This is a bit of a lesson in hermeneutics (or, how to read the Bible). We wanted to make it practical, so we chose a topic (immigration) that is filling the headlines and provoking comment from Christians and church bodies across the theological spectrum. However, almost no one who is chiming in is considering carefully enough the context of the biblical passages they are using. Lee and Chris want to use this as an opportunity to talk about the point of the Bible, how we should read it, and the consequences of misreading it.
Show Notes:
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The Relevance of the Theocracy
The Relevance of the Theocracy audio
2 Kings 23
Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments by Geerhardus Vos, p. 80
Kingdom Prologue, p. 51
Exodus 19:6
Deuteronomy 7:6
Psalm 147:19-20
Amos 3:2
1 Peter 2:9
Leviticus 19:33-34
Portsmouth clergy statement on immigration
Houston clergy statement on immigration
Mainline denominational statements on immigration
Exodus 12:43-49
Jeff Sessions on Nehemiah and immigration
Jeremiah 29
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I was going to pose this as a question (I still can if you’d like, Chris and/or Lee). But I’ll post it instead for interested readers.
I appreciate that this episode directs us to considerations about why/how *not* to use the Bible (or, at least the Old Covenant) in seeking to develop a political philosophy or policy.
But this raises the question of how (or if) we *could* (or should) relate the Scripture and our faith to questions of philosophy, the particular academic fields, and to practical policies in any area. On that issue, I highly recommend the “Reformational” perspective of Herman Dooyeweerd, as articulated by Roy Clouser in this essay: “On the General Relation of Religion, Metaphysics, and Science”. In Facets of Faith and Science, Ed. J. Van der Meer. (Lanham: University Press of America, 1996), vol.2, 57-80.
Here is a pdf: http://www.allofliferedeemed.co.uk/Clouser/Facets%20of%20faith%20and%20Science%20ch%203.PDF