Living with Scripture, Living in a Democracy
Christians have traditionally experienced tensions between their Christian identity and their citizenship in a democracy. This tension is a special variant of the inevitable underlying classical challenge for Christians in all societies where they live. Following Augustine, this can be expressed as...
| Published in: | European journal of theology |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Amsterdam University Press
[2019]
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| In: |
European journal of theology
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| IxTheo Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics CH Christianity and Society KBA Western Europe |
| Further subjects: | B
Christians
B Church B Democracy B Christian Identity B God |
| Summary: | Christians have traditionally experienced tensions between their Christian identity and their citizenship in a democracy. This tension is a special variant of the inevitable underlying classical challenge for Christians in all societies where they live. Following Augustine, this can be expressed as the challenge to combine the dual citizenships of the city of God and the "city of man". Despite such tensions, under God's providence the participation of Christians can also lead to temporary blessings for their societies. Western history provides many examples of this, the development of democracy being one of them. In the current post-Christian context these historical fruits of Christian influence have often become detached from their roots and therefore become unstable or burdened by difficulties and even deadlocks. Being still connected to that root, Christians can often provide clarification and contribute to solutions. This Christian contribution can be made fruitful, for example, in the contemporary clash between Western European liberal and Eastern European illiberal versions of democracy. The article concludes with five points of attention for Christian participation in a democracy: staying anchored in the Church as the political community of the future kingdom, considering earthly political identifications as secondary, developing public grass roots activities from within the Church, realising that moral aims in the context of society have to be different from those in the context of the Church, and remaining faithful to a prophetic lifestyle in word and deed. (English) |
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| ISSN: | 2666-9730 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: European journal of theology
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