Private Christians (p. 49):
Matt 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
focus: evangelism and personal holiness, not in the midst of the world but through withdrawal, purpose of societal activities is to convert/evangelize the individual so that they can find victory through Christ
-mistrust the world and encourage separation
Social Gospel (Walter Rauschenbush)- religious action on behalf of poor indicative of validity of a person's faith -> private Christians view showing interesting in social concern as suspicious
aproach to city: keep distance, pray and evangelize, but the city is not a redeemable place
weaknesses:
-experiance of Gospel is powerful but thin, underdeveloped sense of the fullness of salvation, focused on battles against activities of a worldly culture and s0 more subtle values of culture have crept in I.E. individuality
- limited in range of impact, generally a white, middle class phenomenon
Public Christians (p. 53):
Matt 25:31-46 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
focus: transformation of the world by creating institutions in the city
- due to concern with pragmatic (of or pertaining to a practical point of view) results over precise doctrine = weakening of theological distinction -> loss of credibility, taking cues from intellectual culture rather than any unique Christian perspective
aproach to city: feed hungry and provide social services, doesn't necessarily represent churches well, notice and invest in the city
weaknesses:
- failed to acknowledge limited role of the kingdom in building the ultimate scope of things
- failed to realise battle for Kingdom takes place in the individual's heart
"private Christians see people in the city and public Christians see abstract institutions." (p. 57)
"a good place for both to start would be to recognize cities and how God might be already using their cities for the purpose of redemption." (p. 56)
---
Jay Clark(e) is Emily Jackson:
1 comment:
I am sad that I am not on your long list of people who write things, but you are on my short list of people who write things.
Alas, I do not write much at the present time.
But perhaps more in the future.
PS Can I be a Public and Private Christian?
Post a Comment