How putting relationships first can reform European society
E-Book, Englisch, 272 Seiten
ISBN: 978-94-92697-26-4
Verlag: Sallux Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Wasserzeichen (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
all authors work in their profesional fields and have many years experience.
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individuals, churches and as a nation. 2. Joined-up living
It is tempting to think that the problems facing our society can be fixed quickly and simply. Lowering interest rates stimulates the economy. Raising the retirement age generates more taxes and lowers government expenditure. Adjusting child benefit encourages more parents back into work. In purely economic terms, these make some sense. Complex, interwoven problems
The catch is that society is a complex system. As the previous diagram shows, nothing exists in isolation. Every problem we fix by these means creates a range of side-effects. Like bubbles under the wallpaper, if we push one down it often leads to unintended consequences elsewhere. Policies that affect employment also impact couples and family structure, since they influence who works where, for how long, and for how much money. Family structure affects the welfare budget, which picks up the costs of broken and struggling households. Interest rates impact employment, but they also affect how much families pay on their mortgages and credit cards and the financial problems or freedom they experience as a result – either at the time or perhaps many years later. The messages we receive about these interlocking aspects of society also play a role in shaping our cultural standards, what and who we value and prioritise: whether the opportunity to move for work is more important than stable, rooted communities; whether sexual freedom is more important than strong families; whether my personal choices are more important than the welfare of society as a whole. None of these things can be viewed in isolation. But that is the basis on which public policy – so often short-term, single-issue and fragmentary – tends to operate. The need for a holistic answer
If we really want to address our social and economic challenges in a lasting and meaningful way, we need a holistic vision rather than just single-issue political campaigns. We believe that the kind of society the people of Israel were called to be, described in both the Law and the prophets’ critique of their failures, serves as an inspiring example of how a society can ‘walk in the ways of the Lord’ – offering unique insights into the untidy collection of interconnected problems we face. 3. The biblical vision for society
The verse that epitomises the society depicted in the first illustration is Judges 21:25, ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.’ Without a source of guidance society disintegrated into a collection of individuals, each going their own way: like our own, an individualistic culture that lacked overall coherence and direction. This is diametrically opposed to the Bible’s vision for the ideal society. From Creation, through the Covenant with Abraham and later Israel, to the Crucifixion and beyond, the loving relations among the Persons of the Trinity provide the basis for God’s concern with right relationships. Flourishing relationships
Jesus summarised the laws of the Old Testament in terms of flourishing relationships: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’ (Matt. 22:37-40) God’s concern for healthy relationships is the underlying theme that can inform our understanding and application of the Bible’s laws: everything in the Bible is about the quality and strength of our relationships with God or our neighbour. Christianity is a relational religion. The Trinity, the idea of Covenant, the Incarnation and the Cross are all fundamentally concerned with relationships between God and human persons. The Jubilee year
The Jubilee year (Lev. 25), was central to the nature of biblical society. Its fundamental principle was that land could not be bought or sold permanently but was returned to its original owners every 50 years. Overall the Jubilee laws shaped the economy, limited debt and poverty, governed patterns of work, rest and welfare, and supported strong families and communities. As a whole, biblical law is designed to provide the opportunity for close relationships, and to maintain them – whether within families, in business transactions, in religious worship or between different nations. This idea is alien to the modern mind. We are used to thinking of ourselves as individuals and in terms of our personal rights and freedoms, rather than our responsibilities to others and how we fit into society as a whole. The Bible’s emphasis on right relationships is a challenge to our culture’s destructive focus on the self and provides a framework within which we can apply its teachings to our situation today. 2. The biblical model
1. Israel as a model for society
Both Old and New Testaments offer profound insights for our culture, but it is the Old Testament that provides detailed information about how God wanted his people to structure their economy and society. Unlike Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God, the Old Testament model builds in measures to account for ‘hardness of heart’: humans’ innate tendency to go their own way. Such tough realism is essential when dealing with the realities of a secular society, over against God’s ideals for the Church (cf. Matt. 19:8). An integrated vision
Even Christians can be sceptical about the relevance of the Old Testament. It can seem so remote from our culture that we sometimes believe it cannot possibly have anything helpful to say. However, one reason that the vision of society described in the Old Testament is uniquely relevant is because it was so highly integrated. Different types of relationship and themes of public policy worked in harmony, rather than in competition. This is important because looking at a single topic from a biblical perspective – perhaps debt, abortion or workers’ rights – is not enough. Even if the whole span of biblical thought is applied in detail to a specific issue, the idea still needs to be connected to the other interwoven strands of society, first in the historical, biblical setting and then in the application for our own day. To understand how to apply a principle drawn from the Bible, then, we first have to understand how the different laws fitted together for Israel to create the relational ideal. Otherwise, it risks becoming disconnected from related issues, potentially leading to unintended and perhaps harmful consequences. Understood...
