist bowling alleys, what is to become of the moral pioneer who is pursuing justice on a new front? This individual will miss out on the moral support that he or she so desperately needs.

Before pursuing righteousness, we must know the truth. We will never know all that there is to know, and we must not use the pursuit of truth as an excuse not to act, but we cannot afford to neglect it, and we must not allow our Christian circles to become places where the pursuit oftruth is portrayed as a threat to the tribe. While in the short run this might get more people onto the streets, in the long run the pursuit of righteousness will itself be harmed.

Luther set forth the matter in a paradoxical format. He said that the Christian is free of obligation to all, and yet the servant of all. This same paradox is found in the relationship ofrighteousness and truth. Even as we are allbound together in the cause of righteousness, when it comes to truth, we must maintain a healthy individualism. As Christians, of course, there are doctrines to which we must all hold, but when it comes to serving the world, we must not be lorded over by those of our brethren who tell us that every serious Christian must serve Christ by doing thus-and-so. We must bring our Christian faith to bear on the world as onl y we are able to see it. Our individualism in pursuing our callings docs not drive us apart from each other, however, for we are all pursuing justice. It is in the interest of the tribe that we not be bound to the myopia of the tribe.

Rick Ritchie is CURE staff writer and a Missouri Synod Lutheran.

For Further Reading: • Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. (New York: Penguin Books, 1985). This book explains the effect of television on the culture at large, especially in terms of politics, religion, and education.

• John Warwick Montgomery, The Law Above the Law (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1975). Montgomery argues that law must have a basis in a transcendent truth.

• David Wells, "The obsolescence of the atonement" in The Gospel in the Modern World Martyn Eden and David Wells, eds.(Downers Grove, Ill: Inter-Varsity Press, 1991) pp.49-65. In this chapter, Dr. Wells gives a case study in how modernity has made a biblical doctrine difficult for the culture to understand.

mode rnREFORMATION Continued from Rich & Poor on page 10 Gospel remains a strong challenge to the wealthy to identify with the poor and lowly in our society. John Perkins, Viv Grigg, and others have underscored this in terms of the concept of relocation. Relocation is making a com unity of need our home . . If urban evangelism is to be truly to the whole world, this call cannot be neglected.

4. We must work to ·have congrega­ tions, denominations, and mission boards more exposed to the biblical materials on wealth and poverty. Paul is not neutral regarding poverty and oppression and so neither can we be. Justice, equality, and wholeness are to be woven into the very fabric of ecclesial reality, creating a new community that by its very existence un­ dermines and confronts the racism, sex­ ism, and classism ofour urban world. (Gal. 3:26-28).

5. Paul's concern for economic equal­ ity challenges us to develop concrete, cre­ ative, and grass-roots ways of sharing wealth for empowerment, especially among the extremely poor. In Pittsburgh, Robert Lavelle's Dwelling House Savings and Loan has pioneered banking as if people and communities mattered. As a local bank, they have invested in the poor, a "risk" by worldly standards, but one which has proved more than viable and has helped to transform a community! Other Chris­ tian community development programs in employment, housing, economic develop­ ment, education, and health care have made great strides in opening up the table of God's resources to all his people, creating a new urban social order.

6. Given our call to be economists in God's house, we should look to see where God's resources are not being properly distributed in the church and society, be­ ginning with ourselves. Analysis, when linked with commitment to action, will lead to greater clarity and vision in both mission and public policy.

7. Tom Sine puts the challenge of stewardship well: We need to understand, if we are to be the people of God and follow Christ who identi­ fies with the poor, that it means more than giving out our leftovers. We need to move back to jubilary stewardship models. Jubilary stewardship is based on the assumption that 'the earth is the Lord's.' If the earth is indeed the Lord's, then it is no longer a question of how much of the Lord's do I get to keep in a world in which 800 million people are not able to survive. We need a whole new

Insley, Michael. "Rich in Deed." Third

Way. Vol. 12, No.7 (July 1989):23.

Lim, David Sun. "The Servant Nature of

the Church in the Pauline Corpus." PhD.

Dissertation. Fuller Theological Semi­

nary, 1987.

One resource for the wealthy is the Linthicum, Robert. "Seduced By the City."

Ministry of Money, an outreach of the World Vision, June/July 1989:5-10.

Church ofthe Saviour in Washington, D.C. Malina, Bruce J. "Wealth and Poverty in

The Ministry of Money works to create the New Testament and Its World." In­ patterns of discipleship, compassion for terpretation. Vol. XLI, No. 4 (October

the poor, and global stewardship through a 1987):354-367.

newsletter, workshops, and "reverse mis­ Meeks, M. Douglas. God the Economist:

The Doctrine of God and Political

sion" pilgrimages.

Given all that Jesus has done for us on Economy. Minneapolis: Fortress Press,

the cross and in his resurrection, and given 1989.

the condition of our urban world, how can Meeks, Wayne A. The First Urban Chris­ we not embrace the challenge of economic tians: The Social World of the Apostle

Paul. New Haven: Yale University Press,

discipleship?

1983.

Murray, John. "The Riches and the Pov­

Mark Gornik is ordained in the Presbyterian erty ofChrist, 2 Corinthians 8:9." Collected

Church in America (PCA), 'serving in Writings ofJohn Murray: Life; Sermons;

Reviews. (Great Britain: The Banner of

Baltimore's inner city. This article was previ­ Truth Trust, 1982) pp. 226-235.

ously published in Urban Mission, a publica­ tion of Westminster Theological Seminary in Nickle, Keith F. The Collection: A Study

in Paul's Strategy. Naperville: Alec R.

Philadelphia. Used by permission.

Allenson, Inc., 1966.

Ridderbos, Herman. Paul: An Outline of

End Notes

Barrett, David B. "Silver and Gold Have I His Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,

None: Church of the Poor or Church of the 1975.

Sine, Tom. "Shifting Christian Mission

Rich?" International Bulletin ofMission­ ary Research. Vol. 7, No.4 (1983): into the Future Tense." Missiology: An

International Review. Vol. XV, NO. 1

146-151.

(January, 1987):15-27.

Boerma, Conrad. The Rich, The Poor­ and the Bible. Philadelphia: The West­ Stambaugh, John E., and David L. Balch.

The New Testament in Its Social Environ­ minster Press, 1979.

Bonk Jonathan J. "Missions and Mam­ ment. Philadelphia: The Westminster

mon: Six Theses." International Bulletin Press, 1986.

of Missionary Research. Vol. 13, No.4 Theissen, Gerd. The Social Setting of

Pauline Christianity. Philadelphia: For­

(1989): 174-181.

Conn, Harvie M. "The City and Unreached tress Press, 1982.

Tidball, Derek. The Social Context ofthe

People" in Urban Mission: God's Con­ cernfortheCity ed.John E, Kyle. (Downers New Testament: A Sociological Analysis.

Grove: InterVarsityPress, 1988)pp. 87-97.

Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

Dahl, Nils Alstrup. Studies in Paul. Min­ Wilson, Francis, and Mamphela Ramphele.

neapolis: Augsbug Publishing House, Uprooting Poverty: The South African

Challenge. New York: W. W.Nortonand

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Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Company, 1989.

Corinthians. NICNT. Grand Rapids: Wilson, William Julius. The Truly Disad­ vantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass,

Eerdmans, 1987.

Hock, R. The Social Context of Paul's and Public Policy. Chicago: The Univer­

Ministry. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, sity of Chicago Press, 1987.

Winter, B.W. "Providentia for the Wid­

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Hollenbach, Paul. "Defining Rich and ows of 1Timothy 5:3-16" Tyndale Bulle­ Poor Using Social Sciences." Society of tin. 39 (1988):83-99.

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theology in all of our churches that under­ stands that we are a part of the international body of Jesus Christ. We are called to lives of greater responsibility and greater celebra­ tion under the reign of God. (Sine, 1987:23)

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lnode rnREFORMATION Continued/rom Augustine on Page 13 there will be no conversion ofCain's proud city, whether its name is the Soviet Union, China, or the U.S.A., into the City ofPeace, the New Jerusalem awaiting us. It comes down from heaven, and is not built up by our clever programs.

Now we are faced with the barbarian invaders-well-dressed pagans who wor­ ship strange foreign gods, with little or no background in the most basic Christian convictions. Should we continue building an evangelical monastery to which we can escape while we accuse the barbarians of stealing our beloved country? Or should we rally the troups for a crusade against the "secular humanists," in order to recapture the "shining city"? Or should we take Augustine's course and see this as a tre­ mendous missionary opportunity? Instead of casting a longing gaze at the "Leave It To Beaver" days ofGod and country, when many thought they were Christians be­ cause they were Americans, we ought to view this country as a foreign mission field and ourselves as missionaries. We ought to treat our neighbors as though they were members of a tribe in New Guinea in respect to their knowledge of the Christian message and instead of further alienating the barbarian invaders by demanding con­ trol of and power over institutions that we ourselves evacuated long ago, we should befriend our new neighbors and work side by side with them in the City of Man ~oward the common good, bringing the light of the gospel into the darkest regions of the concrete jungle.

Neither despair nor radical activism are our only options. Augustine's approach made it possible for profound Christian involvement and influence in secular soci­ ety, while at the same time never giving in to the naive assumption that any human culture or nation is (or can become) righ­ teous or good and, therefore, requiring merely to be directed. (For that is the Pelagian heresy against which Augustine fought so furiously.) Only at the end of the age, when Christ returns, is the wheat sepa­ rated from the weeds and until that time, we work on two different agendas: One for the kingdom of Christ (salvation), and another for the kingdom of man (social improvement), and both for the glory of God. The Reformation followed Augustine's vision of the City of God and the City of Man. Its powerful reclamation of central biblical teachings created a new genera­ tion of literate laypeople who were trans­ 22.

JULY/AUGUST 1992

formed by the gospel of grace and this in turn produced an entire epoch rich in cul­ tural and social contributions. When Christians set out to convert the world through morality and politics, they not only fail in this Pelagian task, but actually end upcreatiog more hostility and resistance to the Gospel-the only real answer to the human problem. As Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, scanned a horizon filled with revolutionary ideologies, he wrote, "Even now, in 1848, it certainly looks as though politics were everything; but it will be seen that the catastrophe (the

"In the Reformation, everything pOinted to a religious movement and provedto be political; now everything points to a political movement, but will become religiOUS." • Soren Kierkegaard, 1848 Revolution) corresponds to us and is the obverse ofthe Reformation: then everything pointed to a religious movement and proved to be political; now everything points to a political movement, but will become reli­ gious." In other words, the revolutions brought about by the Enlightenment taught that political solutions were ultimate, which is to say that one's ideology is god. The Reformation, on the other hand, insisted that the ultimate solutions were theologi­ cal and religious, and this led to practical solutions in less ultimate areas, such as politics. When we treat politics as a god, we end up not only committing idolatry (which is bad enough); we actually end up denying our society the solution to the problem while desperately (and, most of­ ten, unsuccessfully) attacking mere symp­ toms.

Christians today, as in Augustine's day, in the medieval church, and in Kierkegaard's time, run the risk of bowing down before the idol of politics just as the

rest of their contemporaries seem to be doing, whether of the left or the right.

Political and ideological issues far out­ weigh discussions of theology and truth in our pragmatic age. The make-up of the Supreme Court replaces the older discus­ sions of evangelism and conversion in some hard-line circles. This is not to say that the make-up of the Supreme Court is unimportant, simply that it is not ultimate, either for the eternal state of the unbeliev­ ers with whom we are developing this relationship, or even for the temporal con­ dition of a society increasingly feeling the effects ofa church that no longer preaches a God-centered gospel.

The rulers of pagan Rome cynically referred to the policy of"bread and games" to keep the masses happy. Mere hand-outs without justice and preoccupation with entertainment lulled the Romans to sleep, only occasionally waking the people to engage in another form of entertainment: war. Parallels can be drawn with contem­ porary society. Not only do unbelievers need to hear about life hereafter; they need to hear from God's own mouth transcen­ dent truth for the problems here and now.

Perhaps that will mean for many of us, like the early Christians, a diminished position in society. We might have to live out our days without great promotions, content to be "salt" and "light" in a quiet, simple manner. But then, Paul instructed early Christians, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own busin~ss and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody" (1 Thes.4: 11). Others may be more vocal, and all of us should be involved in the issues of our day; nevertheless, we must never lose sight of the impact of the so­ called "little people" whose weakness is an opportunity for a display of divine strength.

Instead of moving into the arts, music, entertainment, politics, and other cultural fields with a military mind-set, let us enter with a missionary mind-set. Let us set out to persuade and argue our way to success, instead of alienating the cultural king pins and king -makers by seeking to impose our will through mere assertions, slogans, pro­ tests, and votes. Let us become the best musicians, artists, thinkers, educators, sci­ entists' architects, plumbers, lawyers, and businesspeople. And let us win the debate by building solid, honorable families: Actions speak louder than words. It has often been said that the church conquered

modernREFORMATION

the Roman Empire, not through the weap­ ons of this world, but because it out­ thought,out-worked, and outlived pagan­ ism. What will historians centuries from now report of us in this regard?

In that same conversation I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Dr. Halverson concluded, "Christ said 'I will build my church.' So, he's still building his church; the problem is with the one we're building."

End Notes 1. Philip Schaff, History ofthe Christian Church (AP & A), vol. 1, p.91 2. ibid., p.1D8 3. Henry Chadwick, The Early Church (penguin), p.226 4. Tr. Demetrius Zema, The Writings ofSt. Augustine (Catholic Univ. Press of America), VIII. 5. St. Augustine, The City ofGod, XXIV 6. Paul Tillich, A History of Christian Thought (Norton & Norton), p.122 7. Schaff, op. cit., p.86 8. Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity, vol. 1, p.327 9. Paul Tillich, op. cit., p.122

For Further Reading • Surely The City of God, Augustine's classic, is a "must" for every Christian. It can be found in most abridgements of Augustine's work, but I suggest The Es­ sential Augustine, edited by Vernon J. Bourke (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., 1974). The full text can be easily obtained in the I,OOD-page Penguin edi­ tion.

• Harold Mattingly, Christianity in the Roman Empire (NY: Norton & Norton, 1967) • Eusebius, The History of the Church (NY: Penguin Classics)

When Grace Conquers Race

MICHAEL S. HORTON

•

CURE PRESIDENT

The far-right National Front of Jean­ Marie Le Pen humiliated the reigning Socialist Party of Francois Mitterand last Spring, even though Le Pen made breath­ taking remarks about the undesirability of foreigners, particularlyles noires, the blacks, many of whom come from such former French colonies in Africa as Algeria.

Also last Spring, neo-Fascists swept into parliamentary seats all across Europe-in Germany, Belgium, Austria, Spain, and Italy (including the election of Mussolini's grand-daughter), with "foreigners go home" slogans revealing a reawakening racism across the Continent.

Since 1984, more than 3,500 Kurds have been killed-not by Iraqis, but by Turks.

Serbs and Croats slaughter each other's civilian populations in what are called "ethnic purges." Meanwhile, in the United, States Pat Buchanan was spouting much of the same sentiments as French and German nationalists and a former "Grand Wizard" of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, gave the country a scare in a Louisiana gubernatorial race that was too close for comfort. The Los Angeles riots fired a warning shot concerning the ethnic tensions between white, black, Korean, and Hispanic groups.

Of course, the blame for the world's woes cannot be simplistically placed at the feet of this demon of race; there are other overarching issues-injustice, inequity between the weak and the strong, bureaucratic governments and apathetic citizens. Each ofthese deserves our utmost concern, but the issue of racism is one moral scandal that cries out for a deeper solution than either the Republicans or the Democrats can offer this November.

The Problem Few sophisticated "modems" regard themselves as racists: that would be tantamount to confessing oneself a "redneck"- a designation more humiliating to most yuppies for its social stigma than its self-conscious racism. Most racists wear suits, not white hoods, and work in urban skyscrapers, not on rural farms. That's because most of the population lives in these urban centers and all of us-you and I, are partners in this

crime.

Christianity holds up the standard of God's righteousness and justice: . loving God perfectly and our neighbor, regardless of race, color, status or creed, to the extent that we would willingly give up our own life and property for his or her welfare. If you read this sentence correctly, your response will likely be; "Name someone who has done that! Isn't that a bit of an unrealistic expectation?" If so, it isn't because God did not create us with that perfection, but because since Adam's rebellion in Eden we have been following our own selfish desires and preferring our own happiness to God's and our neighbor' s.

It's called sin, and we are all sinners. No one, not even Mother Teresa, nor you nor I has lived a "basically good life." We are selfish, greedy, proud, and self-centered.

It's not merely something we do from time to time, it's what we are. It's in our hearts to "look out for number one" and a pagan culture that encourages this secular attitude is hardly the first place we ought to look for solutions. That what happened in L.A. a few months ago doesn't happen every night in every city and town is a testimony to God's common grace.

Other religions will tell you what you want to hear: There is no such thing as evil: it only exists if we believe it does (Eastern religions, Christian Science, Unity); evil is the product of fate: We can't do anything about it (Islam, scientific determinism).

But the Christian analysis paints the picture warts and all, leaving us in an unflattering light. The truth hurts.

Racism, therefore, is deeper than anything the anthropologists and sociologists can probe with their surveys and studies. Our society not only believes human beings are inherently selfish; it exploits this consumer craving. Trendy preachers will even sell their soulfor it..and destroy others. Racism is nothing more than collective narcissism: I love my group above all others because I love myself.

The Solution It's a good thing Christianity has good news! By the first century the Jews were eager for the arrival of their long -promised

Continued on next page JULY/AUGUST 1992

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nlode rnREFORMATION Continued from previous page

no wonder that this is all that non-Christians can say, but Christians have in baptism a Messiah or Savior. As'it suffering people, . kind of water that is thicker than blood, a many oftheJews saw the signs'and wonders common bath that washes away the sins of of Jesus of Nazareth and were convinced pride and prejudice without disolving . by his unique fulfillment ofOld Testament identity. prophecies that he was that Messiah. He showed them how superficial their religion Conclusion I know there are political and social had become, concentrating on making sure their own hair was in place by not solutions to many of the symptoms, but if associating with "sinners." Jesus railed at the root problems ofthe human heart are to the religious leaders for their hypocrisy be cured, nothing less than God's amazing and self-righteousness. They wouldn't grace is required. People are going to have bother to help a stranger beaten up and left to listen to the Gospel. They will have to for dead on the side of the road, but woe get right with God before they can truly betide you ifyou were a poor person picking love him and their neighbor without self­ justification. grain for food on the Sabbath.

This new race is still taking applications.

Jesus reaffirmed the Old Testament prophecies concerning God's plan to bring both Jew and Gentile into one body through this Messiah. "They shall be one flock, with one shepherd," said the Master.

by Shane Rosenthal Suffering public execution at the hands of Jews and Gentiles as a substitute for Jews With all the Christian activism that's and Gentiles, Jesus took upon himself our going around, I thought I'd bang on my sins and rose from the dead for our keyboard a little to stir some thought in the justification. Even though we are still Christian community before we embarrass sinners, if we trust in Christ, we are viewed ourselves again on the evening news.

by God as though we had perfectly fulfilled Abortion is a nasty thing. There is no the Law and never sinned. Out of this denying that. I must admit, however, that I liberation from spiritual bondage Christians often cringe when I see the confrontation have found an inspiration for liberating between pro-life and pro-choice advocates men and women from worldly bondage as on TV, or in Newsweek. I do not cringe at the well. Take Saul, the chiefJewish persecutor evil of the "secular humanists," who are of the early Christian community. On a "secretly trying to undermine family values" dusty road Jesus confronted this man of but rather, I cringe at the Christians, the zealous hatred and Saul's conversion to "pro-life" advocates themselves. Yes, I am Christianity was so dramatic he even pro-life, and yes, I am theologically conservative; so what's my beef? changed his name to Paul.

This same Paul became the apostle to Beef #1: Abortion protests almost always the Gentiles and when debate erupted over become Bible thumping, church-group, the assimilation of the swelling ranks of prayer gatherings. Think about this wisely Gentiles into the Jewish Christian church, for a moment. What do you think the Paul came down hard on bigotry and average pagan thinks when he sees these intolerance, using Christ as the bond. images on TV? Is it possible he thinks what Jewish men would pray in the synagogues, the media wan ts him to think, "These "Lord, I thank you that I am not a Gentile, religious zealots are trying to restrict my a slave, or a woman." But the church's rights again!" This may not be the message former adversary declared, "In Christ there the concerned Christian activists wish to is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor send home, but it is the one they are sending. free, male nor female. For all are one in You see, the problem is that the pagan sees no Christ." St. John saw in his vision of identification with the pro-life movement. heaven the elders praising Jesus, singing, He says to himself, "I am not religious, I do "Worthy is the Lamb, for he was slain and not believe in the Bible, therefore, I do not purchased for God with his blood people have to listen to these religious people who out of every tribe, kindred, language, and are telling me that abortion is wrong because nation and made them to be a kingdom of the Bible says so!" But a wise Christian might priests to our God. " At last, grace conquered want to convince the pagan that abortion is race. not a solely a biblical issue, just as murder is You know, you often hear even not a solely biblical issue. Sure, murder is Christians making excuses for racism: condemned in the Bible, but it is not wrong "Blood's thicker than water," they say. It's for the pagan just because the Bible says so.

A Few Complaints

24 .

JULY/AUGUST 1992

The pagan can see that murder is wrong without ever opening the pages of Holy Scripture. What if Christians worked hard to convince their pro-choice enemies that abortion was wrong ba,sed on scientific, legal, and judicial standards which both Christians and non-Christians alike share in common? What if our protests were less "church group-ish?" Would it be possible that non-Christians would want to attend these abortion protests? If this happened, and the arguments were sound, is it possible that the pagans watching at home would begin to feel an obligation to be pro-life?

Beef #2: Why put all our eggs in the basket of Roe vs. Wade? What would happen if pro-life advocates got their way and Roe vs. Wade was over-turned? Not much. This would only mean that individual states would now have the power to determine whether or not abortion would be legal or not for their own area. But this would not stop abortions. The pro-choice advocates are right, here. Women who want abortions will travel to get them, and if they don't have the economic means, they will use a coat hanger. We must not forget that this was the scenario before 1973. We as Christians must convince the general public that abortion is wrong! We cannot simply tell people that abortion is murder, but we must also explain why it is so. What would happen if Christians took the time to influence the culture's perception of life, justice, and eternal values, instead offorming political action committees to have our view enforced on the masses withoutexplanation?

Is ,it possible that the number of abortions would dramatically decrease if there were a growing sense in the general culture that all human life was precious? 'Isn't the conversion of a person's heart, will, and mind, more effective than any legislation?

Beef #3: Why is abortion the only pro­ life issue Christians are seemingly involved in? Why don't we see Christian prayer­ group sit-ins and sing-a-Iongs in areas of economic injustice, racial tension, or urban violence. Is it possible that to many we seem hypocritical? What if Christians were more well-rounded in their pro-life activism?

What if Christians, not just "liberals," consis ten cly voiced their outrage over racism, sexual discrimination, and a lack ofconcern for the environment? Would we get more respect? What if we not only voiced our concerns but took positive action such as adopting unwanted babies into our own homes? W ouId the general public be more willing to listen to what we have to say?

Could we more effectively share the gospel?

Just some things to think about.

~~-,

U

Liberating Reformed Theology: A South African Contribution to an Ecumenical Debate (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991),281 pp. John W. de Gruchy

Like a bad dream, the ideology that produced a separation of (aces in South Africa (i.e., apartheid) won't seem to go away. While advances are made, and the South African situation is much more complicated than the history of African­ Americans, there is still a long way to go for a democratic South Africa. Not only ought evangelicals to be concerned about this issue because it touches the very pro­ life ethic that makes us so outraged at the continuing horror ofabortion, but because, as in our own experience with the Native Americans and African-Americans, the Bible has been used to justify a manifestly unbiblical and unchristian system. By seeing how Christians in other cultures have confused their own ethnic priorities with the kingdom of God, we are better able to see it in ourselves.

This volume is a highly readable series of lectures presented as the B.B. Warfield ; Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary '----./ in 1990. A leading anti-apartheid theologian in South Africa, de Gruchy argues that "the problem in South Africa has not been Calvinism but rather, with some notable exceptions, the absence of a truly Reformed theology, one in which prophetic critique and evangelical transformation combine to serve the liberation ofthose crying out for life" (p.34).

Similar to the transformation ofReformed churches in America, the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa lost its doctrinal distinctives to an Arminian revivalism and pietism over the last 2 1/2 centuries. "It is significant that throughout the process of attempting to legitimate apartheid and Afrikaaner nationalism, the Dutch Reformed Church made no appeal to Calvin or to the historic Reformed confessions of faith" (p.29).

Instead, it has been those who have stood against apartheid who have appealed to the great biblical doctrines of creation, election, redemption, justification, sanctification, and eschatology. In fact, the anti-apartheid leader, Allan Boesak, declared, "I am of the opinion that I have \ J done nothing more than place myself faid y ~ and squarely within the Reformed tradition .... Asblacks, wecommitoUf8elves

Book Rcvic-w-

modernREFORMATION

to come to a truer understanding of the Reformed tradition" (PA2).

In fact, de Gruchy demonstrates that "another more prophetic and evangelical Calvinism has existed in South Africa since the beginning of the nineteenth century," citing the London Missionary Society as an example. The fIrst missionaries of the Dutch Reformed Church were also committed to social and racial equality, but the nationalisms of the nineteenth century transformed notonl y the Catholic countries of Europe, but the Protestant republic of South Africa as well. But, as in America, revivalism and pietism changed the

rationale to contemporary church growth strategies: "Missiologically it was argued that people were best evangelized and best worshiped God in their own language and cultural setting, ... somewhat akin to the church-growth philosophy of our time" (p.24). De Gruchy is probably refering here to the idea, expressed by the late Donald McGavran and C. Peter Wagner, that "people like to become Christians without crossing racial, linguistic, or class barriers."

De Gruchy's work is so valuable, not only because it gives an unparalleled insight into the history and character ofMrikaaner religion (which is much more fundamental to the practice of apartheid than most western reporters realize), but because it offers a wider prophetic challenge to contemporary heirs of the Reformation to untangle themselves from the ideologies of the left and the right. The soundest reader will be dizzied by the questions this book raises, not only for South African apartheid, but for our own engagement in political issues: In what ways is the Bible used to justify injustice and unrighteousness in society? How do I contribute to a faith that is more cultural than Christian? We have experienced the liberating power of the gospel that was recovered by the reformers. Now, de Gruchy wants to show us how this central, ultimate event of being justified can open up possibilities to liberation of the oppressed, a liberation that is theologically sound (as opposed to much of liberation theology), biblically commanded, and refreshingly relevant.

"The liberating Word of justification and the liberating Word of justice are thus brought together in Jesus Christ in such a way that while they are not confused, neither are they separated" (p.86).

In spite of the rich insights this book offers, those of us who find Karl Barth and neo-orthodoxy short of the mark will be unhappy with some ofde Gruchy' s remarks about Protestant scholasticism and infrequent, but nevertheless disturbing, influences of liberation theology (for instance, sacrificing God's absolute transcendance at certain points for the sake of emphasizing his involvement in the struggle for righteousness). And yet, in view of the scope of the book and de Gruchy's overall use of Scripture, these flaws do not disqualify this book from a wide evangelical readership. We conservative evangelicals need very much to hear the Bible challenge us through the pages of Liberating Reformed Theology.

The liberating Word of justification and the liberating Word of justice are thus brought together in Jesus Christ in such away that while they are not confused, neither are they separated theological focus that informed Protestant Christians in their social relationships. "A series of revivals in the mid-nineteenth century, largely under the leadership of the famous holiness preacher. .. Andrew Murray, Jr. (of Scottish descent but influenced by Dutch pietism whileastudent in Holland)" led Reformation Chrlstians away from their concern for the transformation of this world into a privatized subculture. "As a result, two distinct traditions, two spiritual worlds, continue to exist in the Dutch Reformed Church: the Reformed, ...and the 'evangelical-methodist' .... Y et it was under the dominance of such evangelicalism, rather than the strict Calvinism of Dort, that the Dutch Reformed Church agreed at its Synod of 1857 that congregations could be divided along racial lines" (Pp.23-24).

De Gruchy even compares the Synod's

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