Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Adam Hamilton is senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. The Church Report named Hamilton’s congregation the most influential mainline church in America, and he preached at the National Prayer Service as part of the presidential inauguration festivities in 2013.Hamilton is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Walk, Simon Peter, Creed, Half Truths, The Call, The Journey, The Way, 24 Hours That Changed the World, John, Revival, Not a Silent Night, Enough, When Christians Get It Wrong, and Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, all published by Abingdon Press. Learn more about Adam Hamilton at AdamHamilton.com.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Confronting the Controversies - Participant's Book

Abingdon Press

Chapter One

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone. (Titus 3:1-2)

How Do Christians Decide What Is Right and Wrong?

How do you begin to develop your positions on important moral issues? Most people do not spend hours reading over the various ethical debates. We do not usually do our own research. Typically, our personal experience; the convictions of others we trust who study the issues; the beliefs of our parents and others who have influenced our lives; and what we read in magazines or hear and see on television, radio, and in the movies help shape our views. Many of us simply do not have strong opinions on various issues. We often know what we do not believe, however; and those negative reactions are based in part on how little we like the purveyors of those views.

But for us who call ourselves Christians, our views, positions, and beliefs should all spring from our understanding of the will of God. Christians seek, above all, to know and do the will of God. Ultimately, nothing matters more than this. God has created us, has a plan for us; and we believe we will be held accountable for how we respond to God's will. We consider ourselves citizens of God's kingdom first, even before our national citizenship; and we strive to live so as to bring God's reign to the whole world. When we invite Jesus to be Lord in our lives, we invite him to be our sovereign or ruler. We agree to live by his commands and teachings. And we pledge to seek to do his will.

As we struggle to understand God's will in our lives, we know that God does in fact care about all of the issues we will address in this book and the people who face them. Can anyone who is a believer truly think that God does not care what we think regarding criminal justice and the death penalty? Or euthanasia? Or how homosexuality is looked at and how homosexuals are treated?

Some people have suggested that these are merely "secular" issues. But though we make distinctions between what is sacred and what is secular, God does not. The Bible says, "The earth is the LORD'S and all that is in it, / the world, and those who live in it" (Psalm 24:1). For God, all issues, all circumstances, and all people are a part of God's domain. Separating the sacred from the secular is creating a false dichotomy.

Wesley's "Quadrilateral": Four Tools for Discerning God's Will

So then, if God does care about these issues and we as Christians long to know the heart of God, where will we go to discover God's will? How can we discern the convictions God would have us hold and work toward? John Wesley, the eighteenth-century founder of Methodism, offered four tools for discerning God's will. In our time we call this the Wesleyan "Quadrilateral" (quadrilateral means "four sided"). These four principles will be the tools we will use in this book as we consider the issues before us.

1. Scripture: The Bible is the primary means for learning God's will; we study the Scriptures prayerfully, looking for precepts, principles, and direct commandments as they relate to the issues at hand. The Bible is our map, our guide, our "owner's manual." But the Bible can be difficult to interpret. It was written in a time when circumstances were very different from ours; and sometimes, confusing us further, the writers express perspectives that seem to conflict with each other. But, remarkably, most often the Bible speaks to us with one voice about what God expects of our lives. To help the Bible speak to us more clearly, we also turn to the Christian tradition. 2. Tradition: Along with the Scriptures, we look for guidance to the teachings and beliefs of the church as expressed by Christians in all ages. The Christian tradition includes writings about theology and doctrine, prayers and liturgies, the writings of councils, and the wisdom gained throughout Christian history. Tradition, for those who are United Methodists like myself, also includes The Book of Discipline and The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church, as well as John Wesley's writings. As United Methodists, we may not always agree with our denomination's official positions; but we must, at the very least, take them seriously in forming and shaping our understanding of God's will. God speaks through thoughtful church leaders through the ages. 3. Experience: The experience Wesley refers to is not simply a collection of events and happenings, which may not always present a reliable picture to go by, but our experience of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We experience the Holy Spirit in worship, in the fellowship of other believers, and in our work and testimony for God's kingdom in the world. In other words, we believe that God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit's witness, discerned through prayer and confirmed by our experience with the community of disciples. 4. Reason: Wesley believed that God gave us the ability to apply reason to our interpretation of God's will. Reason by itself can be manipulated and lead us in the wrong direction—it is obviously possible to make a "reasonable" argument on either side of an issue—but reason can be used along with the other three tools and be constrained by them. These are the basic principles and tools that we will use in these discussions; and I would encourage you to use them every day as you seek to discover God's will for your life, to see all aspects of your life through the eyes of faith. They can help us view all issues through the eyes of faith. Our task is to be informed, to understand the issues, and to seek God's direction for us. Regardless of how you come out on a given issue, my hope is that you will seek God's will and long to bring your convictions in line with your faith, so that in all things Jesus Christ may be Lord in your life. Through our study of these topics, I hope that we all grow in our faith and that together we can work toward a more just society.

What Is the Role of Individual Christians and the Church in Influencing Culture?

When we speak about moral issues and the separation of church and state, we must talk about culture because culture offers an even more significant reflection of our values than does the government. The main conflict in our country...