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Editorial
Alwyn Thomson
Comment:
Politics: serving God and doing good!
Ethel White
From
the Director: Cultivating the common ground
David W Porter
ECONI
Statement: Confidence in God
October 2002
Postbag: Letters to the Editor
Why
vote?
Alison Laird
Communities
of hope
Lord Alderdice
Transformation 2003: Killing for God?
View
from the south
Patrick Mitchel
Church
& state
Esmond
Birnie MLA
Taking
the plunge
John Kyle
Faith
in politics
Interview: Rt Hon Paul Murphy MP
Your
kingdom come
Heather Morrow
ECONI
Statement: Forum for Peace & Reconciliation
January 2003
Bible
study series: Faith in the future
David
W Porter
Through
a glass, darkly
Changing Women, Changing Worlds Conference
Review:
A night in November by Marie Jones
Noel
McCune
Book
Reviews
Alwyn Thomson
For
God and His Glory Alone:
Study 3: Reconciliation
For
God and His Glory Alone:
Study 4: Peace
Ex
20:4
Mt
22:21
Acts
5:29
Rom
13:1-7
Eph
2:19
Col
2:8
1
Pet 2:13-17;
4:12-19
Study 5
CITIZENSHIP
“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
Matthew 22:21
AS CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, our primary loyalty is to the Lord Jesus Christ. All other loyalties are secondary and must be judged by the values and priorities of this one. It is idolatry to equate God with any one culture or political ideal. It is quite wrong to require allegiance to any of them as evidence of allegiance to God.
There is no room, therefore, for the identificaton of either Unionism or Nationalism as being particularly expressive of Christian faith. For too long Ulster Protestantism has passed without question as biblical Christianity when, in many particulars, it owes as much to culture as it does to Scripture. Seldom is it admitted that one can be a true Evangelical and not be a Unionist.
There are Evangelical Christians living on this island whose culture is British and whose political preference is for a continued link with Britian. Equally there are those whose culture is Irish and whose political preference is for a united Ireland. From the biblical viewpoint both are legitimate preferences.
Although our true citizenship is in heaven, we are still commanded to be good citizens. Respect for and obedience to government and the law is our normal Christian duty. If we were commanded by the state to act in a manner contrary to the word of God, nonviolent disobedience would be necessary. But as this situation does not apply in the province at this time, our responsibility as citizens is to submit to the duly constituted government and rule of law.
Correspondingly, the government of any state has a responsibility to restrain and punish evildoers. In this it is entitled to the support and involvement of its citizens in the impartial enforcement of the law, in the administration of justice and in the encouragement of law-abiding behaviour and good citizenship.
Read the following passages which list the priorities and principles of Christian citizenship: Matthew 5:13-16; 22:15-22; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Titus 3:1-2 & 8; 1 Peter 2:13-14; 4:12-19.
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