THE CHURCH AND CHRISTIAN WITNESS
What, then, is the role of the church? It is two-fold.
(1)Ideally and ultimately, followers of Jesus are the salt of the earth, light of the world, leaven in the secular loaf. As such, Christians go into the world with the aim of moving, lifting, and luring society in the direction of ethical love. The vocation of
Christians is to hold up ethical love as 'a transcendent gauge exhibiting the moral defects of society and thus spread the infection of an uneasy spirit' (A. N. Whitehead). In particular, Christians should work to overcome the larger injustices, social disarray, and cultural illness that create an atmosphere conducive to violence. This work will involve both political action and cultural transformation.
(2) Pragmatically and immediately, Christians will translate
ethical love into mandates of secular justice and work for the best approximation of the norm that is possible under given circumstances.
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