Is it better to talk about politics . . .
. . . or live your public policy?
In case you don’t know the answer . . .
Watch our Truth in Two (full text below).
Christians involved in public policy? Sure!
Subscribe to “Truth in Two” videos from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaches at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).
Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
The Church should be involved in public policy. Here’s what I mean.
The Church bears a responsibility to be positive in our approach, persuasive in our speech, passionate about our intellect, peaceful in our tone, powerful in our conviction, and patient in our vision.
The Church should follow Scripture’s clear statements about The Church’s general role in culture: being salt (Matt 5:13), convincing speech (Col 4:5-6), spreading light (Matt 5:14; Phil 2:15), maintaining reputations (1 Thess 4:11-12), and doing good (Gal 6.10; Titus 3:8, 14).
The Church should be accountable for promoting the good including justice, equality, respect Rom 13; 1 Tim 2; 1 Pet 2-4), being wise in speech and action by promoting righteousness in leadership (Proverbs 28, 29).
The Church has multiple examples throughout Scripture of believers doing good within a public environment: Joseph, Moses, David, Esther, Mordecai, Daniel, Nehemiah and numerous references to public workers throughout Paul’s greeting passages at the end of his epistles.
The Church limits criticism against Her by living uprightly (1 Peter 4:12-19), standing against injustice (Isa 58-59), speaking in measured language (Acts 22), without pompous propaganda nor embarrassing misinformation, comparing Diotrephes with Demetrius in third John.
The Church should be heard loudest in quiet action—1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 says that the public listens to others who live quietly, mind their own affairs, and work with their hands. Good living sidesteps evil and ill attention (1 Peter 2:11-12; 3:16-17; 4:14-17). Doing good allows all people in the public to thrive.
Should The Church have a role in public policy? Of course. God’s goodness brought to public places by Christians is the first step toward positive public policy. For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.