Saturday, August 22, 2009

Ten Theses on the Kingdom of God and Social Justice

Here is a list of ten theses on the kingdom of God and social justice by Matt Harmon, Associate Professor of New Testament Studies at Grace Theological Seminary at his blog "Biblical Theology." The first five are here and the second five here. I've listed them below, but if you follow the links he has a one paragraph elaboration of each one. I think they are quite good and extremely relevant.

1. We must learn from church history.

2. We must allow biblical and theological convictions to shape our engagement in social action.

3. We must not collapse the already/not-yet tension.

4. We must recognize that evangelical engagement with these issues will take different forms
within different political, cultural and social contexts.

5. We must prioritize proclamation of the gospel without neglecting social action

6. We must realize that our actions are not self-interpreting.

7. We must recognize the trend towards increasing social action and decreasing evangelism within the church.

8. We must think through and articulate the connection between specific social action and the
gospel.

9. We must not allow people's physical needs to blind us or them to their even greater spiritual needs.

10. We must recognize the challenges that come with working with others of different beliefs.


HT to Justin Taylor at "Between Two Worlds"

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