I have been incredibly impressed by DA Carson. I’m not even sure what he is. He’s clearly a teacher. Theologian? Pastor? Just not sure. I know one thing: Listening to him teach frequently blows me away.
This week I have been listening (via mp3) to Carson teach a lecture on Christ in Culture. In it he made some insightful observations:
- In the famous “Therefore, give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” passage in Matthew 22, Christ was saying that there were things that Caesar had dominion over, but God has dominion over all. Caesar only operated within the authority God granted him. Christ was not arguing for separation of the secular and the sacred, the church and the government.
- Christianity is not associated with a particular form of government. Those of us in the States have a tendency to think that democracy and Christianity are linked in some way, but it’s clear from history that democracy is not the answer. One need only look at the way democratically-elected leaders become dictators outside of the West.
- Democracy only works when there is substantial agreement among citizens about what “good” and “right” are. As the people in a country diverge on these beliefs, democratic government is increasingly called upon to settle disputes and, ultimately, favor one group over another. Take, for example, the recent controversy with the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts were attacked for not allowing gays to act as scout leaders–a move that elevated the rights of gays over the rights of Boy Scouts. In such cases, one side or the other usually loses freedom.
Christians, therefore, have only one hope. It is Christ and him crucified, risen to ransom sinners from their doom.
