Issues
The Christian Action Commission covers a host of issues. To the left you'll see several categories with related subtopics. Select the issue(s) you're interested in. Here you'll be able to read and even tell a friend about it.
Christian Responsibility
Little Boy Blue, Come Blow Your Horn . . .
By By Rob Chambers
Most of us have heard of the nursery rhyme, Little Boy Blue, and you may have even had it read to you at some time or another. It reads:
Little Boy Blue, Come blow your horn, The sheep’s in the meadow, The cow’s in the corn; Where is that boy, Who looks after the sheep? Under the haystack, Fast asleep. Will you wake him? Oh no, not I, For if I do, He will surely cry.
It’s obvious that Little Boy Blue has a responsibility – to serve as a watchman over the sheep and cattle. If cause for alarm arose, then it was Little Boy Blue’s responsibility to sound the horn, alert the people, and rally them toward action.
So, the sheep’s out of the fold, and the cow’s in the corn patch – a cause for alarm, but where is he? He’s …
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Stem Cell Research: Hype, Hope, or Both?
By by Rob Chambers
Since President Obama’s decision on March 9th to allow federal funds for research using embryos and embryonic stem cells, much has been said about the morality and ethics of embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) and adult stem cell research (ASCR).
Many scientists, researchers, activists, and legislators argue that stem cell research holds great promise to cure or treat health problems. This is partially true because when supporters of stem cell research make this claim the issue is often clouded and confused. This is because the moral and ethical dilemma that embryonic stem cell research kills human life is often intentionally left out of general conversation. The media and advocates frequently bury this dilemma under the words of hope, promise, and cures of stem cell research in general.
This is done because embryonic stem cells have not proven effective in treating ANY human injury, illness, or disease, …
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The Christian Doctrine of Religious Liberty
By By Barrett Duke
Sep 8, 2005
Presented at First Freedom Conference on Religious Liberty Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Fort Worth, Texas September 8, 2005
Recently, the United States’ Bureau of Immigration Appeals (BIA) argued that a Chinese man who had been arrested and beaten in China for operating an unregistered house church could not remain in the United States but would have to return to China. The BIA denied his request to remain because it believed that the treatment the man received from the Chinese authorities was related to his illegal activity of operating an unregistered place of worship not his religious beliefs.
Essentially, the BIA made a distinction between religious belief and religious practice. For them, persecution for religious belief merits protection, but persecution for religious practice born out of that belief is not necessarily protected behavior. The BIA made this decision in …
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The Bible Speaks on Christian Citizenship
By By Staff
Jan 24, 2006
Politics is the business of deciding who gets what, when, and where. Christians must not leave such important business to unbelievers. In these times, no one can be an obedient Christian who is not also a good citizen. The Christian faith demands responsible citizenship.
Democracy, by its very nature, requires citizen participation in the processes of government at every level—local, state, and national. The Bible, moreover, explicitly calls for Christian citizenship.
The Nature of Government
Bible principles concerning the nature of government are as valid today as when they were first given.
• Civil government is of divine appointment. Civil government is a part of God’s purpose for this kind of world. God’s people have lived under many different forms of government. While no one form of government is divinely chosen, government itself is ordained of …
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The Christian and the Government: A Delicate Balance
By By Richard Land
Americans celebrated the 231st birthday of their nation last week with picnics, parades and pyrotechnics. While it may not have been a topic of conversation within most gatherings on July 4, it is worth pondering what a government ordained by God looks like.
For the Apostle Paul writing to the Romans, it was the Roman Empire—not what you would call an enlightened regime. You and I wouldn’t like it even if we had been Roman citizens. Yet Paul referred to these pagan rulers as governing authorities established by God, and he instructed persecuted Christians to submit to them “for conscience sake”:
Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves …
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Tackling the Relationship Between the Church and the State
By By Steven Griffin
Aug 1, 2007
A Summary of The Divided States of America? by Richard Land
Most conservatives think we have taken God out of this country and we need to put Him back in, asserting that God is on our side and taking patriotism to an idolatrous level. Meanwhile, most liberals think separation of church and state requires that God should not have anything to do with American politics and public life. Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, writes why both views are wrong in his book, The Divided States of America?, and why these views will lead to a “furtherance of the shouting matches that rage between the extreme worldviews on each side, resulting in lots of heat but very little light.”
Dr. Land points out that while America was not founded as a “Christian nation,” it …
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Christian Citizenship: Utilizing the Wall of Separation
By Lee Yancey
(From Salt & Light: May/June 2002, Vol. 15, No.3)
In George W. Truett’s address to the Baptist churches of Washington, D.C. on May 16, 1920, he spoke of Jesus’ words: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Truett said it was:
one of the most revolutionary and history-making utterances that ever fell from those divine lips. That utterance, once and for all marked the divorcement of church and state. It marked a new era for the creeds and deeds of men. It was the sunrise gun of a new day the echoes of which are to go on and on until in every land, whether great or small the doctrine shall have absolute supremacy everywhere of a free church in a free state. In behalf of our Baptist people I am compelled to say that forgetfulness …
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Who Will Get My Vote
By Jimmy Porter
Is it okay to assume you are going to vote? I hope you are not one of the 45 to 65 million eligible American voters who are not registered. Less than fifty percent of the voting population actually votes in any given election. What is even more troubling is that only about 43 percent of evangelical Christians actually bother to vote in any given election according to Focus on the Family.
Since you are going to vote, who will you choose in this upcoming election? John Quincy Adams, 6th U. S. President, said, “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th U. S. President, said, “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they …
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Who Gets My Vote
By Jimmy Porter
Political billboards and yard signs are now mixed with blooming azaleas and camellias throughout our state. Candidates running for political office are seeking name recognition which hopefully will result in more votes later in the year.
These signs raise several questions: Why should I vote? For whom should I vote? How can my church be involved in the political process?
WHY SHOULD I VOTE? The amazing fact is that many choose not to vote. It is estimated that 35 percent of eligible Americans are not registered to vote. Less than 45 percent of evangelical Christians voted in the non-presidential election year of 2002.
The Bible teaches us to be responsible citizens which means participating in the voting process. Exodus 18:21, NIV provides an example for us, “Select capable men from all the people — men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and …
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God and Government
By Jimmy Porter
Each day I look out my office window and see two buildings.
One is the First Baptist Church of Jackson where people go to worship God, and the other is the Mississippi State Capitol where legislators gather to govern our state. Seeing these two buildings in a single glance raises two questions, not only for me but for all of us. First, “Does the legislative session at the Capitol affect the lives of the people in the church?” and secondly, “Should the people in the church be concerned and involved in the legislative process taking place at the Capitol?” The answers are “yes” and “yes.” But it has been said, “Never talk to your friends about religion or politics because if you do, both of you will end up mad.” Therefore, many in the Christian community take these words to heart and do not allow their religion to …
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God & Government
By Jimmy Porter
Each day I look out my office window and see two buildings.
One is the First Baptist Church of Jackson where people go to worship God, and the other is the Mississippi State Capitol where legislators gather to govern our state. Seeing these two buildings in a single glance raises two questions, not only for me but for all of us. First, “Does the legislative session at the Capitol affect the lives of the people in the church?” and secondly, “Should the people in the church be concerned and involved in the legislative process taking place at the Capitol?” The answers are “yes” and “yes.” But it has been said, “Never talk to your friends about religion or politics because if you do, both of you will end up mad.” Therefore, many in the Christian community take these words to heart and do not allow their religion to …
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The Pulpit and Politics: Time to Come Out of Our Shell
By Jimmy Porter
Frances Schaeffer asks, “If not you, who? If not now, when? And if not this, what?” These remarks were usually made to motivate Christians to get involved with the world.
As a pulpit guest, I had completed a sermon on the family in which I encouraged the congregation to vote for and support the Mississippi Marriage Amendment. After the sermon a lady approached me and said, “Thank you for that word, Brother Jimmy. We know all these things, but we are not going to do much until our pastor tells us to.”
Her comments were not 100% accurate, but there is enough truth in them to cause us to stop and consider the importance of the pulpit and the influence of the church in our world. In a recent article, Coming of Age in the 70’s, (Faith & Family Values, March-April 2006), Richard Land sheds some …
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