One Kingdom Or Two Kingdoms
By Al Baker - Posted at Forget None Of His Benefits:
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” -Revelation 11:15The link imbedded here is an interview President Biden recently did where he explains why he has always been for “same sex marriage”, as he calls it; and why he thinks laws hindering children from transgenderism are “next to sinful.”
"It doesn't matter whether it's same-sex or a heterosexual couple, you should be able to be married." @POTUS joins @KalPenn to discuss his evolution on same-sex marriage, and how the government can protect the transgender community. pic.twitter.com/HqurEvVctE
- The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 13, 2023https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Here’s my question—how should western Christians in the public square (at work, in dialoguing at neighborhood parties, or in political discussions) where Christianity has been the predominant world view for 1500 years, address these issues? Should pastors and church officers outside the church address these issues? And if the answer is “Yes”, then what should be the basis of their arguments and on what side of the argument should they land?
And what if you live in a country where Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism are predominant and Christians are a persecuted minority? How should you speak to these issues?
Augustine of Hippo faced this issue when the Visigoths sacked Rome in August, 410 A.D. For nearly one hundred years Christianity had enjoyed unparalleled freedom and growth under the leadership of Constantine who “converted” to Christianity in 312 A.D. and declared the Roman Empire a Christian nation. There is a great deal of dispute on exactly how real the faith of those in Rome actually was, but the pagan barbarians who entered Rome were making sure the Christian influence would be a thing of the past. In turmoil, Augustine wrote his now famous book, The City of God, in which he said there are two kingdoms. The City of God, is a spiritual kingdom ruled by Jesus Christ with His word as the foundation for all we think, do, and say. But then there is the City of Man, where we all live amongst people of varying world views which often are hostile toward the Christian world view.
Here’s my question—how should western Christians in the public square (at work, in dialoguing at neighborhood parties, or in political discussions) where Christianity has been the predominant world view for 1500 years, address these issues? Should pastors and church officers outside the church address these issues? And if the answer is “Yes”, then what should be the basis of their arguments and on what side of the argument should they land?
And what if you live in a country where Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism are predominant and Christians are a persecuted minority? How should you speak to these issues?
Augustine of Hippo faced this issue when the Visigoths sacked Rome in August, 410 A.D. For nearly one hundred years Christianity had enjoyed unparalleled freedom and growth under the leadership of Constantine who “converted” to Christianity in 312 A.D. and declared the Roman Empire a Christian nation. There is a great deal of dispute on exactly how real the faith of those in Rome actually was, but the pagan barbarians who entered Rome were making sure the Christian influence would be a thing of the past. In turmoil, Augustine wrote his now famous book, The City of God, in which he said there are two kingdoms. The City of God, is a spiritual kingdom ruled by Jesus Christ with His word as the foundation for all we think, do, and say. But then there is the City of Man, where we all live amongst people of varying world views which often are hostile toward the Christian world view.
Comments
Post a Comment
Please feel free to comment, but profanity, anti-Christian or argumentative comments will not be published. Thank you, ed.