here are some updates on my thoughts that were posted in the july entry entitled "anabaptists, capitalists, communists, libertarians, anarchists, and more!".
in july - i mentioned that i was inclined to anarchism because it is only effective through force or the threat of force.
now - i think that force is not the only reason that a government is effective. our government also works because it is a group of people coming together saying "hey, this is how we want to live as a society. these are our values." i no longer think anarchy is practical or desireable. anarchy also moves away from the idea that we are redemptive agents of our current culture because people completely withdrawl themselves from the system rather than engaging it and changing it.
in july - i referenced that anabaptists view that christians should not be engaged in the government because the government is only needed for those who do not adhere to the laws of Christ.
now - i am starting to think that christians are required to engage government with hopes of reconcilling it to Christ's vision rather than trying to build a separate Christian government. rather, we should redeem the government that is in place.
in july - i considered communism as a direction to push for in u.s. politics.
now - i'm still confident in communist ideals as the direction christians should push for the government to go. granted, we will screw this up because we're sinful humans. but i feel it is better to have an impractical ideal than to push for a government based on a faulty ethical premise (that of selfish consumer capitalism.
in july - i expressed concern about the influence of corporations in american politics.
now - i am even more concerned about this. all christians can do is vote for the best candidate. and i am more inclined now to think that voting is a good idea in contrast to my former anarchist tendencies.
special thanks to the following friends for helping me work out some of these ideas by making reading suggestions, disagreeing with me fervently, sharing a piece of scripture, asking good questions, playing devil's advocate, or sharing what the Holy Spirit has put on their own heart (even if you don't read this blog): krista, caitlin, adam, sam, and dan.
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1 comment:
good thoughts.
i'd like to point out that disconnecting from culture and disconnecting from government aren't necessarily the same thing. consider how Jesus all but repudiated the roman authority while still remaining concretely grounded in his Jewish heritage and tradition.
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