Coffee Shop Conversations: Evangelical Perspectives on Current Issues

Contributors

Russell L. Meek, Adjunct Instructor and doctoral student, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is associate editor of Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament and an assistant book review editor for Journal of Hebrew Scriptures.

N. Blake Hearson, Associate Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees in Hebraic and Cognate Studies from Hebrew Union College. He also holds an M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and MA and BA degrees from Wheaton College.

Matthew Arbo, Assistant Professor of Ethics, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned a Ph.D. and M.Th. from Edinburgh University.

William K. Bechtold III, Adjunct Instructor, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Program Coordinator of Religion, Park University. He holds an M.Div. from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Walter Kaiser, Jr., President Emeritus at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He earned a Ph.D. from Brandeis University.

Thor Madsen, Professor of New Testament, Ethics, and Philosophy and Dean of the College, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen.

William R. Osborne, Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at College of the Ozarks. He previously served as a missionary and faculty member at the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the managing editor of Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament.

Matthew Soerens, US Training Specialist, World Relief. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Wheaton College and a Master’s Degree from DePaul University’s School of Public Service.

Corwin Smidt, Professor of Political Science Emeritus and Research Fellow for the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics, Calvin College. He earned a BA in political science and history from Northwestern University and an MA and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in political science.

Foreword

So much of the Bible, and thus so much of the Bible’s theology, takes place around conversations. Three unknown visitors show up one day at the tent of Abraham. Sarah makes tea and listens in on the talk around the table and hears about a child of promise to be born in her old age. Or a decorated military officer in the army of Syria, a man called Naaman, hears about a conversation between a prison girl from Israel and his wife. Mrs. Naaman relays the conversation that leads to her husband’s miraculous healing from leprosy.

A discussion is a conversation with an agenda. The psalms are filled with this kind of stuff. O God, why do you cast us off forever? Has the Lord’s steadfast love ceased forever? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion? O God, do not keep silent, do not hold your peace or be still, O God! Conversations flow into the New Testament as well. Paul describes his conversion to King Agrippa in a conversation. Jesus has an all-night conversation with Rabbi Nicodemus. We do not know what Jesus and Zacchaeus talked about at the dinner they shared after the sycamore tree encounter, but whatever it was, it led to repentance and a different kind of life for the little man everybody had hated before.

Conversations can be deep or shallow, casual or serious, but they invariably take place as an encounter between an I and a thou. They happen at a level of verbal engagement when we have moved beyond the formal courtesies of cordiality—Good morning! Have a nice day! How’s the weather looking?—and have reached the point of listening and responding to another person. One-way monologues are not conversations. They are soliloquies. I once had a conversation with a person about a job I was being offered. He talked nonstop about himself, the institution he ran, the ideas he thought I would be interested in, talk, talk, talk . . . but no listening, no dialogue, no conversation. I took another job. Having a conversation means that we have to shut up long enough to hear what someone else is saying. Real conversations are born out of mutual humility.

Such conversations can lead to faith. Jesus once had a conversation with a disreputable woman at Jacob’s Well. Jesus did not begin that conversation by telling the woman of Samaria everything he knew about her past or by reminding her of the law of God or even by revealing his real identity as the Messiah. Jesus began with a simple question: May I have a drink of water? From that simple sip of home-poured H2O would flow streams of living water: living water that brought transformation to this friendless woman and a great revival to her hometown.

Jacob’s Well, where Jesus and this woman shared a simple drink of water, still stands today. I have been there. Today it is more of a tourist trap than a genuine place to meet and talk, but it is not hard to imagine what a garrulous watering hole it would have been in Jesus’s day. Jacob’s Well was what Floyd’s barber shop was for the men of Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show and what the Boston bar in Cheers was for a later generation of twenty-somethings. This is what the coffee shop has become for our generation today. Coffee shop culture began in the cafés of Rome and the salons of Paris. From there it spread to England, North America, and indeed all around the world. I just returned from a visit to Jakarta, Indonesia, which now boasts of more than twenty-five Starbucks! I love to go to coffee shops and just listen to the edges of conversations. You hear people talking about all kinds of things: politics, sports, broken hearts, missed opportunities, new romances, what’s happening at work, issues of the day, and God. In fact, God is often just beneath the surface in conversations about the issues of the day and all the other stuff that comes out over a cup of java.

This book allows us to listen to thoughtful conversations about some of the pressing moral and spiritual questions of our day. Should the coffee we drink be fair trade or not? What should a Christian think about immigration policy and about immigrants themselves? The economy is on everyone’s mind, but why should Christians care about the Dow Jones Industrial Average? Is making a budget a spiritual discipline? In a sex-saturated culture, how should Christian couples think about birth control? Or universal healthcare? Or military service? Or politics itself?

There is more to be said, of course, about each of these issues than the authors of these essays can present in the short compass of this volume. But each of these essays is a great conversation starter. Because Jesus Christ is the Lord of life—of all life—none of these issues can be dodged or swept under the rug. Jesus told his disciples to go into the world and make disciples among all the nations. That means we have a covenant of dialogue with all persons everywhere, none of whom is beyond the reach of God’s redeeming grace. These coffee shop conversations can be a springboard to faith.

Timothy George

Dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University

General editor of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture.

Preface

The compilation of essays in this book grew out of experiences that Russell had some time ago. As a college student, he spent many hours at a coffee shop near his campus, discussing current events and political issues. At the time, he did not know how to reconcile the various opinions he heard with his newfound faith in Christ. While there were any number of books devoted to singular topics such as just war and Christian involvement in politics, there was no single book that introduced the responses of seasoned conservative Christians to multiple thorny issues. Now, some years later, Russell and Blake feel a call to bring both academic research and a mature Christian perspective to help young believers in similar situations.

The editors believe that, as Christian scholars and churchmen, they are called to aid in the education and discipleship of God’s church. It is not enough for Christian scholars to research and write only for each other, becoming lost in minute details and losing sight of the needs and concerns of the body of Christ. They therefore decided to create a volume that addresses current issues that often come up among friends over coffee—coffee shop conversations, as it were. To that end, they recruited the contributors to this volume because they share the same passion for academic research that seeks to help in the growth of the church. It is their hope that this volume will enable Christians—especially those in a collegiate setting—to engage the culture around them through biblically informed conversations.

Each of the essays in this volume addresses a particular issue that is relevant to the Western church. It has not been the authors’ aim to reflect every stance that could be taken on an issue, but instead they seek to offer readers a way to think about each issue from a Christian perspective, that is, in a way that is governed by the biblical text and faith in Jesus Christ. Naturally, even among admittedly conservative Christians, there are many opinions on the topics in this book. As such, the book is not intended to solve a given problem definitively but rather to introduce the topic from a reasoned stance that takes faith and the Bible seriously. Hopefully readers of this volume will be better equipped to engage the world in which they live and glorify God by their thoughts and actions.

The editors sincerely thank the contributors of this volume for giving their time and expertise. Their work demonstrates accessible scholarship and a perspective that integrates faith and life. This volume would not have been possible without them. They would also like to thank Wipf and Stock for their commitment to this project, especially Christian Amondson, whose patience and guidance has been invaluable.

Russell would like to thank his wife, Brittany Meek. She has repeatedly demonstrated that he who finds a wife finds a good thing, and has obtained favor from Yahweh (Prov 18:22). He would also like to thank Blake Hearson and Neal Nelson, whose discipleship and friendship have been more meaningful than they can know.

Blake would like to thank his wife Jennifer for all of her encouragement, his daughters Emma and Claire for helping him see life through the eyes of a child, and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for granting him a sabbatical in which to finish this project. He would also like to give special acknowledgment to Russell Meek as the book you have before you was originally formulated in his mind through his love for God and the church.

Introduction

This book is a compilation of essays written by evangelical scholars who are seeking to provide Christians with a biblical perspective on various issues relevant to the twenty-first-century church. Each essay tackles a particular issue and gives an evangelical response that both calls Christians to engage the wider culture and provides a possible avenue in which to do this. It is our hope that the essays will open the door for wider cultural involvement and provide readers with a biblical model for addressing issues that face our culture today.

N. Blake Hearson examines the idea of Sabbath rest and whether or not the Sabbath still applies to contemporary Christians. Most Christians agree that the Ten Commandments are still binding, but do not know what to do with the fourth commandment. Hearson argues that it still applies in principle and is of great benefit to our well-being.

Russell L. Meek and William K. Bechtold look at the issue of Fair Trade, arguing that a biblical view of the poor demands that Christians today engage in fair trading practices.

Matthew Soerens writes a stirring essay on the plight of immigrants in the United States today. He argues from Scripture that believers must love the foreigner and he offers a way forward for immigration policy that respects both the law and the dignity of the foreigner.

William R. Osborne examines the Quiverfull movement within evangelicalism, concluding that Christians are not prohibited from managing the size of their families, but that they must take care regarding the type of birth control used in order to protect human life.

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. looks at the recent economic recession. He notes the proper biblical response of Christians to money and follows this by analyzing the causes that have led to the current economic woes. Finally, he points to several options for long term financial stability such as a flat tax rate and the dangers of other philosophies such as the dispersion of money from the wealthy to the poor.

Matthew Arbo examines the debate over health care in light of the recent United States Supreme Court decision regarding universal health care. He argues ultimately that the evangelical response to health care must strive always to bear witness to the Healer.

Corwin Smidt writes about the divisive political climate in the United States today. He argues that Christians must refuse to judge the faith of others based on political affiliation. Furthermore, as Christians try to engage in politics for the glory of God, we must be willing to sacrifice the good for the sake of the perfect, or end up with neither.

Thor Madsen addresses the issue of warfare and Christian discipleship, arguing that the pacifist position is untenable and that Christians can justifiably engage in war.

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Over Worked and Stressed Out

What Can the Sabbath Teach Us about Truly Living?

N. Blake Hearson

Introduction

We live in a busy society. That fact is no surprise to anyone. Technology, while helpful, has filled our lives with more tasks. We can now work while driving and text or talk during lunch. There are no times that are off limits for accomplishing the tasks we feel we must do. This has, in turn, created the perceived need to do more in less time. As a result, technology gives us more leisure time which we fill with other tasks, increasing the demands and pressure on our lives. We feel the anxiety of trying to get everything done and outperform everyone else. Having a relaxed life has become so unusual that there are more and more news stories about people simplifying their lives or getting away from the demands of technology and life in American society.

Modern churches take full advantage of multimedia and busy schedules, doing their best to maximize volunteers and compete for time in the lives of their parishioners. It is often these very same churches that present whole series on balancing life and work and making sure that people carve out daily time with God. It was not always this way in our culture. It was not that many years ago that many parts of the United States enforced blue laws that required a day off on Sunday. Some of these laws required businesses to be closed all day on Sunday. Eventually these laws were eroded so that businesses were only closed on Sunday morning and modified so that no alcohol could be sold during that time. Of course, this restriction disappeared with time and now there is only a slight vestige of uniqueness remaining to Sundays in the vast majority of the United States.

This