A High Priority Caution -- There Is No Social Blueprint in the Bible

An important word of caution is necessary as we begin: The Bible does not give us a blueprint, or a detailed map, or a constitution for a "Christian political order." Whenever you find someone quoting isolated bits of Scripture to "prove" a point with regard to some specific piece of legislation, you are entitled to be suspicious. During the Civil War preachers quoted the Bible to support slavery and to repudiate slavery. In South Africa today, government officials are trying to defend racial segregation on Biblical grounds. What usually happens in such cases is that a person believes something and then goes hunting for "proof texts" in the Bible to back it up. There is no "readymade" plan for society in the pages of the Bible.

But this does not mean that the Bible is irrelevant. Far from it! For the Bible gives us an indication of the attitudes, the concerns, the motivations, that must inform and direct the kinds of decisions we make on specific issues. One Christian may feel that his concern for minority groups can best be implemented through participation in the Democratic party, while another may feel that the best ends can be achieved by the Republicans, and a third may prefer to remain independent. What none of these people can claim is that the Biblical concern for all men is made effective only through the Democratic party or only through the Republican party or only by maintaining political independence. The Bible does make clear that you must have an attitude of concern for all men, and a particular concern for the downtrodden. Once that is established, then you have to work out for yourself, as honestly and intelligently as you can, how, within the structure of the society you live in, you can best implement that concern.

For example, the fundamental Biblical emphasis that "the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof" ( Ps. 24:1) is both a religious and a political statement. The earth is not ours to use in such a way that we exploit our fellow men and make life on earth a hell. How are we to live together in a world that is God's world? Similarly, the recurring theme, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" ( Lev. 19: 18; Luke 10: 27), is both religious and political. In what kind of social situation, in what political framework, can I best implement my concern for my neighbor?