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Ed Song and Coyle Neal discuss how the church and state get along or bump heads as institutions. If you’ve not been over to iTunes yet, subscribe now, and start enjoying your new favorite politics podcast!
Episode 8 Show Notes:
Church and State as Institutions
The Church as Sovereign
Things we would prefer, but only work for within the law.
Things we insist on regardless of the political law.
The Church as Model
A picture of the Kingdom of God
A prophet to those who need to hear about judgment and good news.
A longish tangent on various topics
Books/People Mentioned in the Podcast
Several times we have heard Coyle emphasize the importance of “local” service to the poor in our own neighborhoods rather than service to the poor elsewhere. Coyle, why do you think that when Jesus was asked “Who is my neighbor?” he told the story of the Good Samaritan, the apparent conclusion of which is that the Samaritan is the neighbor? If Jesus wanted to emphasize service to the poor in one’s own town or local congregation, why would he choose a member of another nation and religion?
Scott Glancy While I’m probably to Coyle’s left on economics, I don’t think it’s necessarily contradictory. As students of the law and prophets, the priest and Levite and who passed the man by probably thought of themselves as caring greatly for the poor. But only the good Samaritan went out of his way for the needy man who was actually right in front of him.
@JoelJ, I agree that there is no contradiction. One can interpret the parable to only imply that the Samaritan is acting like a good neighbor to the victim in the story, but I think that Jesus had a stronger message. Jesus told the parable in response to the question “Who is my neighbor?”, and the implied answer to that question is “The Samaritans are your neighbors, so you should love them as you love yourself.”.
Sorry for the delay in replying–I’ve been on the road (and I’m not great about checking the blog in any case).
Obviously you’re right that at least part of Jesus’ point is that we ought to love the people that appear to be unlovely for political, cultural, moral, etc., reasons. But I also don’t think that this parable is calling for an international program to solve the problem of roadside robberies everywhere. Instead, it’s commanding us to help those who are actually around us. I suspect Joelj is right that the priest and the Levite would have been expected to give to the care of the poor, but the person who actually helped the poor was the one who did so in his immediate context.
Like you both point out, I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive–you certainly can care for others around the nation or around the world. But if that’s all you do and you pay no attention the needs of those who live on your block, I don’t know that you can claim you’ve properly applied this parable to your life.
Thanks for listening!
Scott Glancy Sorry for the delay in replying–I’ve been on the road (and I’m not great about checking the blog in any case).
Obviously you’re right that at least part of Jesus’ point is that we ought to love the people that appear to be unlovely for political, cultural, moral, etc., reasons. But I also don’t think that this parable is calling for an international program to solve the problem of roadside robberies everywhere. Instead, it’s commanding us to help those who are actually around us. I suspect Joelj is right that the priest and the Levite would have been expected to give to the care of the poor, but the person who actually helped the poor was the one who did so in his immediate context.
Like you both point out, I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive–you certainly can care for others around the nation or around the world. But if that’s all you do and you pay no attention the needs of those who live on your block, I don’t know that you can claim you’ve properly applied this parable to your life.
Thanks for listening!