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BUDDY HANSON
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.
For too long, Christians have reacted to
each issue (i.e. abortion) as though it was just
another in a string of issues initiated by non-
Christians to destroy our culture. The hectic
way by which we go from issue to issue must
appear to non-Christians like a Chinese Fire
Drill. The Biblical way to approach cultural
issues is to determine how each issue fits
into God's overall plan and offer a response
that conforms to that plan. As an example,
suppose the Supreme Court makes a ruling
that obviously conflicts with the original intent
of the U.S. Constitution. Jumping up and
down, writing our elected representatives, or
demonstrating our dissatisfaction in front of
the Supreme Court building, or even clamoring
for a Constitutional amendment, will not
result in correcting the problem. The basic
problem can only be addressed by electing
Christian representatives so that Christian
judges and Supreme Court Justices can be
appointed (or wayward ones impeached).
Our culture's problems will not be solved
by electing conservative (non-Christian)
representatives to offset and outnumber
liberal (non-Christian) representatives. The
only solution is to work for, support, and vote
for Christian representatives who will not pass
any legislation that doesn't conform to God's
Word (and who will also work to remove non-
Christian laws from the books). Conservative
common sense will not solve our problems,
but Christian sense (based upon God's inerrant
revealed Word) will. What we are facing is a
conflict of faiths, not a series of unrelated
social issues.
Unless and until we take these comprehensive
steps we will continue to be plagued by
27 the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON
Acts 20.26-27
individual issues such as abortion, illegal
drug distribution, sexual immorality, and
pornography. These are the consequences
of our being separated from God in our daily
lifestyle. It is not good enough to regularly
attend church on Sunday and Wednesday,
while omitting God's rules from our daily
decision-making. To do so is to constantly put
ourselves in the mode of putting out fires,
without looking for what's .causing them.
When some people hear the word culture they
think about going to a play or to a formal
event; but culture includes all aspects of our
lives-things both formal and informal. It also
includes the media we watch or read, the
games we play, the schools we attend and,
yes, even our church. Biblically speaking, it
is impossible to separate one's private life
from his public life. The reason for this is
that we do what we think. Further, it is what
we think about, that forms our values and
ethics, which is to say, our religion. So we
can agree with Henry Van Til that "culture is
religion externalized." 1 We were called out of
darkness and into God's Kingdom of Light so
that we could be as "cities on a hill," showing
our testimony to all in view. We're also called
to be "salt and light" to our communities,
which is impossible to do if we privatize our
beliefs by keeping them inside our homes and
churches.
By incorporating our beliefs into our daily
lifestyles we will demonstrate a Biblical
alternative lifestyle to those with whom
we come in contact. People are looking for
answers to the problems our culture presents
to them. It doesn't take a Christian to understand
that things are not going well, but it does take a
Christian to understand what needs to be done.
Everybody wants to be successful and for
things to go well with them, their family, and
friends. By seeing what we do and the results
we have, non-Christians will be motivated
(hopefully, inspired) to incorporate our habits
into their lifestyles. By doing this we will be
able to gradually bring positive changes to our
culture, and once that happens, the politicians
will follow (as they always do). In addition, we
can begin to replace the timid non-Christian
politicians with Christian statesmen who will
give our communities strong Godly leadership.
We need to get beyond the erroneous idea
that we live in a dual universe composed
of separate spheres of worldly and spiritual
elements. That's a lie straight from Satan, and
is on a par with the thinking that "full-time
Christian service" can only be done by those in
the professional ministry, or who work for an
organization with Christian in its name. All of
life is a calling from God and we are all called
to transform our current culture to the pre-fall
greatness of the Garden of Eden.
1 . Van Til, Henry, The Calvinistic Concept of
Culture, (Baker Book House, [1959, 1972],
2001 )
Buddy Hanson is President of the Christian
Policy Network which works to conform the
cultural debate to biblical principles. He is a
frequent speaker to churches on worldview
issues and has written several books designed
to assist Christians to incorporate biblical
principles into their lifestyle. This article is
from chapter one of his newest book, What's
Scripture Got To Do With It? Connecting Your
Spiritual Dots For A More Meaningful Life. His
website is www.graceandlaw.com and he can
be reached at bhanson@graceandlaw.com or
205.454.1442.
www.JudyRogerJ.com
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the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON 28