On Wednesday night, we discussed Martin Luther’s doctrine of
the two kingdoms (or two reigns) of God. Luther’s doctrine teaches that God is
the ruler of the whole world and that he rules in two ways; via a worldly
kingdom (secular government) and a spiritual kingdom of Christians that
spontaneously and voluntarily obey the gospel. We looked at three religions’
outlooks: Lutheran, Mennonite, and Roman Catholic. Although, the three world
views were different, they all had the same common theme-Christians should
direct their political energy to where Jesus did: helping your neighbor and
take the side of the poor and oppressed.
After breaking into small groups, we discussed which
perspective we each related to. It was interesting to listen to other’s points
of view and to see how others’ life experiences have changed their outlook on
the topic. We had a few topic questions to discuss that brought up varying
ideas and opinions. One of the main themes was the difference between
government and non-profit run programs. One example that was discussed was that
Joseph House. This organization is part of the Catholic Worker Movement which
helps feed the homeless. The government has very strict restrictions and
expectations regarding soup kitchens or restaurants. Joseph House tried to avoid declaring
themselves as a “soup kitchen” and decided to take the approach of having “open
doors and letting friends come over for lunch.” The workers told us about how
it had worked for awhile, they would just pay the fines as they would occur.
However, they had just applied and received a permit. They have mixed feelings
about this, because they like not having to worry about random visits, but
regret that they have to change their way of doing things just because of
government regulations.
While it is obvious that there is a definite separation between
church and state, it is more difficult to see where the line is drawn for
Christians. As individuals, we have to
decide how active we will become in our government and whether or not we choose
to have God as a center of that decision. As we continue this week in our
service projects, we will continue to look for guiding principles in our civic
engagement. The major question for us as we continue this week is how we should
engage (or disengage) in the worldly kingdom.
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