Carson at Moore I

Last night I went to a lecture at Moore College delivered by Don Carson. This was part of a series of lectures on Christ and Culture that he has been doing for the college (and which are due to be published as a book). He looked at the relationship between Church and State. A few things struck me:

i. the sweep of his survey. He interacted with and integrated around at least 10 NT passages. This was a great example of how do approach a theological question - refreshingly Biblical and deeply thoughtful.

ii. he talked about the danger of using the language of 'redeeming' the culture. Redemption language is to theologically important to use in this way. Also, he noted the danger of becomming excited about things other than the gospel. So, the ministry that assumes the gospel but is excited about AIDS relief in Africa will lose the gospel in the next generation. We should be doing AIDS relief but it should flow from the gospel. He gave the example of a church in Memphis who have formed a relationship with the local school where around 400 congregation members do one on one tuition with the students. And all the while the church has maintained its strong gospel focus. He bemoaned the Wilberforce film in that it made it seem like Wilberforce had side-lined the gospel to focus on the slavery issue, whereas Wilberforce remained commitedly evangelistic throughout his life.

A very stimulating talk.