What's Wrong in America and How to Fix It

This is well worth your time.  Arthur Brooks and Ben Sasse tackle a host of important issues raised in Ben's new book, Them

Civil Religion -- The Chief Rival of Biblical Christianity in America?

One of the most subtle and dangerous temptations Christians face during their pilgrim journey is the allure of civil religion.  James Davison Hunter defines civil religion as a “diffuse amalgamation of religious values that is synthesized with the civic creeds of the nation; in which the life and mission of the church is conflated with the life and mission of the country.  American values are in substance, biblical, prophetic values; American identity is, thus, a vaguely Christian identity.” (1)  Civil religion often functions as an alternative public religious framework for many professing Christians, especially those who accept the “Christian America” myth, or who find exclusive Christian truth claims too controversial to play any significant role in the public square. 

In modern America, civil religion is the chief rival to biblical Christianity.  If those Christians who are committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the kingdom of Christ and the civil kingdom, and who willingly placing themselves under the authority of God’s word are considered too extreme to be fully welcomed in America’s public square, those who champion a generic “civil religion” are almost always welcome.

Civil religion is an especially tempting option for Christians who have been told that religion is a private matter which has no place in the public square.  The basic tenants of civil religion are vague enough that it is hard to deny them.  They are also deeply held by too many Americans to eliminate them altogether from American life.  Rather than check their faith in Jesus at the door to the public square, Christians can embrace civil religion in the public arena and few will complain, since virtually all citizens embrace the key tenants:  a belief in a Creator; the basic goodness of humanity; equality for all; a profound sense of national purpose; and the celebration of national holidays with an almost religious reverence, (i.e, Independence Day, Memorial Day, and the National Day of Thanksgiving).  Yet, to confuse Christ’s kingdom with civil religion opens the door–however unintentionally–to exchange the truth of Christianity for what amounts to a false religion, one in which faith in the national interest eclipses the primary allegiance a Christian owes to Jesus Christ and his word.

The attraction to civil religion also arises from the fact that Christians often strive to be good citizens and apply their deeply-held Christian convictions to their actions in the civil kingdom.  Even when motivated by the best of intentions, Christians can easily find themselves attributing normative moral authority to the state, especially when the state’s current values and purposes appear to coincide with the revealed will of God (the moral law).  When national values resonate with the tenants of someone’s Christian faith, it is easy to take the next step and assume what the nation does (whether that be in matters of foreign or domestic policy) accomplishes the will of God.  The nation is believed to be God’s righteous agent and avenger, exercising God’s will, with his full authority and blessing.

When current events are read through the lens of civil religion, the nation’s struggles can be vividly portrayed in biblical images of sacrifice and redemption, and framed as part of the larger cosmic struggle between good and evil.  Our enemies declared to be “evil” because they oppose the good–our nation and its current cause.  Our national warriors are righteous redeemers, doing the Lord’s work, giving the full measure of their devotion to “save” others.  As Abraham Lincoln put it in his famed Gettysburg Address, those buried in the national cemetery gave their lives so that the nation might live.  Without question, our soldiers and statesmen have often been heroic and sacrificed much to secure our current freedom and way of life.  But their shed blood saved a secular nation from temporal peril, not their sinful souls from eternal punishment.

To read the rest of this essay, Civil Religion -- the Chief Rival of Biblical Christianity?

Senator Sasse on the Importance of Civics

Senator Ben Sasse has made a number of media appearances promoting his recent and excellent book, The Vanishing American Adult.  But whenever Ben gets the chance, he reminds his audience (especially on his twitter feed--which is a must follow) that one reason behind a number of the problems facing modern America is a lack of education in basic civics.

In light of Ben's media appearances and our recent Academy course on Allen Guezlo's American Mind (The American Mind), a number of people have asked me where to turn for a better understanding of the U.S. Constitution and the history of its ratification. Here are a couple of suggestions. 

Start with the U.S. Constitution Reader which was put together by the Political Science department of Hillsdale College.  You can find it here:  Constitution Reader

I would also recommend The Constitution: An Introduction.  Written by Michael and Luke Paulsen, this volume provides a basic commentary on the history of Constitution and an informative survey of how the constitution frames so much of American life.  Not scholarly, but informative.

If you prefer audio/video, well then you can do no better than Dr. Guelzo's new offering from the Teaching Company, Americas Founding Fathers.  Guelzo is a great historian and a brilliant story teller--telling the story of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution as a fascinating series of debates and compromises among the rather colorful participants.  You ought to purchase this when on sale (it often is).  My wife and I listened to much of the series while commuting to and from Escondido during my recent teaching stint at Westminster Seminary California.  Listening to this made the commute bearable (well almost).

Thanks Senator Sasse for reminding us of how quickly we can lose our basic freedoms if we do not know how and why a republican government providing ordered liberty came into being and what it means for us as a citizens during a time of eroding freedom.

Sasse on Religious Liberty

Ben Sasse recently gave a lecture on religious liberty at Georgetown University.  Ben's speech begins about 10 minutes in.

Well worth the forty minutes of your time.

Speaking of Politics . . . Great Essay from Scott Clark

Hillary Clinton in the pulpit?  What about President-elect Trump?

Dr. Clark nails it.  Let the Church Be the Church

Reformed Theology and Public Policy in Practice

From a recent interview with Senator Ben Sasse . . .

How did you become theologically Reformed? In college I was very involved in evangelical and parachurch groups—Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Campus Crusade (my wife is a former Cru staffer). Although I grew up in the Lutheran tradition and was very involved in FCA in high school, I didn’t have a lot of clarity about the differentiation of theological views inside Protestantism. In college I became a part of evangelistic groups that were very action-oriented and not always very theologically reflective. There were things that I couldn’t make sense of about the connection between faith and practice. So I started reading theology on purpose to make sense of things I was wrestling with and to try to understand the text better. I started reading a lot of Luther and read some B.B. Warfield. Bob Godfrey (president of Westminster Seminary California), Mike Horton (White Horse Inn media and Modern Reformation magazine), and R.C. Sproul were all really influential in my college clarification of being Calvinistic, Reformed.

How does your faith and theology inform policy fights and discussions? Three thoughts: First, a basic Christian orientation to living in the world. We live in the already and the not-yet, so as a Christian I am convicted of my sin and aware of Jesus’ salvific work both by imputation and by atonement on my behalf. Now I get the chance to live out a life of gratitude to God by trying to serve my neighbor, and politics is one of many secular callings—like building good shoes or speedboats.

Second? The American system is a glorious inheritance, because it is an anti-statist tradition. The purpose of American limited government is to make a broader, affirmational claim about human dignity and natural rights. Government doesn’t give us rights. We get rights from God via nature, and government is our shared project to secure those rights. The American system is a wonderful place for Christians to labor. We don’t have the challenges that Daniel had. We’re not being asked to bend the knee and worship Caesar. That is a glorious thing that we get to live in a state that doesn’t try and require idolatry. We should understand, affirm, and pass along that free tradition.

And third. People of goodwill are going to argue about policy. That is a good and healthy thing. We, as Christians, have a responsibility to do it in a way that doesn’t violate the Ninth Commandment. We don’t want to bear false witness against our neighbor, so we should assume our neighbor means well and try to characterize their position accurately, not beat a straw man. As it turns out, really believing in the dignity of your neighbor and loving your neighbor means that you want to try to refine and shape their best argument. Sometimes I’m going to be converted. There’s going to be a policy issue where I thought I knew the answer and somebody else has a better argument. I should be humble enough to actually be persuadable. If I’m going to try to persuade them, I want to do it by not misrepresenting their view. Some debates are genuine, where you’re actually open to wrestle with another idea. Other debates are faux, where all you’re really trying to do is beat someone. It turns out the latter is not only unpersuasive and ineffective—it’s really boring. It’s also dishonest.

To read the entire article, Ben Sasse -- A Reformed reformer

h.t. Brad Frank

We Know They Lie, But Vote for Them Anyway?

Senator Sasse nails it . . . again

Our public square is plagued by habitual, brazen lying. This isn’t entirely new — there have always been some politicians who lied — but I do not believe this country can long survive if the public concedes in advance that people in government do not need to be consistently aiming to tell the truth. In other words, it’s one thing to elect someone who ends up lying to us after the fact. (That’s terrible.) But it’s another thing entirely to conclude in advance that they are both liars, and simply shrug and elect them anyway. That does something to the national soul that tears at the fabric of who we are.

To read the entire essay, Two Kinds of Voting

That's A Wrap! -- "In the Land of Nod" Lecture Series Completed

My lecture series on the Reformed doctrine of the "Two Kingdoms" is now complete.

You can find the entire series of lectures here:  In the Land of Nod -- Lectures on the Reformed Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms

Friday Night Academy Audio -- Concluding Lecture

Here's the concluding lecture in my series "In the Land of Nod."

In this lecture we summarize the biblical data regarding A Christian's Responsibility within the Civil Kingdom

"In the Land of Nod" -- Lecture Series

Some of you listening to the most recent lectures in my series "In the Land of Nod," have asked about previous lectures.

You can find them here:  Two Kingdoms

Or here (at the Christ Reformed Church Academy site):  Christ Reformed Academy

Note:  I'll wrap up the series in a couple of weeks.  There will be 19 total lectures.