Prophetic Politics

In the season 2 kickoff, Thabiti, Ben, and Nick talk reparations, the current debate over them, and how the Bible can help guide that discussion.

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Thabiti, Nick, and Ben talk about how pro-choice arguments are lacking, what the pro-life movement gets right, and what it could do better.

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Thabiti, Nick, and Ben talk about the history of abortion, it's cost, and why Christians feel so passionately about this issue.

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Thabiti, Nick, and Ben talk about identity politics and how it is viewed in the political sphere. Are such identities biblical? Anti-biblical? How do questions of identity impact how we relate to one another?

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Thabiti, Nick, and the new guy, Ben, talk about political correctness, speech, and how the Bible addresses how we should speak to one another.

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Thabiti and Nick chop it up over race, racism, and the church.

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In this episode, Thabiti and Nick break down the topic of immigration. They explore how Scripture informs both of their views on the topic as well as sheds light on personal experiences. While recognizing the government's legitimate right to enforce it's borders, they also explore what a Biblically-informed, Christian position on immigration might be.

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This week, Pastor Thabiti and Nick discuss gun control and what the Bible has to say on this topic, if anything, as well as the Biblical principles Christians should consider as they think about this issue.

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In this episode, Thabiti and Nick talk about political party as a source of identity, and discuss the dangers of letting that identity supplant our identities as Christians. We talk about the American Founders' approach to political tribalism, how tribalism is deeply rooted in the division of humankind into tribes in Genesis 10, and why saying something as simple as "I am a Republican" or "I am a Democrat" may go too far for a Christian. Finally, we try to give some practical guidance for how to approach political differences within the church.

Biblical references:

Genesis 10 - the Tower of Babel and the table of nations.

Ephesians 2:11-22 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 - we are one in Christ, and Christ is our identity.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 - be wary of divisions between Christians.

Romans 16:17-20 and Titus 3:10-11 - be wary of those who bring division.

Other references:

Federalist 10 and James Madison on the question of faction - defining faction as "a number of citizens, whether amounting to a minority or majority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." Full text here: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed10.asp

Niebuhr, "Christ and Culture." A short summary here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/christ-and-culture-an-overview-of-a-christian-classic/

On negative partisanship: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/05/negative-partisanship-explains-everything-215534

On blue shirts and red shirts (turns out it was actually yellow shirts!): https://news.wisc.edu/professor-finds-that-in-shirts-as-well-as-skin-color-matters/

Produced by Ben Brophy.

Photo in Artwork Credit: John Brighenti via Creative Commons. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Microphone Icon Credit: Designed by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

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In this episode, Thabiti and Nick provide an overview of an age-old question of politics: what is the role of government? We trace the development of our modern ideas about this to the 18th-century Enlightenment - noting that while it wasn't a Christian phenomenon, Enlightenment thinkers had an uneasy alliance with the church that papered over some of the fault lines we're beginning to see emerge today. We talk about different reasons for government to be bigger or smaller, but note that this specific question is beside the point. The real question is: is government doing what it should do?

Biblical references:

Genesis 9:5 - God's words to Noah after the flood, establishing that government is ordained by God as a coercive force, with the power of the sword.

Romans 13:1 - the governing authorities - all of them - have been established by God. And, with a few limited exceptions, we are to submit to them.

Genesis 41:46-57 - Joseph, in his service to Pharaoh, is just one example of a God-ordained role of government (in this case, a very statist, interventionist one!).

Isaiah 1:16-17 - God's commands to Judah set the tone for what a people and its government should do: seek justice, correct oppression, plead the widow's cause.

Proverbs 31:1-9 - God's commands to King Lemuel are a further manual for what it means to govern wisely.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 - we should pray for our leaders in government - all of them!

Other references:

The West Wing, Season 1, Episode 12: Toby Ziegler on whether "The Era of Big Government is Over"

Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest." Self-interest is the engine of capitalism; we shouldn't be surprised when it sometimes produces bad results.

Max Weber's much more strident take on Genesis 9:5 - that the state has a monopoly on the use of force.

Produced by Ben Brophy.

Photo in Artwork Credit: John Brighenti via Creative Commons. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Microphone Icon Credit: Designed by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

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