Quote:
Originally Posted by Drake
I do not believe that it is the church's mission to change society. Rather to hasten the One who will establish the kingdom that will reign in righteousness and endure forever.
|
The problem with that position is that it is difficult to conceive the latter taking place without the former occurring to some degree. How can a significant segment of society (the Church) be living in such a way as to cause the Lord of All to return to earth and yet their living still have no affect on the world around them?
We are the salt of the earth, our Lord told us. That clearly states we are to have some affect on the world. I believe most of that affect is the indirect result of our right living. But who can say for sure what level of "direct" attempt to change things is inappropriate, so long as it is in the Spirit? We cannot judge for others. So if you would rather read HWMRs and meet only with those you are comfortable with, fine. Just don't look down on others who feel to reach out more.
I don't think it's so simple as to say that the Church is not supposed to change the world. Jesus changed history. The church has too. One example is the missionaries who risked their lives to reach out to the murderous Huaorani tribe of Central America. Dramatized in the movie "The End of the Spear", this was the tribe in which something like 40% of the people were, over time, murdered by the others. They simply thought the way to solve conflicts was to kill each other. Totally demonic. Now, through the faith and sacrifice of missionaries, they are a peaceful Christ-centered society. So not only were some people changed, a whole society was changed. You can't change people without changing society to some extent.
I'm sorry, but sometimes this "our call is not to change society" talk sounds like an excuse for being impotent.