Blog
How a Christian Should Vote: The Final Choice (Part 6)
As we decide how to vote, we must seek the Kingdom of God, lean into nuance, love our neighbor, and pray.
How a Christian Should Vote: Three Approaches to Christianization (Part 5)
Some Christians believe that America is a Christian nation and argue that Christians should directly influence the legislative process, bringing Christian beliefs and convictions to bear on policy, resulting in a country that is “Christianized” or “re-Christianized” in its laws, if not in individuals’ beliefs. There are several approaches to Christianization.
A Theological Response to the Presidential Debate of 9/29/2020
Last night President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden “debated.” I’ve competed in debate and my job requires me to speak with clarity and conviction for long periods of time, so I’m not actually sure what word to use to describe the spectacle America and the...
How a Christian Should Vote: Limited Partisan Compatibility (Part 4)
If you decide that one party is more compatible with your Christian convictions, there is a faithful way and an unfaithful way to do so. I’ll call the faithful approach “Salty Partisanship,” in which Christians maintain our distinct convictions while participating in party politics. I’ll call the unfaithful approach “Flavorless Partisanship,” in which there is no discernable difference between one’s Christian convictions and their party’s platform.
How a Christian Should Vote: Two Types of Separationism (Part 3)
The separationist options are founded on the belief that the role of the church is fundamentally different from the role of the government, and therefore the two should operate independently of one another as much as possible. There are two Christian iterations of separationism that share this principle, but that apply it in quite different ways.
How a Christian Should Vote: Two Types of Separatism (Part 2)
Some Christians take a Separatist approach to the relationship between Kingdom and Country. There are two types of Separatism, which I’ll call Isolationist Separatism and Prophetic Separatism. While they have the same basic starting point – the belief that the Kingdom and the Country are and always will be incompatible – they play out in very different ways.
How a Christian Should Vote: Kingdom Clarity (Part 1)
How should a Christian vote? This should be a difficult question. What we need is not a simplified rubric for the right way to vote. What we need is an understanding of how our citizenship in the Kingdom of God informs our citizenship in this country.
Theater and Theology: An Exercise in Compassion for Kenosha
Resisting or rejecting compassion leads to dehumanization and abdication of our responsibility to be just and merciful. Will you join me in an uncomfortable exercise in compassion for Jacob Blake, Rusten Sheskey, and Kyle Rittenhouse?
Freedom over Liberty; or, Why Christians Ought to Wear Masks during Pandemics
For Christians who have the physical ability to wear a mask, there is no biblical or theological case to be made for refusing to do so. Christian freedom is in no way disrupted by masks. Indeed, Christians walk in freedom when we consider others’ safety more highly than our own comfort. We are free from sin in order to be for others.
Strength Made Perfect in Power?
When I ask students to define and learn theological terms, I can tell which students have used their theology textbooks to look up definitions and which have simply Googled the words. As with any academic discipline, theological terms have specific meanings that...