A Boomer in the Pew

Dr. Wayne Grudem: Christians and Politics

Dr. Grudem was out of town on Sunday.  Therefore, our series on Christians and politics will resume next week.

In the meantime, why not refer a friend to this series.  We are certain to have some very interesting dialog.

Dr. Wayne Grudem: Confronting John MacArthur and Cal Thomas on "Do Evangelism, Not Politics" (Post #3)

This post is part of a series of posts taken from Dr. Wayne Grudem's Sunday school class at Scottsdale Bible Church.  In this class, Dr. Grudem is taking us through his forthcoming book:  Politics:  According to the Bible. I have created a category link here, which will allow you to scroll through all of the upcoming posts.

This post covers point #4 in Dr. Grudem's "Five Wrong Views" with regard to Christians and politics.

There exists a view, in the evangelical world, that Christians ought not involve themselves in political efforts, and focus on the witness of the gospel.

According to this view, if we would simply promote the gospel, and allow the gospel to change the hearts of America, then we wouldn't need to worry about conflicts with Christian morals.

Proponents of this view evidently include Dr. John MacArthur, and Cal Thomas.

In this class, Dr. Grudem puts forth seven arguments against this wrong view.  In a brief synopsis of several of his points, we find:

• God leaves Christians on earth both to do evangelism and to do good for others.
• God established both the church and the government to restrain evil.
• Countless examples exist where Christians have positively influenced governments for the good.

What do you think?  Would slavery have been abolished without the influence of Christians in Britain and America?

Download Grudem Christians and Politics Notes

Audio from the class:

A pause this week in the Faith and Politics series by Dr. Wayne Grudem

Dr. Wayne Grudem was in Peru last week, delivering his "50 Factors within Nations that determine their Wealth or Poverty" information to that nation's leaders with Dr. Barry Asmus.

I am looking forward to hearing how that went.

He will be back in the saddle this coming Sunday with his Faith and Politics series.

Dr. Wayne Grudem: Christians and Politics - Deconstructing Greg Boyd's Pacifism (Post #2)

This post is part of a series of posts taken from Dr. Wayne Grudem's Sunday school class at Scottsdale Bible Church.  In this class, Dr. Grudem is taking us through his forthcoming book:  Politics:  According to the Bible. I have created a category link here, which will allow you to scroll through all of the upcoming posts.

Last week, I asked Dr. Grudem if he thought America was a "Christian Nation", as I have seen these two words used solely as an argument in business circles to stand behind certain political views.

Dr. Grudem was reluctant to answer this value tinged question last week. However, being the gracious man that he is, he brought this topic to plate with his first swing at bat on Sunday to help clarify the difficulty of my question. 

Thank you Dr. Grudem!  Your heart for Christ is evident.

Wrong View #3 - All Government is Demonic

Dr. Grudem spent the whole class deconstructing this view, which at its heart is a complete, and total pacifism promoted by the likes of Greg Boyd.  

Boyd, and others holding this view would purport that:

• all government is deeply infected by evil, demonic forces.  Therefore, when America and Hitler were at war, this was the result of two demonic forces.
• raising the sword to defend your country is wrong.
• raising the sword to defend even your wife is wrong.
• had Christians been more like Christ (pacifistic) then world wars would not have occurred.

Dr. Grudem was disturbed by how this view has caused confusion in the church, and that this view itself, being a wrong view, is not Biblical, and therefore an "exact reversal of the role of God and Satan with regard to civil government".

Listen to Dr. Grudem's response to Greg Boyd:

What do you think?

• would you fight to protect your wife, or would you adopt the pacifists views and stand idly by?
• Was the United States wrong to confront Hitler with military force?
• Is all government evil and demonic?
• Has Boyd missed the point by ignoring the whole of God's counsel on this matter?
• What about Hiroshima and Nagasaki?  Right or Wrong?

Very difficult questions, but I stand with Dr. Grudem on this.  You?

Class notes:  Download Grudem_Christians_Politics

Dr. Wayne Grudem: Christians and Politics - 5 Wrong Views (Post #1)

This post is part of a series of posts taken from Dr. Wayne Grudem's Sunday school class at Scottsdale Bible Church.  In this class, Dr. Grudem is taking us through his forthcoming book:  Politics:  According to the Bible. I have created a category link here, which will allow you to scroll through all of the upcoming posts.

Wrong View #1 - Government should compel religion.

Here Dr. Grudem spends just over 30 minutes setting up an understanding of this wrong view.  In so doing, he employs the fact that our country was founded by a great many people fleeing compelled religion.

He further goes on to explain that our founding fathers desired that we all be equally free to worship as we choose, and that right should be available to all religions equally. 

Further, Grudem cites that Jesus distinguished between the realms of God and of Caesar, Jesus refused to compel people to believe in him, that genuine faith cannot be forced, and that Christ's kingdom is not a worldly kingdom.

Wrong View #2 - Religion should be excluded from government.

This view is the complete opposite of the previous wrong view, in that proponents of this view vigorously oppose any religious expression in a "government" setting whatsoever.  We have all seen examples of this with the restriction of valedictorian speeches, controversy with religious expressions on our coins, our government buildings, and the removal of religious symbols all across our land.

To further understand this wrong view, Dr. Grudem explains that such views override the will of the people, it changes freedom of religion into freedom from religion, it wrongly restricts freedom of religion and freedom of speech, and it removes from government God's teaching about good and evil.

The objective of this viewpoint would be to make government completely secular, and withhold any conversations about God, or what God's moral law might say to us.

Next week we will explore Dr. Grudem's other "wrong views".

In the meantime, please take some time to listen to Dr. Grudem's audio below.  These are important political times in our country, and it is critical that we all possess a Godly foundation under our political worldview.

I look forward to great conversations, in the comments section below, as this series moves forward.

Push the play button to listen:

Dr. Wayne Grudem: Faith and Politics

One of the benefits of my membership with Scottsdale Bible Church is that I have Dr. Wayne Grudem as my Sunday school teacher.

Dr. Grudem is currently working on a forthcoming book:  Politics:  According to the Bible, which is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2010.

Fortunately, for those of us in his Sunday school class, he has just launched a new series based upon his upcoming book.

I intend to blog my way through his series, and share Dr. Grudem's thoughts with you here each week.

As a note of disclosure, Dr. Grudem wanted us, and therefore you, to understand that:

• He appreciates the church giving him approval to teach this class.
• There are many different views about political questions among evangelical Christians.
• What he teaches will represent his views, and he intends to use Scripture to demonstrate his reasoning.
• His views are not necessarily the official position of Scottsdale Bible Church, and they are not the only views among the church's leadership.

Stay tuned!