Month: March 2021

Should Morality Be Legislated?

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Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash This was originally published on Advocates for Truth under the title "Should Christians Legislate Morality?" Introduction Christians are often told that they shouldn’t try to legislate morality and that they should keep religious values out of public policy. Sometimes it is phrased, “Christians shouldn’t force their values on others.” Just how true are these sentiments? What does the Bible say about how our faith and values should influence the law? Law and Morality The answer to these questions will largely come down to how we define “legislating morality.” If we use this phrase to mean “using morality as a basis for making law,” then legislating morality is unavoidable. All law is derived from someone’s morality. Behind every law [Read more...]

What Should Be the Role of Government in Marriage?

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Photo by Drew Coffman on Unsplash This article was originally published on Advocates for Truth as "Government and Marriage." Introduction Many have debated the proper role of government in marriage. As Christians, we believe that marriage is fundamentally a spiritual institution, being a physical manifestation of a greater spiritual reality (Genesis 2:23-24, Malachi 2:13-16, Ephesians 5:31-32). At the same time, civilizations for thousands of years have acknowledged that marriage has a social or civil component to it. Should this be the case? How should Christians think about the government’s role in marriage? A Brief History of Marriage In our modern culture, it has become easy to romanticize marriage and ignore its long and complicated history. While marriage has largely [Read more...]

Is There a “Right Side of History”?

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Photo by Giammarco Boscaro on Unsplash This article was originally published on Advocates for Truth as "Are Christians on the Right Side of History?" Introduction In recent years, we have become familiar with the phrases “the right/wrong side of history.” It was a favorite phrase of President Obama, and, just recently, Senators who acquitted President Trump were said to be on the “wrong side of history.” Likewise, with the recent passage of the Equality Act in the House of Representatives, those from the LGBTQ+ community have said that passing the bill will put our nation on the “right side of history.” But what does it mean to be on the right or wrong side of history? Does this way of thinking fit with the Christian understanding of history and morality? Different Views of [Read more...]

What is the Equality Act?

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Photo by daniel james on Unsplash This article was originally published on Advocates for Truth as "The Equality Act." Introduction On February 25, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, which seeks to add sexual orientation and gender identity protections to existing civil rights legislation. This has raised concerns about conflicts between these newly recognized rights of LGBTQ Americans with the religious liberty rights of Christian (and some Muslim and Jewish) businesses, schools, nonprofits, and even places of worship. In reality, anyone who holds to a traditional view of sexuality and marriage could come into conflict with the Equality Act should it pass. In light of this, how should Christians evaluate and respond to the Equality Act? What Does the [Read more...]

Evaluating the Mexico City Policy

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Photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash This article was originally published on Advocates for Truth under the title "Mexico City Policy". Introduction As a part of a series of executive orders, President Biden has reversed the Mexico City Policy. The Mexico City Policy is named after the location of the United Nations Conference on Population and Development in 1984, where the Reagan administration announced the new policy. It prevents non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from using tax dollars overseas as a way to perform or support abortion. It has subsequently been reversed by every Democratic presidential administration and reinstated by every Republican administration. Is this something Christians should care about? What impact could the reinstatement of this policy potentially [Read more...]