There are avenues of discussion in clarifying Christian theology related to individuals and society. Some are narrow to the individual and others broad to the society. The individual must make the story of redemption as first importance. Each person must take care for self in the unfolded story of redemption through Christ to life immortal. The biblical hope of the Christian is blessed immortality. The social approach comes from the same source material as the story of individual salvation – the Bible. There is overlap in the personal and social structures, but they may be discussed and evaluated separately. One without the other context leads to the treatment of Christianity as mere religion rather than a concept of experience, experience impinging on general nature (earth) and human nature (personal). Common grace is extended to creation simply because God is interested in his creation and helpful to it, even if there are those in creation disinterested in him, perhaps rebellious or resistant related to God’s place in the creation. For the Christian in redemption, God becomes the authority for all of life, natural and supernatural. This authority will, on occasion, put the Christian and the humanist at odds with each other. Perhaps this leads to spiritual and/or social warfare, and should be evaluated in that light. Religious wars that aim at conquering enemies were never God’s preference. Even in the conflict between Israel and the Canaanites, a special situation, there is ample evidence of the reluctance of God in ordering the conflict. He used Israel rather than angels (or whatever he uses) to mete out judgment for the Canaanites. Even if not of his immediate origin, God appears to use warfare, a creation of mankind, to achieve purposes of realignment and improved contexts among imperfect and failing societies. Eventually, conquerors are conquered.
It is too little noted that biblical Christianity has, as one of its main benefits, the offering of peace, both to individuals and to society. That benefit is largely lost, at least socially, because of mankind’s arrogance.
Selfishness, rabid competition, disproportionate claims on land masses, anger, lust for power, and various other motives, including the understanding of skills that motivate whole populations are some of the drivers of violence. During my lifetime, the chief of ugly processes was Adolph Hitler. The story is told masterfully by William Shirer in his perceptive book, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. One of the early ones in Christian history was under Charlemagne that introduced the medieval patterns; another was under Bismarck (many centuries after Charlemagne); and, another was that of Hitler (some decades after Bismarck). I bought a copy of Shirer’s book more than fifty years ago, when it was first published introducing to the world the pattern of evil that a nation might follow. It has recently been reissued with a striking analysis, a warning about the follies of some teachers, politicians, formations of ideas in the masses, and the concern that world tragedy could occur again in bloody devastation.
Peace is God’s policy. He functions with great control in permitting forces of evil to continue toward self- destruction through anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, fame, power, resources, and whatever mad influences there may be. All will be righted in God’s justice. A major problem for mankind is our belief that there must be some excitement to counter drudgery and that excitement can only be found in strenuous activity of life to death. The peace of the soul, the tranquility of a normal life of love, of caring for the needs of family and neighbors, of the development of the mind for the betterment of mankind, even of self, is lost in the immediacy of the lightning blitzkrieg, of power over enemies, even of tinsels of activity that entertain. When peace has come, and the adrenalin has subsided, we despair the suffering, death, rape, hunger, cost, and the mongrelizing of persons from warfare. Peace is something to be learned – individually. We seem to learn little in the long range society by warfare except to find better ways to make warfare. Some of those learnings carry over to beneficial peacetime uses, but these could be gained without the carnage. Mankind seems to be geared so that after some years, many or few, there is a drive that intensifies to fight some nation, some group or entity. Even leaders working for peace are put down. Christian society ought to be constant in declaring peace as a personal and social objective. The Prince of Peace would have it so. His birth among mankind included a motto: Peace on earth to persons of good will. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020