Evangelical Christian involvement in politics is making a slow and rather erratic comeback after a long retreat that began about 300 years ago and which became almost total by the middle of the last century. Two factors in particular – a distaste for the left-wing worldly agenda of the liberal Social Gospellers and the retreat from involvement in the world encouraged by dispensationalism - engendered a mindset among many evangelicals in the English-speaking world that the gospel and politics don’t mix, and that the church should concentrate on the saving of individual sinners and not on the renewal of society.
As secular humanism has advanced in the last half century, its godless agenda has forced a re-think of that position. British Christians will probably be familiar with the work of the Newcastle-based Christian Institute, for instance, which has campaigned in support of religious freedom and in opposition to gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia. However, it has confined its activism within the confines of a narrow range of ethical issues, not seeking to apply the values of the Bible to the wider political realm. In God and Government, Cornelius van Dam introduces the Christian to a much broader Christian political agenda, which recognises that the Bible has much to teach us in other areas, including freedom, the size of the state and our response to immigration. While the existence of such a wide Biblical political agenda may come as a surprise to many British Evangelicals, it would not have done so to our Puritan forebears. Indeed, as Dr van Dam shows in the first three chapters of the book, from Calvin through to the end of the 17th century, Evangelical Christians were in the forefront of contemporary political thought. Their belief in the sovereignty of God in every area of life brought a radical and beneficial change to the government in Geneva, the Netherlands and England as they sought to apply this principle to political life. This same mindset also inspired the early settlers in North America.
They didn’t get it all right, as Dr van Dam shows. In particular, it took a while for the belief that the state should uphold uniformity of religion by persecuting heretics to die out. Indeed, he notes that the SGP, a Calvinist political party in Holland, still maintains that it is the state’s role to remove idolatry and false worship from the land. However, the underlying principles of the Reformers and Puritans can still be applied, even in the very different environment of the modern western world.
Dr van Dam briefly introduces the “theonomic” viewpoint espoused by the late R. J. Rushdoony and Greg Bahnsen, among others, which seeks to see the nations governed by a strict application of the moral code of the Mosaic Law. However, he describes his own position as “principled pluralism”, which recognises the impracticality of applying the Mosaic Law to a pluralistic society where humanistic values have built such a stronghold. He also states that the theonomists limit the size of government too greatly. Nonetheless, it is quite clear that his understanding of the Biblical role for the state would still nonetheless see it considerably shrunk from the size it has reached in most Western democracies. “The general description of the duty of government in Romans 13 and elsewhere suggests that the task of the governing authorities is a relatively limited one,” he writes.
After setting out these basic principles, the third and longest part of the book consists of case studies. Unsurprisingly, abortion, same-sex marriage and euthanasia are considered, but so also are the death penalty, environmental issues (including global warming), multiculturalism and welfare. What particularly stands out to your reviewer is the graciousness of the author. He addresses some particularly controversial subjects, including the strong Biblical support for the death penalty for murder, the deceit unmasked by the “Climategate” scandal and the threat posed by radical Islam, but does so in a calm, reasoned and, above all, Biblical manner. There is nothing extreme and none of the conspiracy theorist paranoia that sometimes mars Christian intervention in the political realm, particularly in the USA.
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Dr van Dam states right at the start that his intention is to “outline the biblical fundamentals on government” rather than to provide a comprehensive Christian political manifesto. However, he also has written the book “to motivate the reader to get involved where possible in the political processes of the day,” and book concludes with a brief study of a number of Biblical passages encouraging Christians to engage in politics and the practical benefits of so doing. The list of Christian political organisations already in existence is regrettably be of more use to the North American Christian than his British counterpart, with only the Cambridge-based Jubilee Centre receiving a mention.
Nonetheless, the preponderance of illustrations from Canada (where the author lives) and the USA does not detract from the value of the work as a valuable resource for any Christian in any country who is concerned about the encroachment of godless humanism. The Bible teaches we should not sit idly by and this excellent book provides a valuable primer for all who seek to promote the lordship of Christ in their nation’s politics.
John Petley
God and Government by Cornelis van Dam
311 pages, Paperback
Wipf and Stock, Oregon 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61097-326-7
As secular humanism has advanced in the last half century, its godless agenda has forced a re-think of that position. British Christians will probably be familiar with the work of the Newcastle-based Christian Institute, for instance, which has campaigned in support of religious freedom and in opposition to gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia. However, it has confined its activism within the confines of a narrow range of ethical issues, not seeking to apply the values of the Bible to the wider political realm. In God and Government, Cornelius van Dam introduces the Christian to a much broader Christian political agenda, which recognises that the Bible has much to teach us in other areas, including freedom, the size of the state and our response to immigration. While the existence of such a wide Biblical political agenda may come as a surprise to many British Evangelicals, it would not have done so to our Puritan forebears. Indeed, as Dr van Dam shows in the first three chapters of the book, from Calvin through to the end of the 17th century, Evangelical Christians were in the forefront of contemporary political thought. Their belief in the sovereignty of God in every area of life brought a radical and beneficial change to the government in Geneva, the Netherlands and England as they sought to apply this principle to political life. This same mindset also inspired the early settlers in North America.
They didn’t get it all right, as Dr van Dam shows. In particular, it took a while for the belief that the state should uphold uniformity of religion by persecuting heretics to die out. Indeed, he notes that the SGP, a Calvinist political party in Holland, still maintains that it is the state’s role to remove idolatry and false worship from the land. However, the underlying principles of the Reformers and Puritans can still be applied, even in the very different environment of the modern western world.
Dr van Dam briefly introduces the “theonomic” viewpoint espoused by the late R. J. Rushdoony and Greg Bahnsen, among others, which seeks to see the nations governed by a strict application of the moral code of the Mosaic Law. However, he describes his own position as “principled pluralism”, which recognises the impracticality of applying the Mosaic Law to a pluralistic society where humanistic values have built such a stronghold. He also states that the theonomists limit the size of government too greatly. Nonetheless, it is quite clear that his understanding of the Biblical role for the state would still nonetheless see it considerably shrunk from the size it has reached in most Western democracies. “The general description of the duty of government in Romans 13 and elsewhere suggests that the task of the governing authorities is a relatively limited one,” he writes.
After setting out these basic principles, the third and longest part of the book consists of case studies. Unsurprisingly, abortion, same-sex marriage and euthanasia are considered, but so also are the death penalty, environmental issues (including global warming), multiculturalism and welfare. What particularly stands out to your reviewer is the graciousness of the author. He addresses some particularly controversial subjects, including the strong Biblical support for the death penalty for murder, the deceit unmasked by the “Climategate” scandal and the threat posed by radical Islam, but does so in a calm, reasoned and, above all, Biblical manner. There is nothing extreme and none of the conspiracy theorist paranoia that sometimes mars Christian intervention in the political realm, particularly in the USA.
.
Dr van Dam states right at the start that his intention is to “outline the biblical fundamentals on government” rather than to provide a comprehensive Christian political manifesto. However, he also has written the book “to motivate the reader to get involved where possible in the political processes of the day,” and book concludes with a brief study of a number of Biblical passages encouraging Christians to engage in politics and the practical benefits of so doing. The list of Christian political organisations already in existence is regrettably be of more use to the North American Christian than his British counterpart, with only the Cambridge-based Jubilee Centre receiving a mention.
Nonetheless, the preponderance of illustrations from Canada (where the author lives) and the USA does not detract from the value of the work as a valuable resource for any Christian in any country who is concerned about the encroachment of godless humanism. The Bible teaches we should not sit idly by and this excellent book provides a valuable primer for all who seek to promote the lordship of Christ in their nation’s politics.
John Petley
God and Government by Cornelis van Dam
311 pages, Paperback
Wipf and Stock, Oregon 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61097-326-7