Astronomy and Politics Through the Lens of Epistemology
How do We Know What We Know?
What is Our Method of Evaluating Truth?
Christian Epistemology
The Historical Consequences of False Doctrine
The answer to the question as to whether I am contradicting evangelical doctrine would be better expressed as contradicting a popular belief in evangelical circles. But evangelicals universally derive their doctrine by strictly what the Bible teaches which is what I will address below in my analysis. Whether or not the reader agrees with my biblical analysis below, at the very least, I hope that most could see it as warranted to re-investigate a common evangelical belief.
Although I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church with a significant dose of doctrinal training, one of the biggest barriers to my starting a personal walk with God as I grew into my teen years was my reading excerpts of “Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl” - 1952. In later readings I would find out that after Hitler’s Mein Kampf was published in 1926, Christians had virtually no public input on the rise of the Nazi philosophy until it had saturated Germany resulting in the Nazis first taking power in 1932. Christians did speak out openly until after 1932, that but that was 6-7 years of silent witnessing with no response from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemöller or the eventual confessing church. They objected loudly of course, but only after Hitler had assumed power, which was far too late. Critically important Note: I am exclusively referring here to pre-Hitler events among faithful evangelical/protestants.
So I would ask pastors and deacons if they would have any input, like letter writing campaigns, about the rise of evil and Godless political thought developing in the U.S. that my parents and I would watch on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite every night. The universal Baptist answer every time was that “these were responsibilities of the state” and furthermore, “Christian’s sole responsibility was the Great Commission of spreading the Gospel” as stated in:
Mathew 28:19: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”
After that, I was utterly disgusted. How could any Christians tolerate that kind of hatred for the Jews or even the unbiblical thought developing in US without having some response to the rapidly developing Godlessness in governmental thinking? From my own perspective I became convinced that if Christians in Nazi Germany could sit by and watch or smell as Jews were consumed in mass ovens and then do nothing, Christianity could not possibly be true in ultimate reality. I was the headed for atheism and what turned things around for me will be disclosed later in this website.
Now, this might appear to some that I am about to interpret scripture based on experience, but I am not. When any of us are convinced of a correct interpretation of scripture in our lives, yet the result of our actions end in unmitigated disaster, it is natural for us to double check the scriptures we are convinced of for any possibility of personal error. That is what I am doing in this blog. The Holocaust was the worst disaster in Christian history which partly explains why I am an evangelical attending a Messianic fellowship with Jewish followers of the Messiah today.
Yet, when I did originally did commit my life to Christ in 1968, I eventually would read the next verse in the Great Commission which is obviously in the same context of evangelism. In fact, it is part of the same sentence:
"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
So, what is the reference to “all things that I have commanded you”? Obviously, that is a big subject, but what is the second most important command the church is commissioned with, which is distinctly subordinate to a literal spreading of the Gospel? In that sense, the whole character of the church is expressed in the next verses in Mathew 5:13-16:
"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all [who are] in the house. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (NKJV)
This is a critically important teaching because there are 277 verses in the Bible where the words salt or light are mentioned, 83 verses in the New Testament and roughly 194 verses in the Jewish Tanakh or Old Testament. So, what is light? It is difficult to describe light without defining darkness which requires a distinction between good and evil. All missionaries in countries alien to either Judaism or Christianity will eventually have to address this AND most in our country has largely become so alienated from Christianity. Therefore most of America is in the same state as a country that has never been exposed to either Judaism or Christianity. Therefore, to begin the recovery of the America we once knew (if that prophetic scenario is possible?), we must expose evil prior to the good news of the Gospel for it to make any sense. So what is the most efficient and effective way to both be salt and light IN OUR CULTURE? The answer to that depends on what country you are speaking of. The apostles did not have a ready made mechanism to influence government, but we do.
We have been given the authority through our government to choose the people and more importantly the policies consistent with scripture that enhance the distinction between good and evil.
The fastest way to explain good and evil to our culture is through God’s more limited Commission to government. God has ordained government for the more limited purpose of simply punishing evil and rewarding good in Romans 13:1-7. (No, this is not the fuller Commission to the Church)
Ro 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
Ro 13:2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
Ro 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
Ro 13:4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
Ro 13:5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.
Ro 13:6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.
Ro 13:7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Yet there are many critics of this interpretation of scripture that insist that anyone who labors in government is therefore “TRUSTING” in government. Anyone thinking of trusting in government should throw out all biblical interpretations he or she has and start all over again in Genesis 1:1 and read the entire text again!! The trusting in government interpretation is absolutely nuts! A study of all scripture never implies we should ever do that!
And how long should we be salt in light in our country, given present circumstances? As Jesus said, “to the end of the age”! For that reason, this biblical interpretation is not to mix religion with politics, but it is to carry out Adonai’s purpose for the church! Just as Paul did before his government in the book of Acts.
NOTE: Paul’s government in Acts is expressed in this passage as a “he” pronoun. So who was he? He was the Roman emperor Claudius (see Acts 11:28, 18:2, 23:26). Well, the thing worth noting here is the question, was Claudius some paragon of virtue in the eyes of the then church in Rome? NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT! So why would we expect either Trump or Biden to be moral standards for us to follow? The Bible alone should be our standard of morality, not some overall collection or consensus of what everyone thinks in a Democratic Republic. Our standard of morality should be the consistency of the the government's policies with a detailed study of ALL of scripture:
Isa 28:13 But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they [evil doers] might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught [see passage in context, verses 7-13].
So, is our government just a he or she as a President? No, it is a group of people making up the executive branch (President), the Legislative branch (or Congress of the House of representatives and Senate), and Judicial branch (which makes up the courts). Yet, very few of these people today will recognize the distinction between good and evil without expressing all manner of reservations complicated with well guarded, often highly technical qualifications. Many others, will just flatly reject any SPECIFIC examples of evil altogether!
Now, is this biblical interpretation encouraging both Jews and Christians to be involved in government controversial in evangelical circles? YES, one of the founding fathers of the evangelical movement, D.L. Moody said to labor in government was like polishing brass in a sinking ship. Well known leaders like John McArthur today say much the same. But I believe they are simply wrong. Government is not supposed to be the ultimate or final solution to our problems in any reading of scripture in the first place. That should be obvious. Christian leaders are like the training wheels on a child’s bicycle. We are eventually supposed to read and learn to interpret on our own without the need of such training wheels. Remember it is what the entire Bible says (“line upon line”) that we are to evaluate with regard to current circumstances and government policies, and that is not necessarily the same as referring to whatever pastor, or evangelist or elder so and so, says it said. However, my criticism of John McArthur on this point should not infer that he is a heretic that should not be listened to. In fact, one of the best exchanges between Christians and Jews I have heard on line is between John and Ben Shapiro and I would highly recommend watching it. click here
Given the reality that most of our government does not believe in the biblical concepts of good and evil, how can we be certain that our current government is punishing that which is biblically evil, much less rewarding good? That question is a mine-filed for Christians to walk today and certainly in the future regardless of who is in government. Walking that mine-field will be my next blog on this website. In no case, however, will I advance that the current fact in society gives us the license to revolt or rebel against government. But regardless of what happens or when, how long are we to be salt and light in our culture, regardless of our reading of the book of Revelation? Till the end of the age, as Jesus said!