Thin Beliefs and The Need for Deeper Thinking

One thing making personal and public conversations difficult, inside and outside the church, is we live in a day and age where our understanding of an issue is weak but our passion is strong. This creates over-confidence in our opinions—when we should continue listening and learning—and animosity toward those we disagree with.[1] A lack of committed study and critical thinking is undercutting healthy conversations. We need to recommit ourselves to not only listening, but also to learning. We need to be diligent about better understanding matters we express opinions on.

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“That’s a Political Issue” and Other Conversation Killers

There is a growing tendency within the church to call any issue a “political issue.” Examples include how we treat refugees and immigrants, racial reconciliation, climate change and creation care, gun control, care for the poor, sexuality, gender, and marriage issues. My problem isn’t connecting faith and politics (which should be done), but that this often is a way of stiff-arming contemporary issues from the Bible. Rather than approaching a topic from our faith, everything is viewed through its political angle, party disputes, and social divides.

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Favorite Quotes on Faith & Politics by Jonathan Leeman

I recently read and recommended How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman , not only for what it says but how it says it. The book focuses on faith and politics, though in the conversations many other significant hot-button issues get brought up. The book not only helps us root our thinking about politics in the Bible (the what of the book), but I recommend the book because it also teaches us how to engage tough topics as Christians. With 2020 promising to be a heated and divisive year in our country, this book will be a timely read.

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