BOOK REVIEW - "KINGDOM POLITICS: RETURNING GOD TO GOVERNMENT" BY TONY EVANS

 

Isn't there supposed to be separation of church and state? 

Dr. Tony Evans takes a completely different view. After all, God created the earth, the family, the church... and government. Governments where the participants are using the Bible and Christlikeness as their guide will succeed; those that don't will become oppressive.

Evans starts with the concept of Kingdom Politics (chapters 1-4). Next, he deals with the priorities of Kingdom Politics (chapters 5-8), such as sanctity of life and justice. Then, he focuses on the Citizens of Kingdom Politics. (Chapters 9-12) This includes in recognizing our citizenship is ultimately in heaven, but we're here to make an impact on our society. He also looks at voting, noting that different Christians will have differing priorities, and pointing out our allegiance should not be to the Democrat or Republican or even Libertarian Party but to the ruler of the kings of the earth, viewing ourselves as Kingdom Independents. 

Finally, he has a conclusion where he presents "A Kingdom Strategy  for Community Transformation, which has a three point plan:

1. Assemble: Unified Sacred Gathering
2. Address: Unified Compassionate Voice
3. Act: Unified Social Impact

I found this to be a very thought provoking book. It is motivating me to do more praying before I vote, as well as to encourage me to get involved. I highly recommend this book.

SUNDAY PSALMS PART 15 OF 48 - PSALM 62

 

Southeastway Park, Indianapolis, IN

1     Truly my soul silently waits for God;
      From Him comes my salvation.
2   He only is my rock and my salvation;
     He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.
3  How long will you attack a man?
     You shall be slain, all of you,
     Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
4  They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
     They delight in lies;
     They bless with their mouth,
     But they curse inwardly.
                                            Selah

5   My soul, wait silently for God alone,
     For my expectation is from Him.
6  He only is my rock and my salvation;
     He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
7   In God is my salvation and my glory;
     The rock of my strength,
     And my refuge, is in God.
8   Trust in Him at all times, you people;
     Pour out your heart before Him;
     God is a refuge for us.
                                              Selah

9  Surely men of low degree are a vapor,
    Men of high degree are a lie;
    If they are weighed on the scales,
    They are altogether lighter than vapor.
10 Do not trust in oppression,
     Nor vainly hope in robbery;
     If riches increase,
     Do not set your heart on them.
11   God has spoken once,
     Twice I have heard this:
     That power belongs to God.
12  Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy;
     For You render to each one according to his work.
                                    Psalm 62:1-12, New King James Version

 

Some people think that politics and faith should be kept separate. Of course, we're aware of those who think anything dealing with religion (especially Christianity) has no place in politics, and probably not in the public square. There are Christians as well that basically see themselves as being in the Kingdom of God and politics being the Kingdom of the Devil and don't want to defile themselves with the latter.

However, besides seeing the obvious focus on trusting in God as our Rock, our Defense, our Salvation, and the Righteous and Merciful Judge who will give to each according to their work, I also see things that make me think of American politics.

For example, look at verses 3-4. What comes to mind when I read this? The impeachments of Clinton and Trump. In both cases, the opposition party were on the lookout for any reason to try to remove the President.

I also think of politics when I get to verse 10. Sometimes, the government itself is oppressive. Other times, people tolerate the oppression of those they disagree with. And robbery? While the Libertarian thought of "Taxation Is Theft" might be exaggerated, it's not off-base, and some favor the rich - meaning those who are better-off than they are - to pay "their fair share." But let's not forget the last part of the verse. There are people who trust in their riches.  

The reality is we should put our trust and hope in God. We should not trust in ourselves or in Government or anything else.

WHAT IS OUR IDENTITY? WHERE IS OUR CITIZENSHIP?

 

Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull

Yesterday was Sunday, July 4th, 2021. The last time Independence Day fell on a Sunday was 2010; next time will be 2027. 

I'm in a Facebook Group called the Baptist Review, and one theme of the past week was how much of the service would be a church service on the Fourth of July and how much would be a July 4th Service at church. Should Patriotic songs be included and how many? Should the sermon be focused on Independence Day or should the pastor continue with the next sermon in his series? Should the flag be on the platform and should the pledge be said?

Allow me summarize what some people were asking: Is our views on Patriotism and our country and its freedoms in danger of violating the First Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me?"

Let me simply put my view like this: American Christians have an equal responsibility to be loyal and thankful for their countries as do Christians in every other nation in the world, including Communist China, Islamic Iran, Hindu India. I'll take one step farther: the loyalty and thankfulness and stand for truth should be exactly the same this year with President Biden as it was last year with President Trump.

I'll put it another way. As a Christian, my identity is a Christian and my citizenship is in heaven. Yes, I happen to be American, but my Sovereign is infallible and in heaven. If His commandments and the laws of our fallible leaders contradict, I unquestioningly give the former precedence. 

But is that typical, especially nowadays? There are some who identify with Christians on both sides of the political aisle, and both of them would say their political views are an accurate ... no, THE accurate interpretation of Jesus' teachings. In other words, some question if you can be saved and be a Democrat or if you are a true disciple if you are a Republican. Yes, I've heard one person say that Libertarianism and Christianity are incompatible.

How is God going to accomplish His will? Does he need us to defeat His enemy (that is, the OTHER party) through political means? When Jesus said teach all nations and make disciples, did He really mean either to be pro-life, pro-traditional marriage, pro-guns, pro-military, pro-police or to view the government as the means to create equality and diversity and oppose those who would dare consider Scripture more authoritative than their political philosophy?

One book I'd recommend on the subject is John Cobin's Christian Theology of Public Policy. He promotes what he calls the "Liberty of Conscience" view, which views the state as a rival kingdom to the Kingdom of God, but to be active in that view. Cobin includes concise commentaries on Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2.

To be honest, I would rather put up the Christian flag in my home than an American one. I have more in common with a believer in a 3rd world country or enduring persecution in a restricted nation than fellow countrymen here. (It takes about five minutes a day of watching TV to reinforce that belief.) A Christian who disagrees with me on Calvinism/Arminianism, dispensationalism, music, etc. is more at unity with me than an unbeliever who agrees with me politically.

What one item would you call the defining point of your identity? Are there times we need to decide between obedience to God and abiding by the laws of men? Are your political views influencing your theology, or is it the other way around?

BOOK REVIEWS - FIXING THIS COUNTRY

 

Normally I would review a book or a series. This week, I'll be giving a batch of short reviews on books with a related subject: dealing with this mess. For the record, I would recommend reading the book unless I say otherwise.

1. Christian Theology of Public Policy: Highlighting the American Experience by John Cobin. This book considers four methods of looking at the government - the active and passive ways of seeing the Government as a God ordained institution (respectively Theonomy and Divine Right As Kings), and active and passive ways of seeing Government as a competing kingdom (Liberty of Conscience and Anabaptist). He then develops the Liberty of Conscience view.

 

2. The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation by Rod Dreher. If it sounds familiar, I've already reviewed and recommended it. Short summary - Dreher sees a slow drift away from God in the past seven centuries and calls the church to form communities to battle the coming storm.

 

3. Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb by Keith Giles. This is one book I don't recommend as much. Like Dreher above, Giles believes we need to take a step back from politics. But he traces the problem to Constantine and the church uniting at all with the state. This book reflects an anabaptist view, with the church completely separate from state.

4.  Turn Neither to the Right nor to the Left: A Thinking Christian's Guide to Politics and Public Policy by D. Eric Schansberg. Out of all these books, this one and The Benedict Option would be towards the top of the list. This volume encourages us not to legislate morality and to legislate justice. Very useful material, and he does an excellent job with abortion.

 

5. Blinded by Might: Can the Religious Right Save America? by Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson. This volume is right behind the other two, making us wonder again about how Christians should handle politics. Thomas also interviews ten individuals from Jerry Falwell to Norman Lear to John Ashcroft to George McGovern.  

6. The Divided States of America? by Richard Land. It's been a while since I've read it, but it is a good call not to let politics divide the church.

 

7. The American President (PBS boxed set). I looked for the book rendition, but only found the video which came out in 2000. It's natural to look at the role of the President, and while this doesn't identify a problem, it took an interesting track of putting our first 41 Presidents in groups of ten. For example, Washington is compared to other generals like William Harrison, Grant, and Eisenhower. True, many Presidents could fit into one of the categories (for example, Andrew Jackson was a general, but he was placed in another category. 

8. Where They Stand: The American Presidents in the Eyes of Voters and Historians by Robert W. Merry. This author ranks the president in several categories and compares the rankings of the scholars with the reaction of the voters - did the President get re-elected? If he didn't run for re-election, was a member of his party elected? 

9. Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty by Ivan Eland. Here, we see a different system
of selecting the order of presidents based on peace, prosperity and liberty, placing them as great (4), good (6), fair (4), poor (10), and bad (17). As a result, you see John Tyler and Grover Cleveland topping the list, while Washington is in the good category, and the Roosevelts were in the bad division. The second edition includes President Obama.

10. 9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America: and Four Who Tried To Save Her by Brion McClanahan. This is similar to the above one, only concentrating on those considered the best and worst. The nine were Jackson, Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Wilson, FDR, Truman, LBJ, Nixon, and Obama, though he made it clear that both Bushes and Clintons were worthy of being included. The four good ones were Jefferson (1st term only), Tyler, Cleveland, and Coolidge. Unlike the other books, though, this one starts giving ideas of changing our constitution to improve things. His thoughts include giving the President a single six year term without re-election.

11. Two Presidents Are Better Than One: the Case for a Bi-Partisan Executive Branch by David Orentlicher. In other words, let's have Trump and Biden serve as our nation's two presidents. The suggestion is to elect the two highest vote-getters as co-presidents. While I doubt it works, the author has some interesting points. 

12. Running Alone: Presidential Leadership from JFK to Bush II by. Another idea - in this case, the problem is that the President is too independent of his party in Congress. There needs to be more team work. He also suggests changes to the lengths of elected officials - he thinks the President and both houses of Congress should all have concurrent four year terms, and that when you vote for a Presidential candidate, your automatically voting for that party's Senators and Representatives (like the VP currently is). I think the book is interesting, but I disagree with his solution.

13. The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters by Karl Rove. If you're a liberal, don't be put off by the author. Primarily, this is more of a biography, with the focus being on the 1896 Presidential election between Kennedy and William Jennings Bryan. But the best part is the end, where he gives eight lessons from McKinley. One of the best is to realize a political enemy is not a personal enemy. 

Any other books on the subject you find interesting?