Recently we prayed for several of our hospitalized friends suffering from Covid.  After days of struggling with the disease they succumbed one by one.  We actually thought that some of them would pull through since we were getting frequent encouraging updates, but our hopes were dashed when we heard of the passing away of our dear friends. 

The Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRC) and my Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) are fraternal, ecumenical partners. One of the purposes of the World Reformed Fellowship is the facilitation of dialogue and conversation across denominational boundaries. It is in that spirit that I share my pastoral appreciations and critiques of the CRC’s report on human sexuality.

I certainly do not intend to exhaust the issue of inequality in this last article of the series on statism and idolatry. Yet, since I chose this as an illustration of the broader development, I will attempt to provide a very short sketch on how a specifically theological conception of the State in relation to society, in a discussion how to solve social and economic inequalities, would involve a combination of different areas of responsibilities by different spheres in the social order.

In the first part of this series I set forth my contention that, “To invest our redemptive yearnings in anything other than God’s action in Christ and through His body, the Church, to expect the rectification of “structural sin” or any kind of resolution for the identity-group-defined injustices through political action, is both naïve and dangerous: it is idolatrous.” Now, as promised I want to outline an alternative perspective. First, however, let me give you some context.

“Dr. Schaeffer, what is your biggest concern for the future of the church in America?” Robert Charles Sproul (1939-2017) asked the great Christian thinker of the twentieth century as they shared a cab in the early nineteen-eighties. Francis Andrew Schaeffer (1912-1984), already in his twilight years, did not hesitate: “Statism.” Sproul explains:

Things have changed. The difference between the political parties has grown and the heat seems to have been turned up in political debate. The Australian Electoral Study found that in 1996 almost 40% of Australian politicians described themselves as “moderate” – that is, centre-left Liberal and centre-right Labor politicians. By 2016 only 10% described themselves that way. Voters have followed the same trend — in 1993, 54% considered themselves to be  centrist. By 2016 only 42% did. This polarisation has been very obvious in the US. The same trends have impacted Australia.

Reading sometimes brings uncomfortable challenges.

In the last couple of days, I have been reading several different items, all of which, either directly or indirectly, ask the question which I have chosen as my title.

Today we hear a lot about ‘divine child abuse.’ That’s what some people call Good Friday, when Jesus died in our place on the cruel cross, taking upon himself his Father’s judgment on our evil lives. Isn’t it a lot better to think of it this way, they say, that God just loves us so much that he makes everything better for us through Jesus? Do Easter without Good Friday.

In a previous blog, I have tried to present reasons why and how we should love those with whom we disagree.  I have suggested that, on the model of how Jesus loved us and this even includes those whom we think are sinning.

But there are some biblical cautions about this kind of love and these must be considered as well. [However, it is intentional that I am identifying only two ways NOT to love while I listed three ways TO love.]

[Note: This article is a companion to Two Ways I Should NOT Love Those With Whom I Disagree]

I start this blog with a story from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (which I happen to believe is the greatest novel ever written):

EVANGELICALS AND ABORTION: An Historical and Theological Study

by J. Cameron Fraser, D.Min.

(Former Pastor and Stated Clerk in Classis Alberta & Saskatchewan of the Christian Reformed Church, now focused mainly on writing and editing)

These are the first two chapters of a proposed book. Sam Logan kindly suggested that they be posted on the WRF Blog in order to solicit responses and suggestions at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The religious communities of the Abrahamic traditions face several theological and ethical challenges as we try to become good neighbors in a global society that is, it seems, increasingly post-secular. Whereas a few decades ago many thought secularism would dominate the world through globalization, now secularism might be criticized as a tribal religion still found on universities in Europe and North America.