Silent in the Public Square?

Silent In The Public Square?

Jesus assumed that his first followers would be hated and persecuted by the unbelieving world, just as he was first hated and persecuted (Jn 15:18).

The reason for this is simple: neither Jesus nor his followers belonged to the world. We are different. If our first loyalty is to God and his kingdom we will be ‘strangers in the world’ (1 Pet 1:1). The degree of this will vary depending on the society we are in, but we are bound to be different. In any society, people who are different in any way are apt to face hostility.

Talk of being hated and persecuted seems far from our local reality. The Religious Harmony Act leaves most Singaporeans reasonably free to practice their respective faiths.  Thankfully, we do not face an officially sanctioned totalitarian ideology in which there is a direct clash with religious belief. Some local Christians face a measure of family or institutional hostility and some ostracism for their beliefs. This can be painful but it is not societal persecution in the way that other Christians suffer it.

However, Christians may suffer hostility for other reasons. All societies have evils in their public life. One role of God’s people is to expose these evils in defense of their victims and to help people see their need of Jesus.  Thus the prophet Amos spoke against the injustice and extravagance of some in his day, Wilberforce spoke against the profitable slave trade, missionaries in India spoke against widow-burning, Bonheoffer spoke against the evils of Nazism, and Christians in SE Asia today oppose exploitation of children and the sex trade. Many of these evils involve powerful interest and big profits. Opposition to them can draw much hostility.

Do Christians suffer little local hostility because we are largely silent in the public square? Do we leave our faith behind when we share in public debate on moral and social issues? Can we do this? Some years back a non-Christian man wrote of how he took his religious values with him into public debate and how that enriched the debate. That’s a good point. If our identity is Christian we should be respectfully Christian on public issues. Who are we, if we leave our Christian identity behind in public debate?

We are called to be salt and light (Mat 5:13). Let’s not lose our saltiness and dim God’s light by fitting into the world so well that no one notices who we are.

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence – not in the name of the Father

Domestic violence is a too-common problem behind the door of many homes. The violence may be verbal, psychological, sexual or physical. Husbands may abuse their wives; parents may abuse their children; children may abuse vulnerable parents; or householders may abuse their helpers.

Domestic violence often involves some abuse of authority. One very nasty form is the abuse of religious authority.  Thus a local social worker tells of a supposedly Christian husband who calmly read Eph 5:22 to his wife, told her he would teach her what it meant and then beat her.

Let’s say it loud and clear:  domestic violence is never acceptable or defensible. There should be zero tolerance, especially among Christians.

Why is domestic violence always wrong for God’s people?

·        All people have equal honour and value in God’s image (Gen 1:26-27). We answer to God for violence against another (eg Gen 9:5-6).

·        We are to love all people, including our enemies (Mat 5:43-48). No matter how greatly we may think a family member to have harmed us, we are to love them by praying for them and seeking God’s blessing.

·        Those with authority in families are to follow the pattern of Christ. Their authority is not for self-service but for other-service (Mrk 10:35-45). In particular, husbands and fathers are to serve their families with Christ-like love and gentleness (Eph 5:25-28; 6:4).

Violence against one diminishes us all. It is a communal problem. Family, neighbours and friends often know when violence is inflicted. If we know and are silent, we are part of the problem.

How can we all help with this terrible problem?

·         If we are abusive or violent, seek help before our violence spills over. There is no shame in admitting to this problem and seeking help.

·         If we are being abused, seek help. You don’t have to protect the family member who is violent. You need help and so do they.

In the name of the Father – let us be a people who refuse violence.