The Bible, Government and Christian Anarchy
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
This “essay” contains my informal reflections on biblical texts that I believe support what some call “Christian Anarchy.” Consider it a very rough draft of a future project. I’ll argue that Kingdom people are called…
Is homosexuality a sin?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Q&A, Sexuality, Sin, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Sin
There are three passages in the Old Testament (Gen. 19: 1-13; Lev 18:22; 20:13) and three in the New Testament (Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; I Tim. 1:10) that have traditionally been read as prohibiting…
Does the Bible forbid interracial marriages?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Church, Diversity, Q&A, Racism, Relationships, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Relationships
Absolutely not! Racist Christians used to argue against interracial marriage by quoting Old Testament passages that prohibited Jews from marrying non-Jews. This prohibition had nothing to do with race, however. In fact, there was no…
Is the Bible against body piercing and tattoos?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Q&A, Sin
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Some Christians argue against body piercing and tattoos on the basis of a couple of Old Testament verses that prohibit them (Lev. 19:28). Several years back an aggravated lady tried to get me to preach…
Why do you argue that discipleship and politics are rooted in opposite attitudes?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question. At a recent conference I heard you argue against the idea that there could ever be a distinctly “Christian” political position by contending that political disputes are premised on a claim to superiority while…
Don’t Wilberforce’s achievements refute your stance on the separation of faith and politics?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues, Wilberforce
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: William Wilberforce was a Christian whose passionate involvement in politics almost single-handedly brought an end to the slave trade in 19th century England. Don’t his achievements show the importance of Christians being involved in…
Are you a pietist?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: Soon after the publication of your book The Myth of a Christian Nation, I heard Chuck Colson charge you with being a “pietist.” Since then, others have repeated the charge. They all claim you…
Shouldn’t preachers rally Christians to fight political injustice?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: My pastor has publicly supported your book The Myth of a Christian Nation. But he’s recently called on the church to take a stand against the injustice of our local government cutting funding for…
What do you think of the left wing Christians who are calling on Christians to stand up for “biblical justice”?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Yes, we’ve been hearing a lot of this recently, especially from more “progressive” (left-tending) Christians calling on people to vote “God’s politics” and stand up for “biblical justice.” On the one hand, I along with…
Capitalism and Greed
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Wealth and Responsibility
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
It’s hard to deny that capitalism is the best economic system around. It creates wealth far better than feudalism, communism, socialism or any other system one could name. But for all its advantages, capitalism has…
Why is the Bible so strict on prohibiting pre-marital sex? What’s the big deal?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Marriage, Q&A, Relationships, Sexuality, Sin, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Relationships, Sin
Today in western culture people tend to have a rather “recreational” view of sex. It’s just a pleasurable physical activity we engage in. Even people who don’t consciously believe this are influenced by it ,…
William Wilberforce and the Possibility of “Christian” Politics
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Creation Care, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
William Wilberforce was a passionate Christian who entered politics for the sole purpose of ending the slave trade. For more than thirty years he passionately and courageous labored to get Parliament to outlaw the practice….
Trapped in a Constantinian Paradigm
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
A Response to James Smith’s Review of The Myth of a Christian Nation In my book The Myth of a Christian Nation I repeatedly call on Christians to engage in social activism. Followers of Jesus…
The Wrong “Bulls-Eye”: Reflections on the “Christian Left”
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Following Jesus
As it has since the fourth century, the Church today for the most part operates with a Constantinian (“power-over”) paradigm. Because of this, most socially concerned Christians are inclined to define the Church’s mission as…
Why did God create me with an uncontrollable sex drive?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Problem of Evil, Providence, Q&A, Sexuality, Sin
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Sin
Question: Why did God create us with far more of a sex drive than we need for reproduction and far more than we can handle to refrain from sex before and outside of marriage? It…
Why is America Becoming More Politically Divided?
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
I watched a 20/20 special the other night on politics in America. The show explored the “growing political divide” in our country. Here’s some of the information found in this program. * Since the early…
Is it okay to masturbate?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Q&A, Sexuality, Sin
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Sin
When I as a new struggling Christian raised this topic with my pastor, I was told in no uncertain terms that God struck Onan dead for masturbating. At some point I read the passage for…
Can Christians serve in the military?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Peacemaking, Q&A, Social Issues, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: Jesus ministered to military people (e.g. a centurion) and didn’t tell them to leave their military post. So do you think Christians can serve in the military? I believe it’s a Christians duty is…
Does Following Jesus Rule Out Serving in the Military if a War is Just?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Kingdom Living, Non-Violence, Q&A
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Jesus and Military People Some soldiers responded to the preaching of John the Baptist by asking him what they should do. John gave them some ethical instruction, but, interestingly enough, he didn’t tell them to…
Is homosexual love without homoerotic behavior okay for a Christian?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Q&A, Sexuality, Sin
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Relationships, Sin
Question: You may find this to be an odd question, but is it possible for two Christians of the same gender to remain a couple if they do not engage in sex? My partner and…