Charlie Kirk was murdered recently while talking to a group of young people at an open forum on a college campus. At his funeral, speakers presented different messages. Charlie’s wife, Erika, said of the man who murdered her husband:
President Donald Trump spoke after Erika. He acknowledged that:
The stark contrast between their comments presents challenging questions to Christians. How should personal belief impact public life and politics? Love and forgiveness or hate and vindictiveness? What is the role of Christian faith in the increasingly harsh world of politics?
Throughout history, Christians have taken
five different approaches to culture and politics. Each suggests a different road Christians might take today.
Separatists
Continued below.
How should personal belief impact public life and politics
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Here is my humble attempt at breaking this down in comparison to Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
A Separatists basically means being "in the world but not of the world". This could hamper the mandate given to us by Jesus Christ of Nazareth to spread the Good News. Many take this direction as no interactions at all and create an isolated community afterall, one can not spread the Gospel if they do not go into the den of sinners.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth was not a Separatist.
A Conversionist use to be spreading the Gospel however in recent decades it has seen a shift in focus from individual conversion to cultural control aka Dominionisim. This is not tbe mandate given to us by Jesus Christ of Nazareth to lay dominion over a nation.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth was not a Neo-Conversionist.
A Synthesist seeks to integrate, reconcile, or blend different, sometimes seemingly opposing, ideas, doctrines, or traditions into a coherent whole. This does not agree with the One Gospel delivered to the Saints.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth was not a Synthesist.
A Dualist divides reality into two opposed principles, such as the soul being good and the body being bad, or the world being separated into purely sacred and secular spheres. Historically, extreme forms of dualism, like Gnosticism (which posited an evil creator of the material world), are rejected by orthodox Christianity as heresy because they deny the ultimate sovereignty of one good God and the goodness of his creation.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth was not a Dualist.
A Culturalist in the theological sense, often termed the "Christ of Culture" position, is a view that actively interprets and adjusts Christian teachings to conform to the prevailing cultural norms, values, and philosophical ideals.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth was not a Culturalist.
So what category does He fit in?
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is a Transformationist. He rejected isolation (Separatism) and cultural conformity (Culturalism) but also focused on renewal rather than mere dominion (Neo-Conversionism). His method was to actively engage the world to transform individuals and society by the singular truth of the Gospel, affirming God's good creation while calling for its redemption and renewal, thus establishing the Kingdom of God.
Be blessed.