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Christian Belief Systems : The Humanist And The Christian Beliefs

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According to Schaffer, in America and most of the western world, a growing issue was the belief system. This issue is mainly the growing difference between two different belief systems: The humanist and the Christian beliefs. The main difference between these two systems is the perception of the final reality of existence, which leads to an impossibility for them to coexist as each one contradicts the other in aspects such as abortion, homosexuality, etc. This creates a problematic among government 's identifying with one or the other when interpreting Law. The Christian belief, as we know is based upon a single God, creator of all things and human beings. This one is based upon the bible and constitutes, according to Schaffer the …show more content…

One of the main ideas of A Christian Manifesto is to remind the reader that the state is and was always based upon the principles of God being the supreme law. To elaborate this, Schaffer cites several passages from the New Testament in which the difference between Government and God is explained. Government is there to commend the right and punish the wrong, but this power is given to it by the Creator. In other words, Government is still a servant to God, not his equal. “God has appointed the state as a delegated authority; it is not autonomous” (91). This is what was believed in during the American Revolution and what the humanist belief system is trying to leave behind. Conflict comes when, influenced by humanism, government goes against God 's law in its governing. Using tax money for legal abortion clinics is a good example of this. The response Schaffer considers appropriate is, civil disobedience. When considering civil disobedience, the book cites Samuel Rutherford 's Lex Rex when explaining the steps. For a private individual, there are three levels of disobedience, these are protest, flight and force. Protest should be a legal right in contemporary society and it should always be done peacefully. Flight is a way of defense against the state to avoid the use of force. Force should only be used as means of defense and being limited to prevent

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