Raleigh-Durham has its share of seminaries and seminarians. As a result, I am never short on hearing of how people who really serve and love God will be involved in this or that social issue: whether that is support for the pro-life position; preservation of the family; ecological preservation; care for the poor, etc. The below is not to imply that any of those things are not important.
But here is a great little snippit from D. A. Carson reflecting on this, with what I believe is an excellent perspective on it. (I owe the blog “Between Two Worlds” for this…also, to note, I thought Carson’s short exposition of 1 Cor 1-5, called The Cross and Christian Ministry, was one of the best short books on Christian ministry I had read, in which he makes this and several other pertinent points.)
The point is that in all our efforts to address painful and complex societal problems, we must do so from the centre, out of a profound passion for the gospel. This is for us both a creedal necessity and a strategic choice. It is a creedal necessity because this gospel alone prepares men and women for eternity, for meeting our Maker—and all problems are relativized in the contemplation of the cross, the final judgement, and eternity. It is a strategic choice because we are persuaded that the gospel, comprehensively preached in the power of the Spirit, will do more to transform men and women, not least their attitudes, than anything else in the world. (From For Such a Time as This: Perspectives on Evangelicalism, Past, Present and Future, p. 83)




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