Using the “Position Paper on Church and State” and the “Ethical and Theological Analysis of Contemporary Social Issue” assignments you completed in Topics 2 and 4, write a 2,000-2,500-word essay in which you will do the following:
Explain and support your view on the relationship between the church and politics.
Provide an ethical and theological analysis of a contemporary social issue.
Synthesize your arguments from the above two sections and develop concrete applications and recommendations for how the church can be a faithful witness in
(a) the church’s response to the social issue you analyzed,
(b) the church’s personal ministry to people affected by the issue in question.
All directions from the “Required Structure and Content” section need to be addressed according to your selected topic.
Required Structure and Content:
Element 1: Cover Page (APA format)
Element 2: Main Body of Paper
Introduction and Thesis Statement (200 words): Briefly introduce the topic of your paper and include a clear thesis statement that tells exactly what you will be arguing for in regards to the sections below.
Explanation of and Argument for Your View Regarding Church and State (600-650 words): Clarify how the church relates to the state in your view, drawing from and citing the assigned readings and additional sources you have chosen. Provide at least three arguments in support of your view. Cite at least three biblical passages when presenting these arguments.
Biblical/Theological Analysis of a Contemporary Topic (600 words): Provide a biblical and theological analysis of one of the following topics: (a) Same-Sex Marriage, (b) Abortion, or (c) Poverty and Economic Systems.
In your discussion provide arguments regarding the ethics (in some cases this will mean for or against a particular action) of your topic according to what you believe would be a position consistent with biblical and theological principles.
Recommendations for the Faithful Witness of the Church (600 words): In other words, how does the model of the relationship between church and state, which you defended in Part II above apply concretely and practically to the issue you discussed in Part III above? What should the church do about it? How should it do it in relationship to the wider culture and government?
Explain concretely how your view would help the church to deal with the societal issue in question in a God-honoring manner. The following are examples of the kinds of questions you may choose to respond to:
Should the church (or individual Christians) undertake political action to overturn the Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the United States, and, if so, how should that be done?
If Christians in the medical field are being pressured to participate in performing abortion, how should they respond?
Should Christians seek to address the problem of poverty through government policies, through nonprofit organizations and parachurch ministries, or through some other avenue?
Element 3: Final Section
The final section must demonstrate a clear logical connection between your broader view of the relationship between the church and state and your concrete application of it to a particular issue. Therefore, it will be helpful, for example, to say things like, “Given that the church should not directly seek to influence the state, the best approach would be…” or “Because the church should seek to influence government policies, the best approach would be….” Use your consideration of and exposure to the information on sexual ethics, abortion, and material wealth that you covered in previous topics to help you in articulating your perspective. Remember that you may not directly copy and paste your work from those assignments into this essay.
Element 4: Conclusion (150-200 words): Summarize your main points.
Element 5: References Section
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
