Few issues have generated more heated debate in modern Reformed circles than the discussions currently taking place about two-kingdom theology. Books have been written disparaging learned theologians and pastors for taking the wrong position. Presbytery exams that take up the issue threaten to devolve into shouting matches among elders in the church. Facebook comments on the subject are even—if possible—more unseemly.
At the heart of the disagreement is a topic that we should all be concerned to get right: What is the proper function of the church in society and how should a Christian live coram Deo in the world?
Stephen Wolfe, a PhD candidate in political theory at Louisiana State University, has endeavored to find a third way that avoids the old battle lines and engages the topic from a new point of view. In the spirit of modeling a charitable and thoughtful conversation, the editors asked Dr. Brian Lee, pastor of Christ United Reformed Church (URCNA) in Washington, DC and frequent contributor to MR, to reply to Mr. Wolfe.
Although Wolfe and Lee have differing views on the kingdom of man, the kingdom of God, and how Christ rules over both, their exchange is edifying for the weighty matters they discuss as well as the way in which they discuss them. We commend it to you as an example for your own future discussions on this and other theological topics.
Part 1: Christianity as Civil Society’s Adornment, by Stephen Wolfe
Part 2: Is Christianity an Ornament or the Tree?, A response to Stephen Wolfe by Brian Lee
Part 3: In Defense of Cultural Christianity, A response to Brian Lee by Stephen Wolfe
