tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2601174073356172675.post3398498207165372684..comments2023-10-25T08:19:10.840-05:00Comments on The Manic Eclectic: Big Government Liberal?James Spurgeonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03167996142146084532noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2601174073356172675.post-69436133946759023352009-07-02T00:27:46.978-05:002009-07-02T00:27:46.978-05:00I knew there was a reason I kept your blogsite as ...I knew there was a reason I kept your blogsite as a bookmark despite you never updating.<br /><br />Good to see someone's actually reading my stuff.<br /><br />One counter-argument from the top of my head concerns sin. Sin affects both the individual and the community. To argue that the Biblical direction is more individualistic is to argue that the sins of the many outweigh the sins of the few (in a per capita sense). I would argue that sin affects both equally.<br /><br />Another counter argument from the top of my head is that God instituted a community and has community rules. In the OT this was the nation of Israel and the NT this is the church. There is always a sense in which an individual is part of a larger group and has responsibilities to it. A Christian is not an island and a Christian father is not the pastor of his home church. We are linked to something greater, that our individual selves are merely part of God's great plan of salvation through Christ that he achieves through his church.<br /><br />Again these are not arguments which I would use to support a leftist/centrist position, but rather use to show that the Bible does not really advocate a small government / individualist ideology. As far as Sola Scriptura goes I would say the bible is silent on the issue, which allows Christians to have differing points of view.Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03143948543305522865noreply@blogger.com