God Cares about our Beliefs

Nomodiphas: Of course one can be a Republican or a Democrat and still be a Christian, just as one can be an activist and be a Christian, a non-voter, an environmentalist, a monarchist, a terrorist, or a Maoist and be a Christian. In fact one can be a meth addict or a child molester and come to Christ. Christ does not ask that we act a certain way or think a certain way before we come to Him; God loves and accepts us, and desires us to come to Him as we are. However, when we do go to Him our lives change. When we open our lives up to God, God impacts them in deep ways. He brings healing and forgiveness, He changes the way we view Him, view others, and view ourselves, and God changes the way we act. . . .

So one can act, believe, or vote any way they want and be a Christian, but it does not necessarily mean that their beliefs or actions are God’s will for their lives. God does care about how we act and what we believe, He desires that we live by His truth, but He will never impose it upon us. It is our choice to what degree we allow God’s truth to impact our lives.

Philosophos: Passionate answer, you are spot on. One can indeed think or act any way and still be a Christian, but it does not indicate that they are living the way God desires them to live. Certainly the way we live as individuals is significant to God. He gave us a whole host of guidelines: don’t be given over to drunkenness, don’t live in sexual immorality, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t murder, be generous, be kind, be forgiving, etc. One may be liberal or conservative and be a Christian just as one may be a murderer and be a Christian. One need not act any certain way or have certain political beliefs to be saved, for we are saved by grace and not works, yet just because one may have false beliefs and still be saved does not mean that God desires us to hold unto those false beliefs after we are saved.

You answered wisely the second half of my question on how government relates to people on an individual level, but now consider again the first half of my question. You assume that God has an opinion on government, why? What gives you that idea? Should we even be concerned with earthly institutions? Is not our kingdom in another place? Shouldn’t our primary concern be with ‘getting people saved?’ After all respectable men like Dr. Greg Boyd have said Christians should not worry about the government (even injustice perpetuated by the government) for all is in God’s hands. He thinks government is inherently evil and involvement in it constitutes a compromise of faith for Christians.

Nomodiphas: For whatever reason God has decided to let us affect things on earth. Yes the general story of humanity is fixed, but we are allowed to fill in many details. The fact of the matter is that God has given us the ‘dignity of causality.’ It is a mystery why we are allowed to cause any real events at all, but since we are why would one way be acceptable and another unacceptable? We are allowed to choose where we will work, who we love, what friends we have, how we dress, etc. If we eat too much we’ll grow fat, if we work too little we’ll grow poor. Our actions are causes that bring about real effects. Not only are we allowed to affect things through the material realm, but God allows us to change things by means of our prayers. If God allows us to live our lives in such a way that changes the world around us on the individual level, why should it be any different for the collective? What is so different between me deciding to change the layout of my house or helping to change the framework of my government?

Of course evangelism should be our primary focuses. We live in a transient world; nothing will survive this world save the souls of men. However, the Bible makes it clear in a number of spots that God is concerned not only with the lives of individuals, but with how human life is organized as a whole. I’ll give you three examples.

To begin with, consider the Law of Moses. God separated a people unto himself, the Hebrew nation. God chose Moses to lead the people out of Egypt and into a new land. God not only gave Moses instructions on how the people should live as individuals and how they should worship Him, but God also gave Moses directions on how the people should set up their government. This included guidelines for a legal system, limits on the power of the monarch, rules about property, and a structure for the economy. It is obvious God cared how their government was run just as He cared how they worshiped Him and how they conducted their private lives.

A second example is the role of the prophets and their relationships to the monarchy. The prophet Nathan confronted King David when David overstepped his power and had an innocent man killed so that he could cover up his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. In the same way, Elijah faced King Ahab when Ahab unjustly judicially murdered Naboth in order to take his vineyard. The records of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, and Amos are full of extortions against the rulers of Israel and Judah to stop exploiting the poor and to govern justly. God did not send these prophets solely to the people in order to convict the people of their wicked ways, but also to the heads of state when they had gone astray in their leading of the people. The fact that God dealt with the Israeli government through His prophets is evidence that God cares about how governments function.

Finally, in the New Testament both Jesus and the apostles taught the early Christians how they should rightly interact with their governments. Jesus declared that we should ‘give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ Everyone has a duty to their state and it is important that no one shirk their responsibility. The apostles Peter and Paul wrote that we should obey and respect our leaders in all things, except when our rulers make decrees that run contrary to God’s commands. They also said that we should always pray for our leaders. It is true that these instructions are only for Christian subjects and not leaders. But the reason there are no instructions for Christian rulers is that at the time these letters were composed there were no Christians in high governmental positions.

So there you go, three examples from three different areas of the Bible that demonstrate that God is concerned and does have an opinion about how the government should function.

Philosophos: Good answer, you truly are a bright student. Because this is such a broad topic we must have structure in order to engage in any type of a productive conversation. I am sure we will get off track from time to time, but I don’t want us to get sidetracked with important, but non-related issues, or bogged down in details. Here is what I propose. First we will discuss what government’s function is. Next we will examine general, foundational principles of government—we will define justice and consider the ideal form of government. While doing this we will also have to reflect on questions regarding the nature of man, like his value and free will, as well as how the government should relate with other areas of society, such as education and the economy. After discussing all of this it we will be able to apply the principles we have discovered to contentious issues like war, trade, abortion, and gay marriage. While the Bible will be our primary source, we will not limit our discussion to the Bible alone. All wisdom is from God and we can find this wisdom in the writings of wise men as well as in examples from history. I doubt we will reach any conclusions that are radically different than the conclusions that other Christians have come to, in fact I would be worried if we did. I am hoping we will merely come to a better understanding and justification of long established truths. How does this sound to you?

Nomodiphas: Sounds great, but before we get going can I ask a quick question?

Philosophos: Of course! Don’t be bashful, feel free to ask a question whenever you have one, even if it is not completely related to what we discussing.