Gospel and the Citizen

Florent Varak

Description

Should the church get involved in politics or influence their voting members? What is the church mandate on this issue? How should Christians project themselves? Many Christians are wondering how to respond to the confusion generated by the variety of candidates for public office and the differing perspectives of church leaders who are trying to evaluate the political picture. This book, first offered in French, offers guidelines to assist Christians in determining how best to participate in the political arena as citizens who have a dual citizenship: in heaven and in the country of their residence.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Political science of religion

Informations

• Publié par: BMH Books
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780884693185
• Langue: English

Extrait

What Others are Saying About The Gospel and the Citizen
T HE G OSPEL AND THE C ITIZEN IS AN EXCELLENT STUDY OF WHAT THE Word of God has to say about the Christian s involvement in society, politics, and government and how we are to engage them. I deeply appreciate the good, exegetical work in the text accompanied by a warm, gracious spirit which was evident throughout the book. I whole-heartedly agree that we as the Church of Jesus Christ will have our greatest impact with the gospel by living it out, not by attempting to legislate it.
Jeffrey A. Gill, D.Min., Ph.D.
Vice President and Dean
Grace Theological Seminary
Winona Lake, Indiana
V ARAK AND V IGUIER HAVE MADE A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE issue of the Christian s involvement in the political arena. By masterfully crafting a series of probing questions interspersed with key Scriptures, they have succeeded in challenging you to defend your own conclusions. Anyone wishing to be salt and light in an increasingly secular world needs to read this book. It will powerfully test your thinking and, as a citizen of another country, set you free to engage biblically during your earthly sojourn.
Irv Busenitz, Th.D.
Sr. Vice President of Academics
and Dean of Faculty
Master s Seminary
Sun Valley, California

The Gospel and the Citizen
Essay on the Christian and the Church in Politics
English edition
ISBN 978-0-88469-313-0
Florent Varak, Philippe Viguier, 2016
Translation, Lori Varak
Publisher: BMH Books, Winona Lake, Indiana
bmhbooks.com
July 2016
French edition
Title: L vangile et le citoyen
Essai sur le chr tien et l glise en politique
Publisher: Editions CLE, Lyon, France. editionscle.com
September 2015
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossways Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
What Others are Saying About The Gospel and the Citizen
Forewords
The Church and Power
What Would You Have Done?
Too Simplistic?
Church and State: Five Models of Interaction
Peter s Situation
Being a Witness by Our Example (1 Peter 2:11-12)
Sojourners (1 Peter 2:11)
Believable (1 Peter 2:11b)
Altruistic (1 Peter 2:12)
Being a Witness Through Our Respect (1 Peter 2:13-14)
Confident (1 Peter 2:13a)
Submitted (1 Peter 2:13b-14a)
Thankful (1 Peter 2:14b)
Being a Witness Through Our Freedom (1 Peter 2:15-16)
Benevolent (1 Peter 2:15)
Autonomous (1 Peter 2:16a)
Courageous (1 Peter 2:16b)
Being a Witness Through Our Kindness (1 Peter 2:17)
A Final Thought
Forewords
T HIS BOOK HAS BEEN A JOINT EFFORT .
I (Florent) served as the senior pastor of the Villeurbanne-Cusset Grace Brethren Church near Lyon, France, for almost 25 years. Most of my time and efforts there were spent studying and teaching the Word of God. My heart s desire has always been to help people come to know Christ and to apply the Bible to everyday life.
The weeks surrounding the French presidential elections in 2012 left me puzzled. As I clicked through various social media sources, I was surprised at the number of entries by evangelical Christians airing rather strong political opinions. Some of those posts came from colleagues who readily expressed their political convictions and their affiliation with a certain political party. Some Christians openly encouraged people to vote for the person who would later become the president, while making disparaging comments about the current government. Others held to the opposite point of view. Still others spoke publicly about their disgust with all politicians, saying, They re all the same!
I was uneasy with all of this public airing of positions. I began to wonder if, as Christians, even pastors, we were promoting the wrong things.
Some of these discussions were the result of the changing laws concerning same sex marriage here in France. This fundamental change in the definition of what it means to be a family sparked heated debates. Churches were encouraged to join protesters in Paris in early 2014. Here again, opinions were aired publicly, and Facebook discussions became heated.
Several members of our church approached the leadership, requesting that the church as a whole join the demonstrators in the capital city. Others believed that we shouldn t even mention it publically in church. The elders studied the question and came up with two decisions. First, we concluded that the right to demonstrate publically in a democracy belonged to the individual conscience of each citizen, not to the church as a whole. And second, we decided to devote several Sundays to the study of the relationship between the church and the state. This short book is a compilation of those messages.
We have tried as much as possible to let the Scriptures speak for themselves. We don t pretend to fully understand the subject or to be right on all accounts. But we do hope that this book will encourage all of us to think more deeply about our individual responsibilities as disciples of Christ and to form our political and social convictions based on what the Bible says.
This book reflects our point of view, but we are open to any observations which would help us grow in our understanding of this subject.

[Philippe]
M Y FATHER IS F RENCH, MY MOTHER IS A MERICAN, AND I WAS BORN in Canada. My wife is half Japanese. My grandmother was born in Germany, but she grew up in Guatemala. One of my brothers lives in Moscow, and another is preparing to move to West Africa. I have one Swiss sister-in-law, one who is Italian, and another who grew up in Burkina Faso. Holidays with our extended family look like a meeting of the United Nations, and when we watch the World Cup, there s always someone rooting for the winning team!
I must admit that when it comes to citizenship I sometimes feel a bit lost. I spent the past thirty years living in three different countries, where, as a citizen of each country, I exercised my right to vote. I also worked as a counselor for several years with international students at a Christian college in Los Angeles. My closest friends live all over the planet: Singapore, China, Brazil, Australia, and Zimbabwe.
I am convinced that political systems and governments exercise great influence on each one of us. But what has really marked me in all of my cross cultural experiences is the possibility of creating strong, authentic relationships in the midst of diversity. I find this unity, despite our differences, to be uniquely beautiful. It s no surprise that God is preparing a bride for his Son which is made up of people from all corners of the globe, from every tribe, every language, every nation, and every people group!
Diversity can be a great source of enrichment. Each culture has its own strengths and weaknesses and its own form of government. That is why I rejoice in the fact that it is not politics, but the Bible, which unites my family and my friends!
The Bible exalts cultural diversity, and I believe God rejoices, to a certain extent, in political diversity. He leaves it up to each one of us to navigate the rocky waters of imperfect political systems, finding wisdom, discernment, and intentionality in His Word.
This book was written for that reason, and I hope with all my heart that it will be useful to you as you read it.

A S WE WROTE THIS BOOK, WE DIVIDED UP THE CHAPTERS BETWEEN us. When we feel it would be helpful, we will tell you which one of us wrote which chapter. Those who come to this book hoping for an academic debate will be disappointed. If you want to study the question further, we encourage you to consult the following bibliography:
Bauckham, Richard: The Bible in Politics: How to Read the Bible Politically. London: SPCK, 1989.
Carson, D. A.: Christ and Culture Revisited. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
Colson, Charles W. God Government: An Insider s View on the Boundaries Between Faith Politics . Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.
Culver, Robert: Toward a Biblical View of Civil Government . Chicago: Moody Press, 1974.
Forster, Greg: The Contested Public Square: the Crisis of Christianity and Politics. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2008.
DeYoung, Kevin Gilbert, Greg: What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission. Wheaton, Crossway 2011.
Grudem, Wayne A.: Politics According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.
Green, Chris, ed.: A Higher Throne: Evangelicals and Public Policy. Nottingham: Apollos, 2008.
MacArthur, John: Why Government Can t Save You. Nashville, Tenn: Word Pub, 2000.
McConville, Gordon: God and Earthly Power: An Old Testament Political Theology. London: T. T. Clark, 2006.
Minnery, Tom: Why You Can t Stay Silent. Wheaton: Tyndale House, 2001.
O Donovan, Oliver: The Desire of the Nations: Rediscovering the Roots of Political Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Spencer, Nick and Chaplin, Jonathan, eds.: God and Government . London: SPCK, 2009.
Thomas, Cal and Dobson, ed.: Blinded by Might: Why the Religious Right Can t Save America. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999.
We wish to express our deepest thanks to all who have contributed in one way or another to the writing of this book: the elders and leaders of the Villeurbanne-Cusset Grace Brethren Church, who had the courage to address the question publically; Michel Philippe, editor and longtime friend, who, with his timely advice, helped us accomplish what we set out to do; Martine Morel for reading and rereading the original text; Alain Stamp, mentor and friend, for his editorial eagle s eye ; and Marion Robin, the world s greatest assistant, who took the time to put these messages together and come up with something readable.
Last but not least, Lori Varak, m