Category Archives: Church & Politics

Peter offers very practical advice for how Christians should relate to their government– (1 Pet. 2:9-12) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of … Continue reading →

One of the most challenging passages in the New Testament is 1 Cor. 5:9-13. 9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people– 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who … Continue reading →

One of the great problems with living in a post-Constantinian society is that the government no longer reflects Christian values. I guess it never really did, but the government is now much less Christian than ever before. At times, the … Continue reading →

A very long time ago, the church was very nearly defeated by winning. The Roman Empire made Christianity not only legal but mandatory. Only Christians could enjoy the rights of citizenship. And so, to gain earthly privileges, pagans “converted” by … Continue reading →

Recent New Testament scholarship has brought a new focus to Paul’s teachings about the “powers.” When Paul refers to the “powers,” he is sometimes referring to spiritual opponents of Jesus and other times referring to those having power on earth. … Continue reading →

One of the great ironies of the current church/state battle is the desire of the church to gain worldly power. We want to be able to tell the president what laws to sign and what laws to veto. We want … Continue reading →

My own understanding of the church/state question begins with Romans 1. Paul describes the condition of the world outside the church to demonstrate that we need a Savior. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God … Continue reading →

A few years ago I got interested in working through the church to influence the political world. I’ve worked in Washington and Montgomery as a lobbyist, and I know just how venal the political system is, how jaded many politicians … Continue reading →

When the evangelical right considers the issue of illegal immigration, it’s rare for someone to bring up the word of God as somehow relevant. Instead, we conservative, right-wing Christians tend to think very much like conservative, right-wing non-believers. Our views … Continue reading →