The Prophetic Witness of the Church

1
The Prophetic Witness of the Church

• Lets use HIV/AIDs as an example
• Part of our response
• - To seek to change attitudes and behavior
• - To mobilize care and to educate
• - Perhaps even to change public policies
• in terms of priorities, practices
• Each of the endeavors moves us into the public
  realm
• This movement into public life requires us to
  think how we, as Reformed Christians, should
  engage in such endeavors

2
Christian Faith and Public Life from a Reformed
Perspective

• Corwin Smidt
• Director, The Henry Institute
• Calvin College

3
Introduction 1

• Given the time and nature of this presentation, I
  must be relatively brief
• Want to also allow some time for possible
  discussion as well
• As a result, I am presenting more of an outline
  than a detailed discussion

4
Introduction 2

• Emphasis here on Reformed perspectives
• This is not to suggest that the perspectives of
  other Christian faith traditions are less
  Christian
• Rather, this is an effort to think how the
  theological understandings of Reformed
  Christianity has particular ramifications for
  public life

5
Introduction 3

• My presentation will consist of two parts
• - The Distinctive Nature of Reformed
• Theology
• - Principles of Public Life Drawn from
• the Reformed Perspective

6
Distinctive Nature of Reformed Theology

• What distinguishes the Reformed view
  theologically, and how does that understanding
  shape and color the way in which Reformed
  Christians approach public life?
• Answer
• Centrality of Creation, Fall, Redemption
  narrative
• Implications drawn from it

7
Creation, Fall, Redemption Narrative

• Other Christian traditions also recognize and
  emphasize this thematic scheme
• But, as noted, what distinguishes the Reformed
  tradition is its centrality and the implications
  drawn from it
• The outline of this narrative is very familiar

8
Creation The Cultural Mandate 1

• God created the world all things that exist have
  their being as a result of His original created
  act
• When God finished this act of creation, God
  pronounced all things goodincluding the natural
  realm and the human race

9
Creation The Cultural Mandate 2

• Creation story does not mention social or
  governmental institutions
• Does not discussion art, recreation, institutions
  of worship or education
• Yet, to the extent these are implicit in the
  creation story, they too can be considered to
  have been pronounced good

10
Creation The Cultural Mandate 3

• Creation more than this primary formative act it
  is an ongoing process
• Opening pages of Genesis reveal that the Creator
  assigns the human pair a mandate
• Be fruitful and multiply Fill the earth and
  subdue it
• While the first command can be viewed as a
  reproductive command, the second command cannot
  be so interpreted
• - Filling and subduing can be viewed as a
  cultural mandate
• - Naming animals, creating basic labeling
  systems, crafting
• tools, making schedules to order their
  lives
• - These activities can be viewed as fulfilling
  the cultural
• mandate

11
Creation The Cultural Mandate 4

• Clear that God has given humankind tasks to
  perform on earth
• These tasks are not merely perfunctory duties,
  but are creative acts as well
• They are a major part of the way in which we, as
  humans, reflect and embody the image of God
• God has delegated some of His authority to humans
  by giving them a measure of influence and
  responsibility over the rest of the created world
• Creation is both finished (in the sense of the
  original act of Creation) and ongoing

12
Creation The Cultural Mandate 5

• Some see in this cultural mandate the
  development of public
• authority and government
• Some see the state as an institution that emerged
  as the result of sin, with the political sphere
  existing to hold back sin
• Reformed theology provides for a more positive
  view of the state
• Assuming no fall, and assuming procreation along
  with technological developments within the
  Garden, could well necessitate the formation of
  some kind of governmental authority to provide
  order within society
• - thus, the state does not exist simply to hold
  back sin, but to enable members of society in
  their life together to accomplish more and faire
  better than they could simply on their own

13
Fall Common Grace 1

• With the Fall, sin has affected everything in
  creation and all aspects of life
• Total depravity relates to the breadth, rather
  than the depth, of the corrupting effects of sin
• Humankind continues to bear much of the image of
  God, even though this image is distorted
• Even those who reject God or who worship idols
  can still do some good works

14
Fall Common Grace 2

• Therefore, Reformed theology also recognizes the
  presence of common grace
• While those who are called by God experience a
  particular kind of grace (special grace), the
  Bible notes that God continues to bestow His
  goodness to all men and women, believers and
  nonbelievers alike
• Common grace is that grace provided to all people

15
Fall Common Grace 3

• The common grace of God is experienced in the
  ordering of nature, the restraint of evil, and
  the ability of nonbelievers to reason and perform
  acts of civil good
• Therefore, as Reformed Christians, we do not
  believe that all insights of unbelievers or their
  accomplishments are necessarily bad and are to be
  rejected as totally corrupt and fallen
• It is common grace that provides us with certain
  common ground with unbelievers, which give us a
  reason for Christian engagement with the larger
  society

16
Redemption Cosmic in Scope 1

• God did not leave this fallen world in a hopeless
  situation
• Sent Jesus Christ to redeem all things
  (individuals, social life, and nature) to
  reconcile everything to Himself and each other
• Jesus came not only to save individuals, but or
  restore His whole creation and reestablish the
  proper function of family, religious life, state,
  and all other institutions

17
Redemption Cosmic in Scope 2

• Redemption in the Creation, Fall, Redemption
  narrative, therefore is not limited to personal
  salvation it is much broader in scope
• Just as the Fall touches and affects all aspects
  of Creation, Redemption in Jesus Christ also
  seeks to reclaim all facets of Creation
• This task of Redemption is not an effort to
  restore Creation to some original, relatively
  pristine, yet primitive form
• Rather it means a restoration of culture and
  society in their present stage of development

18
Redemption Cosmic in Scope 3

• Christians have an obligation to facilitate this
  task of redemption
• Certainly God is at work saving His creation
• Yet, those of us who know Gods salvation are
  saved not simply because God loves us, but in
  order to fulfill Gods tasks for His people in
  the worldwhether in farming, building,
  manufacturing, educating, or engaging in
  political life

19
Biblical Principles and Public Life 1

• Given the purposes for which it was written, the
  Bible is not a political treatise that provides
  some detailed political philosophy or manual of
  political instructions
• Rather, there are various passages within the
  Bible that relate to politics, some directly and
  others indirectly
• Moreover, those passages that do relate to
  politics must be assessed to determine whether
  they represent instructions that transcend time
  and place, or whether they were instructions for
  a particular historical audience

20
Biblical Principles and Public Life 2

• Certainly, there are biblical instructions
  related to politics that remain true for
  contemporary political life
• Such political principles need to be discerned
• In the end, what can be discerned from biblical
  texts are principles regarding public life that
  hold across time and spacerather than detailed
  prescriptions about political institutional
  arrangements that transcend time and space

21
Principles of Public Life from a Reformed
Perspective

• The Vital Role of Communities
• The Nature, Tasks, and Function of the State
• The Call to Political Engagement to Political
  Vocation
• The Need for Modesty, Toleration, Cooperation,
  and Compromise

22
Principle 1 The Vital Role of Communities

• Reformed theology emphasizes the social nature of
  human beings
• Individuals are born into families, and are part
  of social groups and communities
• Hold that these associations and communities are
  an intrinsic part of society

23
Principle 1 The Vital Role of Communities

• Reformed Christians emphasize different spheres
  of authority
• God has ordained, as part of the creational
  order, various spheres of authority
• Each sphere has a reason for existence and has
  its own particular right to exist

24
Principle 1 The Vital Role of Communities

• These spheres represent different domains in
  which different authority structures operate
• The state is not permitted to compel its
  authority on the other spheres in order to compel
  their to conform to the states will
• For example, the state should not usurp the
  function and authority of the family that God
  ordained at Creation

25
Principle 1 The Vital Role of Communities

• Reformed thinking confers authority and integrity
  to social associations and institutions outside
  the state
• In so doing, it advances what may be labeled as
  mediating structures or the notion of civil
  society that exists between individuals and the
  state
• These structures (associations, organizations,
  institutions) provide a sense of community, while
  shielding their members against any aggrandizing
  tendency of state authority

26
Principle 2 The Nature, Tasks, and Function of
the State

• Another major principle the importance of
  institutions and their responsibilities
• The nature of the political realm is
  characterized by certain qualities
• - first the state has limited powers
• - second, the state functions to secure justice
• - third, the state is an agent of common grace

27
The Nature of the StateLimited Power

• For Reformed Christians, the power of the state
  is not absolute
• State authority limited in two ways
• - other legitimate authority structures exist
  prior
• to, and independent of, the state
• Jesus Give to Caesar what is
  Caesars and to God what
• is Gods
• Statement clearly sets limits on what Caesar
  can claim
• - Christians are called to submit to political
  authorities, but
• we do not owe absolute obedience
  to the state
• Romans 13 Paul emphasizing that
  the Roman emperor
• was a servant, not
  the only or final sovereign entity

28
The Task of the State Securing Justice

• State is, in part, an instrument to restrain evil
• But justice involves more that punishing wrong
  doers
• Nor is the state an instrument for pursuing
  morality per se
• - Gov cannot compel everything that is right or
  moral (e.g., to honor
• ones father or mother)
• - Nor can it punish everything that is wrong or
  immoral (e.g., lying or
• marital infidelity)
• - Gov may seek to deter or encourage certain
  behavior, but it is far less
• able to control and shape human thoughts and
  desires

29
The Function of the State An Agent of Common
Grace

• State is not an agent for the advancement of
  religion or the securing of salvation
• State is an agent to care for the common
  interests and general welfare of its people
• Its task is not to redeem its citizens, but to
  sustain the created order to maintain the law
  and uphold public justice. Implications
• -precludes any utopian view of politics
  (politics will never fully eradicate human pride
  or sinful behavior)
• -need for patience (our work as Christians in
  politics is incremental in nature)

30
Principle 3 The Call to Political Engagement
and Vocation

• Because Christians are called to seek justice,
  they are called to political engagement
• They are not to refrain from politics because it
  is deemed to be a sphere of activity outside the
  domain of Gods sovereignty
• It is the belief that Gods redemption is at work
  in this present world that spurs Christians to
  engage in public endeavors

31
Principle 4 The Need for Political Modesty,
Toleration, Cooperation, and Compromise

• Not a principle that directly flows from Reformed
  theology, but develops from its theological
  underpinnings
• Even with the generous tools God has given us in
  this age to know Him and discern His will (e.g.,
  the Bible and the Holy Spirit) we need to be
  cautious about claiming to speak for the Lord in
  public life
• We presently See through a glass darkly
• Must act humbly
• Our responses are not necessarily Gods will but
  only our response to Gods will

32
Principle 4 The Need for Political Modesty,
Toleration, Cooperation, and Compromise

• In an effort to seek public justice, Christians
  must be ready to negotiate and compromise
• Justice requires attention to particular
  circumstances and changing contexts. To discern
  what constitutes justice may well require
  discussion and negotiation among different
  parties
• While evil pervades all of life, goodness is not
  necessarily absent even in the lives of the
  reprobate
• The need for negotiation and compromise helps to
  avoid the theological error that the people of
  God (or Christians) should rule
• Christians are not called to rule, but to serve

33
Principle 4 The Need for Political Modesty,
Toleration, Cooperation, and Compromise

• In working to secure justice, the perfect should
  never become the enemy of the good
• In other words, the taking of incremental steps
  towards a desired policy goal should never be
  viewed as reflecting unprincipled action

34
Conclusion 1

• Reformed Christianity recognizes and accepts the
  diversity evident in public life and the presence
  of different structures of authority operating in
  different spheres of social life
• It affirms the state as a social structure
  possessing legitimate authority within a
  particular domain of life, but as only one among
  various structures to which God has delegated
  authority

35
Conclusion 2

• While the state is limited in the powers that God
  has delegated to it, the state also plays an
  important role in Gods created order
• It is an agent of common grace, an instrument to
  secure and administer justice

36
Conclusion 3

• Christians are called to be engaged in public
  life
• They are not to abandon the responsibilities they
  owe to their neighbors
• While the political domain, like all other
  domains of human life, is affected by the Fall,
  God remains sovereign and seeks to redeem His
  creation

37
Conclusion 4

• When Christians engage in public life, they are
  called
• - to act with political modesty,
• - to demonstrate tolerance and forbearance
  toward
• those with whom they disagree,
• - to cooperate with others to achieve the
  broader public good