“I think we have to affirm that there is a basic antithesis between believers and unbelievers — between a Christian way of thinking and a unbelieving way of thinking. At some fundamental level we think and act in different ways. At the same time, I believe, and I make the argument for this in the book that actually God calls us, as believers, to live together alongside unbelievers in our political communities. God did not institute political communities only for Christians. These are places where Christians and non-Christians are called to live together in some sort of peace, justice and order. And that really is the challenge because that is not easy….”
“There is a sense in which under Christendom … there was sort of this attempt to say, ‘you know the only people who really ought to have a share in our political communities is those who think like us, and so we all ought to agree on the same sort of basic fundamental issues.’ I’m making the argument that the Lord is calling us to strive to live in peace with all sorts of different people and not to try to eliminate from the political community those who don’t agree with us about the most important things and so that really is the challenge. How can we faithfully, wisely seek to live together peacefully as justly as possible with whom we disagree about fundamental things. Here, I think the doctrine of common grace is very important because we recognize that in addition to God’s saving grace … God is at work preserving a measure of peace in this world…”
Dr. David Van Drunnen (DVD)
Politics after Christendom
Interview w/ Dr. R. Scott Clark
Office Hours program
This will be part 1 of a likely 3 part series on DVD’s interview with Clark. The reason that I am preoccupied with DVD now is that DVD has a new book out pushing the R2K agenda and as such he is out everywhere hawking his book. As such I am everywhere out exposing the gross error found in his “theology.”
1.) DVD speaks of an antithesis existing between believers and unbelievers and yet I very seldom hear DVD talk about just exactly what the antithesis looks like in the every day world. In point of fact, DVD’s whole R2K project is to say that in the common realm the antithesis is, or at least ought to be, completely muted. DVD heralds the idea that in the common realm the Buddhist, Talmudist, Muslim, and Christian can come together, and by virtue of all living under the same natural law — which we call appeal to together — we can all live in harmony. Reading or listening to DVD there is very little antithesis that is articulated. One wonders where DVD would find the anti-thesis (concretely speaking) in the common realm?
2.) DVD denies Christendom when he says above that “God did not institute political communities only for Christians.” This sounds reasonable to those of us who have been raised in the multicultural environs that is now the West. DVD’s statement is the perfect theological reflection that reflects a willingness to embrace multiculturalism. I don’t believe Christians have any business embracing multiculturalism.
However, more that that I can make an argument that DVD here is saying that God did not institute families only for Christians. Keep in mind that the family is a political community. Family is a child’s first political community. Larger political communities are merely family extended. At least that is the way “nations” were thought of before the multicultural dream was hatched. As such, I disagree with DVD when he says that God “did not institute political communities only for Christians,” because in that statement I hear that God did not institute any nation as only for Christians. I think God did intend, and does intend, for all political communities to be only for Christians. I believe this because Christ’s last words to the disciples were to baptize the nations and teach the nations to observe wherein all He commanded them (Matthew 28:16f). Because of that I think that DVD is being overly comfortable with the abomination that is multi-culturalism and has crafted a theology that harmonizes with multiculturalism.
3.) DVD presupposes that it is possible to have a political community that does not have some faith in the ascendancy that is ruling over every other faith. What else can I conclude from DVD’s idea that people of different faiths can work together in peace, justice, and order. What DVD is missing is that all political communities are animated by and reflective of one particular faith expression. Now, other faiths may be allowed to co-exist but the political community has only one God running the show. Muslims may allow people of the book to survive in their political community but only as hewers of wood and bearers of water (metaphorically speaking). Democracies may allow people of different faiths to operate in their political community but only as long as they don’t take their various gods too seriously. Christians can operate in this political community as long as they don’t take the God of the Bible seriously about the definition of marriage. Muslims in France can operate in the French political community as long as they forgo wearing the Hijab in French schools.
While it may seem that I am straying afar from DVD my point here is that DVD assumes that political communities are pluralistic but in point of fact all political communities are totalistic and always insist that those living in their political communities must serve the God in charge of the differing political communities. So, in order for Christians to live in political communities that are putatively multicultural they must be treasonous to their God in order to co-exist. For DVD that treason is acceptable.
4.) DVD speaks about living with those who don’t agree with us (Christians) about the most important things. Let’s consider the implications of this statement given our current setting in the West. Per DVD we are expected to live with those who don’t agree with us on,
a.) There being a differences between men and women
b.) The Lord’s Day being set apart as unique
c.) The routine killing of the unborn
d.) The catechization of our children in Government schools in Marxist thinking
e.) The Muslim call to Worship across Britain on BBC radio
f.) The fact that “married” sodomites should be accepted as “married.”
According to DVD we ought, as Christians “not to try to eliminate from the political community those who don’t agree with us,” on these types of issues.
5.) DVD talks about God, via common grace, preserving a measure of peace. Is that really what is happening or is it instead that Christians are compromising for the sake of not upsetting the God of the multicultural West?
