Have you noticed the shrill tone that permeates public discourse in our time? It seems like everyone is on a hairpin trigger ready to rage and vent at their ideological enemies. What is a Christian to do? Should we stand up for our beliefs, morals, and politics? Should we disengage from conversation about controversial issues? Is there another way? Peter Miano, my guest for today, shares how respect, courtesy, and love can navigate us through these stormy waters. After earning degrees from Boston University, Union Theological Seminary, and Harvard Divinity School and becoming an ordained United Methodist Minister, Miano founded the Society for Biblical Studies, which coordinates trips to the Holy Land and other interesting places where conflict abounds.
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- Learn more about Peter Miano and get in contact with him at The Society for Biblical Studies of which he is the executive director.
- You may also like to read this article: “The Power of Unity in a Polarized Time“
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This is very true and sad: https://youtu.be/COhvzuR3x94
Mr. Miano seems to reflect the majority Christian view that our goal is to promote “relationships.”
Which, correct me if I’m wrong, sounds awfully like the so-called “social gospel movement.”
But I think historians like Bart Ehrman are right when they say “there is little to suggest that Jesus was concerned with pushing social ‘reform’ in any fundamental way in this evil age. In his view, present-day society an all its conventions were soon to come to a screeching halt, when the Son of Man arrived from heaven in judgment on the earth. Far from transforming society from within, Jesus was preparing people for the destruction of society. Only when God’s Kingdom arrived would an entirely new order appear, in which peace, equality, and justice would reign supreme. This Kingdom, though, would not arrive through the implementation of new social reform programs. It would arrive with a cosmic judge, the Son of Man, who would overthrow the evil and oppressive forces of this world.”
Now while it’s true that “Jesus urged his followers to begin to implement the ideals” of that coming future Kingdom in the present, it should not be confused with “the first step toward reforming society from the grass roots, but as a preparation for the new world that was soon to come, when the present [evil] age would be brought to its climactic end with the arrival of the Kingdom.”
(Jesus, Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, p 190.)
This is a very important discussion to put out right now, as we see so much polarization in the nation, and even in the the body of Christ. Both of you, Sean and Peter, are great examples to the body of how to bridge our divides, and listen to each other respectfully, and get out of our own echo chambers. I sure love you both, and will be sharing this podcast with others. God bless you.