Baptist TheologyBaptist Theology
Confession of Faith
Monday, 10 August 2009 23:21
STATEMENT OF FAITH
Baptists are a people of deep beliefs and cherished doctrines. Throughout our history we have been a confessional people, adopting statements of faith as a witness to our beliefs and a pledge of our faithfulness to the doctrines revealed in Holy Scripture.
Our confessions of faith are rooted in historical precedent, as the church in every age has been called upon to define and defend its beliefs. Each generation of Christians bears the responsibility of guarding the treasury of truth that has been entrusted to us [2 Timothy 1:14]. Facing a new century, we must meet the demands and duties of the present hour.
New challenges to faith appear in every age – from a pervasive anti-supernaturalism to assaults upon the authority and truthfulness of the Bible to the cultural confusion about God’s design for the family. Now, faced with a culture hostile to the very notion of truth, our generation must claim anew the eternal truths of the Christian faith.
The historic Baptist conception of the nature and function of confessions of faith include:
(1) That they constitute a consensus of opinion of some Baptist body, large or small, for the general instruction and guidance of our own people and others concerning those articles of the Christian faith which are most surely held among us. They are not intended to add anything to the simple conditions of salvation revealed in the New Testament, viz., repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
(2) That we do not regard them as complete statements of our faith, having any quality of finality or infallibility. As in the past so in the future, Baptists should hold themselves free to revise their statements of faith as may seem to them wise and expedient at any time.
(3) That any group of Baptists, large or small, have the inherent right to draw up for themselves and publish to the world a confession of their faith whenever they may think it advisable to do so.
(4) That the sole authority for faith and practice among Baptists is the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Confessions are only guides in interpretation, having no authority over the conscience.
(5) That they are statements of religious convictions, drawn from the Scriptures, and are not to be used to hamper freedom of thought or investigation in other realms of life.
I, as a convictional Baptist, cherish and defend religious liberty, and deny the right of any secular or religious authority to impose a confession of faith upon a church or body of churches. I honor the principles of soul competency and the priesthood of all believers, affirming together both our liberty in Christ and our accountability to each other under the Word of God.
Baptist churches, associations, and general bodies have adopted confessions of faith as a witness to the world, and as instruments of doctrinal accountability. Thus, I am not embarrassed to state before the world that these are doctrines I hold precious and as essential to the Christian and Baptist tradition of faith and practice.
I, as an ordained elder/pastor, am officially united with other Christians, Protestants, Baptists, and Congregationalists under the teaching of this Confession of Faith and to be held accountable to maintain it through life and doctrine. The aim of this document is to preserve the unity of the church through sound doctrine. In the words of the Confession,
“I believe that the cause of unity in the church is best served, not by finding the lowest common denominator of doctrine, around which all can gather, but by elevating the value of truth, stating the doctrinal parameters of church or school or mission or ministry, seeking the unity that comes from the truth, and then demonstrating to the world how Christians can love each other across boundaries rather than by removing boundaries”
This document, then, and the my adherence to it aims to preserve the unity of the church through a commitment to biblical truth.
Glenn Leatherman's CONFESSION OF FAITH
1. Of the Scriptures 1.2 I believe God's intentions are revealed through the intentions of inspired human authors, even when the authors' intention was to express divine meaning of which they were not fully aware, as, for example, in the case of some Old Testament prophecies (9). Thus, the meaning of Biblical texts is a fixed historical reality, rooted in the historical, unchangeable intentions of its divine and human authors (10). However, while the original audience of a prophecy was not necessarily given the full or exhaustive meaning of that prophecy, the full and exhaustive meaning and fuller application (and/or significance) of that meaning may be correctly completed, authoritatively developed, or be sufficiently expanded in various new situations and referents in its true fulfillment in later revelation (10). Thus, while original intended meaning (in light of the full council of God) does not change, the application of that meaning may change in various situations. Nevertheless, it is not legitimate to infer a meaning from a Biblical text that is not demonstrably carried by the words which God inspired. (11) 2. Of the True God 3. Of the Providence of God 3.2 I believe that God upholds and governs all things - from galaxies (9) to subatomic particles,(10) from the forces of nature (11) to the movements of nations, (12) and from the public plans of politicians (13) to the secret acts of solitary persons (14) - all in accord with His eternal, all-wise (15) purposes to glorify Himself, yet in such a way that He never sins, (16) nor ever condemns a person unjustly; (17) but that His ordaining and governing all things is compatible with the moral accountability (18) of all persons created in His image. 4. Of the Fall of Man 5. Of the Way of Salvation through Christ Alone 6. Of Justification 6.2 As High Priest, Christ once offered Himself up to God (1) on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice (2) for all who would ever believe in Him (3), thereby propitiating God's wrath which was upon them (4), procuring their reconciliation with God (5), and redeeming them from the curse of the Law (6); and that He continually intercedes for them (7) in the presence of His Father in Heaven (8), thereby assuring their perseverance in holiness unto the end (9). 7. Of the Freeness of Salvation 8. Of Grace in Regeneration 9. Of Repentance and Faith 10. Of God's Purpose of Grace 11. Of Sanctification 12. Of the Perseverance of Saints 13. Of the Harmony of the Law and the Gospel 14. Of a Gospel Church 15. Of Baptism and the Lord's Supper 16. Of Worship 17. Of Civil Government 18. Of the Righteous and the Wicked 19. Of the World to Come 20. Of God's Covenants 20.2 I believe that, in contrast to the Old Covenant (14), the New Covenant by virtue of Christ's perfect obedience to the law (15), as well as His bearing of its curse (16)) promises only blessing to all those who belong to it (17); and that this second covenant, the "everlasting covenant" (18) enacted upon better promises (19), has thus brought to realization all that was anticipated in the covenants made with Abraham (20), Moses (21), and David (22). 20.3 I believe that, under the New Covenant, God's people, having entered the age of fulfillment (23), now stand as mature sons (24); that having been set free (25) from the tutelage and bondage of the law code (26) written upon tablets of stone (27), they have subsequently been placed under the Spirit's management (28) -- having the new and greater Lawgiver's (29) own law (30) now written upon their hearts(31). 20.4 I believe that, as a result, though many of the individual commandments given in the Decalogue and the eternal principles upon which the Mosaic Covenant was founded still apply to those under the New Covenant in a new and special relationship (32), God's people are now totally free from the Old Covenant as a legal covenant (33). The usefulness (and significance) of the Mosaic commands is not therefore to be denied, only that these are now understood to come to us through Christ (34), the mediator of the New Covenant (35); and that, in particular, with the obsolescence of the Old Covenant, the fourth commandment, the seventh day Sabbath observance, is no longer obligatory (36) --- its relevance now pointing to that rest enjoyed by all those in Christ (37). 20.5 I believe that the Old Covenant, with the Law of Moses as its core, (1) was revealed to the nation of Israel, (2) promising earthly blessings for obedience, (3) and threatening curses for disobedience. (4) The purpose of the Old Covenant was never to offer eternal life, (5) but rather to govern the life and worship of the Old Testament nation of Israel, (6) to reveal the extent of man's depravity, (7) and to foreshadow Christ and the New Covenant. (8) God has had one unified redemptive purpose and plan when is evidenced in that salvation has always been by grace alone through faith alone in the Messiah (Christ) alone as Abraham was saved (9). 20.6 The New Covenant, established through the person and redemptive work of Christ, (1) provides eternal blessings which are acquired by grace through faith. (2) While recognizing that not all Israel is true spiritual Israel (many possessed the elect privileges but not the promises due to hardening) (3) National Israel waits for a time of fulfillment through re-grafting by faith into the one olive tree (representing the redeemed) in and through Christ alone (4). God's final words of revelation, given through Christ and His New Testament apostles and prophets, (5) have become the authority concerning Christian conduct, and the interpretive lens through which the Old Testament must be understood and applied. (6) 21. Of Evangelism and Missions 22. Of the Family 23. The Spirit of This Affirmation and the Unity of the Church 23.2 Our aim is not to discover how little can be believed, but rather to embrace and teach the whole counsel of God." (1) Our aim is to encourage a hearty adherence to the Bible, the fullness of its truth, (2) and the glory of its Author. I believe Biblical doctrine stabilizes saints in the winds of confusion (3) and strengthens the church in her mission to meet the great systems of false religion and secularism. I believe that the supreme virtue of love is nourished by the strong meat of God-centered doctrine. (4) And I believe that a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ is sustained in an atmosphere of deep and joyful knowledge of God and His wonderful works. (5) 23.3 I believe that the cause of unity in the church (6) is best served, not by finding the lowest common denominator of doctrine, around which all can gather, but by elevating the value of truth, stating the doctrinal parameters of church or school or mission or ministry, seeking the unity that comes from the truth, and then demonstrating to the world how Christians can love each other (7) across boundaries rather than by removing boundaries. In this way, the importance of truth is served by the existence of doctrinal borders, and unity is served by the way we love others across those borders. 23.4 I do not claim infallibility for this affirmation and are open to refinement and correction from Scripture. (8) Yet I do hold firmly to these truths as I see them and call on others to search the Scriptures to see if these things are so. (9) As conversation and debate take place, it may be that we will learn from each other, and the boundaries will be adjusted, even possibly folding formerly disagreeing groups into closer fellowship.
1.1 I believe that the Holy Bible (consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments), was written by men who were divinely inspired (1) by God, and is God's [infallible] revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction (2); that has God for its author, salvation for its end (3), and truth without any mixture of error for its matter (4). Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy (5). It reveals the principles by which God will judge us (6); and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union (7), and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, statements, creeds, and opinions should be judged (8).
I believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God. He is an infinite, intelligent and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe (1). God is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and all other perfections (2), and worthy of all possible honor, worship, praise, obedience, confidence, and love (3). I believe that God does not stand in need of any of the creatures that He has made, nor does He derive any part of His glory from them. On the contrary, He manifests His own glory in and by them. He is the fountain-head of all being, and the origin, channel and end of all things. God is all-powerful and all knowing; and His perfect and infinite knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures (4). No single thing is to Him at risk or uncertain, for He is not dependent upon created things. In the unity of the Godhead there are three eternally existing persons: God the Father (5), fountain of all being (6); God the Son (7), eternally begotten, not made, without beginning, being of one essence with the Father (8); and God the Holy Spirit, proceeding in the full, divine essence (9),18 as a Person (10), eternally from the Father and the Son. (11), Thus each Person in the Godhead is fully and completely God. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are equal in every divine perfection (12), each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being, and each performing distinct and harmonious roles (or works) in the great work of redemption (13).
3.1 I believe that God, from all eternity, (1)1 in order to display the full extent of His glory (2) for the eternal and ever-increasing enjoyment (3) of all who love Him, (4) did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His will, (5) freely and unchangeably (6) ordain (7) and foreknow (8) whatevercomes to pass.
I believe that man was created in holiness, under the law of his Maker (1). But, by voluntary disobedience man fell from that holy and happy state (2); the results of which is that all mankind are now sinners (3), not by force, but [by nature and] choice (4). All mankind is blamed (guilty) not only for his sin but also for Adam sin (5). Thus, man, being by nature utterly empty of the holiness required by the law of God and positively inclined to evil is therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin (6) being without defense or excuse (7).
I believe that the salvation of sinners is entirely of grace (1), through the intervening mediatorial work of the person of Jesus Christ (2). Christ, by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon himself our sin, yet without sin (or becoming a sinner) (3). Jesus was born of a virgin as fully man and fully God (1 person with 2 natures) and lived as a man without sin to pay the price for sin. (5) He honored the divine law by his personal obedience (4) and by his death made a full atonement (payment, satisfaction, expiation, etc.) for our sins (6). Christ, having risen from death, is now enthroned in heaven (7), and unites in his wonderful person loving-kindness with divine perfections. Christ is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate, and an all- sufficient Savior (8), [and thus there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord (9).]
6.1 I believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ (1) secures, to those that [repent and] believe in him, is Justification (2). Justification includes the pardon of sin (3), and the promise of eternal life upon principles of His righteousness (4). Justification is given, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in Christ's, the Redeemer's, blood (5). It is through this faith in Christ's perfect payment for sin on the cross, that Christ's perfect righteousness is freely imputed (credited) to us by God (6). This saving faith brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God; and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity (7).
I believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel (1) and that it is the immediate responsibility of all to accept them by a sincere, repentant, and obedient faith (2). Nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel (3), which places him under aggravated judgment (4).
I believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again (1). Regeneration consists of the mind having a disposition to holiness (2) that is caused in ways that are above our understanding by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth (3) so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel (4). The evidence of regeneration appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life (5).
I believe that Repentance and Faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, being brought about (created) in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God (1). Being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ (2), we turn to God with genuine repentance, confession, and prayer for mercy (3). At the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and relying on him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior (4).
9.1 I believe that Election is the eternal purpose of God, according to which he graciously calls, regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners (1). It is perfectly consistent with the free agency of man (2) and comprehends all the means in connection with the end (3) It is a most glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy, and unchangeable (4). It utterly excludes boasting, while promoting humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and an active imitation of God's free mercy (5). God's grace involves the use of means of grace in the highest extent and degree (6), and it may be discovered by its effects in all who truly believe the gospel (7). God's work of grace in election is the foundation of the Christian assurance of salvation (8), and that to discover it with regard to ourselves demands and deserves the utmost diligence (9).
I believe that Sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of his holiness. (1) It is a progressive work (2) that it is begun in regeneration (3) and is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Sealer and Comforter, through the continual use of God appointed means - especially the Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer (4).
I believe that true believers are those that endure to the end (1). Their persevering attachment to Christ is the outstanding mark that distinguishes them from superficial professors (2). A special Providence watches over the true believers welfare (3) and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (4).
I believe God is the standard of all that is right and good and that which is wrong and evil. God reveals these absolute and universal standards through his precepts, principles, and person found in Scripture. Thus the Law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of his moral government (1); that it is holy, just, and good (2); and that the inability which the Scriptures ascribe to fallen men to fulfill its precepts arises entirely from their love of sin (3); to deliver them from which, and to restore them through a Mediator to genuine obedience to the holy Law, is one great end of the Gospel, and of the means of grace connected with the establishment of the visible Church (4).
I believe that a visible Church of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is a local congregation of baptized believers (1). They are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel (2), and observing the ordinances of Christ (3). They are governed by His laws (4) and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by his Word (5), and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through a congregational process. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. The churches only scriptural officers are Elders or Pastors, and Deacons (6) whose qualifications, rights, and duties are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. (7)
I believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer (1) in the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit (2). It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life (3). It is a prerequisite to the privileges of Church membership and to the Lord's Supper (4). Following their baptism, Christians are commanded to regularly partake of the Lord's Supper (5). The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine, are to commemorate as a memorial together the dying love of Christ (6), anticipate His second coming. It is to be preceded always by serious self-examination (7) (8).
True worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to Him alone. Worship is not to be offered to angels, saints, Mary the mother of Jesus, or any other creature. Since the fall of man into sin, worship cannot be offered to God without the mediation of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. The mediation of the priests in the Old Testament era served only to foreshadow the true Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who is the only mediator between God and man. (1) The "House of the Lord" is an Old Covenant concept that referred first to the Tabernacle, and then to the Temple. True worship, in the New Covenant era, is not confined to any particular location or building. Believers, both individually and corporately, are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit. (2) Although the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, believers are not commanded to meet together on this day. Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath. The Sabbath was a picture of our salvation and has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The commandment requiring the keeping of the Sabbath day came to an end at the close of the Old Covenant era. In the New Covenant era believers are commanded to regularly gather together with the people of God, the church. Believers are free to gather together on any day of the week. (3) In the New Covenant era, all of life is worship and every day is holy for the believer. (4)
I believe that civil government is ordained by God for the interests and good order of human society (1). Leaders are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed (2) except when actions are opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ (3) who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the Prince of the kings of the earth (4).
I believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked (1). The difference being that only those who through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly righteous in His esteem (2). All those that continue in unrepentance and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse (3) and this distinction holds among men both in and after death (4).
I believe that God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end and that at the last day Christ will descend from heaven (1), and raise the dead from the grave to final judgment (2). There will be a serious separation that takes place (3) when the wicked will be sentenced to endless punishment, and the righteous to endless joy (4). This judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell based on principles of righteousness (5).
20.1 I believe that God has maintained one eternal purpose in Christ (1) which has been expressed through a multiplicity of distinct historical covenants (2); that prominent among these (3) are those designated the Old Covenant (also known as the Mosaic or First Covenant (4)) and the New Covenant (5); that the former, confined to the people of Israel alone (6), was established while that nation was assembled before Mt. Sinai (7) and was later made obsolete (8) through its fulfillment by the life and death of Jesus the Messiah (9); that it was comprised wholly of shadows (10) pointing ultimately to Jesus and His body, the Church (11); and that, therefore, the age in which it remained operative was at all times a period of immaturity(12) as compared to the age of fulfillment which was inaugurated with Christ's first advent (13).
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations as part of a local church. The new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ (1).
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents. (1)
23.1 I do not believe that all things in this affirmation of faith are of equal weight, some being more essential, some less. I do not believe that every part of this affirmation must be believed in order for one to be saved.
Similarity of Political Liberalism and Conservatism
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 10:38
In theological reflection, I believe that we must start under the Lordship of Chist (1 Peter 3:15). We must be true to Scripture (God revelation of himself in the Bible) first before any other reflection as to our beliefs about polatics, education, the poor, the rich, economics, etc. The relation between Christianity and Political Philosophy is itself an aspect of the problem of reason (not ultimate) and revelation (ultimate) and their interrelationship. We should not start with man's reason, experience, faith, tradition, or emotion and then develop how we should should live, but start first with understanding and applying the scripture to all of life (Acts 17:2). In saying that, I want to refelct on the following Piper quote (see quote below) on the similarities between liberals and conservatives as we see them in the political climate and events of today.
The inconsistencies of liberal and conservative compassion do not define the nature of good and evil.
That there are liberals who talk compassion for the weak and oppressed, but support the butchery of the weakest persons (the unborn even to the point of birth) does not make abortion less evil.
That there are conservatives who talk compassion for unborn persons, but feel little interest or compassion for their own neighbors, let alone the sorrows of the countless poor, does not make inattentive heartlessness less evil.
That liberals justify their support for butchery in the name of freedom, and conservatives justify their indifference to the miseries of poverty in the name of freedom, does not conceal the selective nature of the freedoms they want. The one says, Keep your hands off my body. The other says, Keep your hands off my wallet. Read article
I am thankful to John Piper for this quote and for the blog by Christopher Gates that brought these thoughts to my attention. I start by affirming that NO political solution will solve the worlds problems except for the reign of Christ in the hearts and lvies of men who have affirmed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are willing to give their lives to see the proclamation of that Gospel in every tribe, toungue, and nation. Our groth in living as disciples of Christ and reproducing disciples of Christ is the only hope of peace (Matthew 28:18-20). I put my confidence in God and his sovereing plan to bring to an end one day the suffreing of the world in the culmination of His glory (Rev. 11:15). With that said I give the following thoughts on the purposes of God has for the political climate of today - where the anamosity between liberals and conservatives seems so great, when in fact many in both camps may have the same goal (a utopia of some kind) but are committed to different visions, values, and vehicals (all of which which are sinful in some sense) to get them there.
As you think about these issues, Let me give you some insite into my biases, values, presuppositions that govern my life. God is going to use all experinces in our lives to humble us so as to perfectly accomplish His Word and Will. That is the lens through which I see every event of my life. I grew up in a very conservative Republical household in Houston, Texas (where I remember our Republican US congressman usually won his seat with over 90% of the vote). I continue to be proud to have attended the most politically conservative public university in the United States - Texas A&M (in saying this I don't intent to say that TAMU is moral or is following God - but it is in that climate that God saved me). It was at TAMU that I developed my philosophical conservatism before I became a Christian by receiving Christ as Lord, Savior and Treasure of all my life in my senior year. Since that time I have changed to realized that no secular philosophy can userp the Christian lable (such as the Religious Right seems to have done in the political realm in the last couple decades), but where Christianity is necessary for a Secular Philosophy (since all humanistic beliefs must borrow capital from Christianity in order to live in God's world), I want to engage (and maybe push-back on) a couple issues in John Pipers quote conserning the similarities between liberalism and conservatism.
First of all, in my biased reflection (as what use to be labled as Historic Conserativism and not as the Neo-Conservitivism of today), I think that this is a good quote about popular forms of Conservatism today (and especially of Neo-Conservatism) with the exception that in pulling out this one quote (without other contexts) the bloger (Christopher Gates) may incorrectly lead a reader to believe that True Historic Conservativism doesn't care about the poor (the same exception could be said for a True liberalism (if there is such a category - hahaha - just kidding) lack of consern for deprivation of freedom (totalitarianism) in the world. A True Historic Conservative (in my definition) would want to dismantle all the agencies and social programs of the federal government not granted for in the US Constitution (which includes closing every agency except Defence Dept. (Military), State Dept. (Foreign Affairs), Comerce Dept. (Interstate Comerce and Post Office), and the Treasury Dept. (Coinage of Money)), and place those power back where they belong - at the local level where people's needs are heard and met with more frequency (including the greater realization that we are responsible to God to help the poor). So while I generally agree with Piper's quote on the similarities between popular Liberals and popular Conservatives today, do we ignore the origins of the 2 philosophies which are quite different in respect to their view of man? I think that we do.
Secondly, my reflection drove me to reconsider the teaching of Economist Milton Friedman - one of my heros in my collage days. He has stated in the following video that he is a True Liberal - that when defined sounds like my lable of True Historic Conservativism (see http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6813529239937418232 - his video on how limited government is best for the poor). I believe that he understood that that a free market needed to be bolstered with a robust Christianity when it came to relationships between people and the assumption of the selfishness (depravity) of humanity is a necessary biblical presupposition. I understand Dr. Friedman to believe that "Free-Market Capitalism" depends on religion to set the necessary moral boundaries. So could it be that True Historical Conservativism doesn't ignore the poor if understood in its more classical form? I personally don't think conservativism ignores the poor or should it; though it may not engage these social issues with a Robin Hood mentality. The issue for me is what really helps people in the long run.
Thirdly, when it comes to our politial entaglements, we must seriously consider whether or not we are perhaps being deceived by our society and culture-and perhaps also by our own human selfishness-when we preach democracy or our political philosophy (Liberal or Conservative) as the panacea for all political problems. Aside from offering the citizen certain legal rights, most versions of democracy and American political philosophies tell us we have the power and authority to claim for ourselves certain "inalienable rights", such as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Christianity is a religion of the cross, a religion whose founder taught that true life comes only to those who are willing to die [see e.g., Mat. 10:38-39; 16:24; cf. 1 Cor. 15:31]. Among other things, this means Christians are called to give up all rights (This implies, of course, that we must have some rights to give up. The point here, though, is that we have no right to claim our rights as our own possession): not just the basic right to "life" (in this world) (though we do defend the life of others who cannot defend themselves), but also rights such as "liberty" (in this world) (thought we do fight for the liberty of others in oppression) and "the pursuit of happiness" (in this world) (though we do consider the happiness of others as more important than our selves (Philippians 2:1-4)) for a greater life, liberty, and happiness in Christ. For the Bible repeatedly says Christians are to be "slaves of Christ" [e.g., Eph. 6:6; Rom. 6:22] and are to endure all manner of suffering for the sake of a future glory [see e.g., Rom. 8:18; 1 Pet. 2:18-4:19]. How, then, can a Christian defend any political philosophy which solely encourages its citizens to stand up and defend their "basic human rights" without any humility? Do both conservativism and liberalism blunt our spiritual lives in that they both promote one to demand their right rather than to submit their "rights" to God as the rightful ruler of all? I do think that this similiarity in conservatism and liberalism will blunt our spiritual lives and lead us to sinfully demand things from God or presume upon God. No wonder people reject the true Gospel of Christ in America.
Finally, God's kingdom is the kingdom of love. We must always keep in mind, though, that the word "love" refers here neither to sentimentality nor to the pleasantries of friendship, but to the creative experience of discovering the powerful (joyful) powerlessness of self-emptying. Not only does it require us to endure suffering, it also opens us up to the risk of exposing our own hidden hatred, the purging of which is one of the purposes for our suffering. For this reason, apathy is always an easier alternative to choose, though often more destructive than hatred in the long run. Could it be that one of reasons for the distructive similarities of popular Conservativism and Liberalism as we see in the dialogue today is that they are not ruled by "love?" I believe it and that is why it is always dangerous to equate Christianity with any poltical party or specific Philosophy that opposes God's kingdom. I long for the day when Jesus will Rule in a theocracy of perfect love and righteousness in heaven (though some believe in a earthly theocracy, which would need to be discussed in another article). But let us not be weary of doing good here and now (Gal. 6:9) for we will have our reward as Christ's ambasadors in helping the poor and the oppressed of this world.
