This post is full of resources to help you look further into the topic of the Church and Society and for you to know what sources I’m using besides the Bible, thinking, conversation, prayer, and the personal disciplines. You can see my reading list below the list of resources. Feel free to comment on the series, the topic and offer your recommendations below.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
Videos/Talks:
Nic’s Sermon on Justice, Compassion and Mercy during the Gospel in Life series (Week 7)
Timothy Keller on Church in Culture (Talk from 2006) This talk covers the six things the church needs to do to relate the gospel to culture I discussed in the Church and Society Part 2 sermon. I have listened to this talk perhaps more than any other single resource in the last decade.
For the Life of the World: Letters to the Exiles This DVD series is a great option for a small group to study together. It explores the question “What did God save us FOR? What is the purpose of redemption?”
Book:
Good and Bad Ways to think about Religion and Politics by Robert Benne
This is a helpful book on the subject of how we ought to view the relationship between politics and faith.
Article:
Tribal Politics in the 21st Century by Arnold Kling: Explanations of the thought metaphors of the main three political ideologies in America.
CURRENT ISSUES FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
A helpful article introducing the discussion of religious liberty in America: On Repairing Religious Liberty by James Tonkowich, columnist with ReligionToday.com
GLOBAL AWARENESS
- Global reports
- Iran: Iran’s Oppressed Christians
- China
- Syria and Iraq: ISIL’s Persecution of Religious Minorities
- Egypt: Vow of Freedom of Religion Goes Unkept
- Indonesia: Religious Persecution: Lightly on the Lynch Mob
- India: Sexual Assaults and Mob Attacks Going Unpunished
WEDDING CASES
- Washington: A flower shop owner in Richmond, WA may be brought to trial by the District Attorney for refusing to sell wedding flowers to a same-sex couple: Christian Florist Can Lose Personal Assets for Declining Gay Weddings Due to ‘Relationship with Jesus’, Judge Rules
- New Mexico: Wedding photographer prosecuted for refusing to photograph same-sex commitment ceremony: N.M. Supreme Court: Photographers Can’t Refuse Gay Weddings
- Colorado: Wedding cake maker lost court case and threatened with fines for refusing to make cakes for same-sex wedding. Judge order Colo. cake-maker to serve gay couples
- New York: Couple ordered to pay pay $12,000 in damages for agreeing to rent their barn for a same-sex wedding reception, but not for the ceremony: Farm owner fined for saying no to lesbian wedding
OTHER RELEVANT CASES
- California: Court rules that “Judges can’t be members of the Boy Scouts” ruling
- Georgia: Media releases false information about Atlanta Fire Chief leading to his expulsion for private advocacy of faith: Atlanta Fire Chief Suspended Without Pay for Calling Homosexuality ‘Sexual Perversion’ in Book About Christian Values
- Logic supporting his suspension: “by making other people uncomfortable he has created an unworkable work environment.”
- Martin Luther King says this logic is like “blaming the person who was robbed because he owned something.” See letters from Birmingham Jail.
- Rights to conscience in medicine for medical professionals: Doctors Under Fire For Religious Objections to Abortion, Contraception
- Church sign discrimination in public displays: Alliance Defending Freedom – ADF to US Supreme Court: End Govt Speech Discrimination Against Churches
- Texas: Houston pastors sermons subpoenaed in a case regarding petitions against legislation related to policy on access for transgendered people. Withdrawn and revised following public pressure: Houston Mayor Drops Pastor Subpoenas
- Idaho: Two pastors threatened with six months in jail and $1,000 fine for refusing to do same-sex weddings. Prosecution backed down after legal proceedings and public outcry. The business is a for-profit public accommodation, but one they ran “according to their Christian principles”: City Backs Off from Forcing Idaho Pastors to Perform Same-Sex Ceremonies
- Kentucky: Christian T-shirt manufacturer sued for not printing gay pride parade T-shirts: Christian Printer Was Punishes After Refusing to Print Gay Rights T-Shirts–and Now He’s Fighting Back
- Illinois: Christian adoption agencies pushed out of states for “discriminating against gay families”: Catholic Charities Set to Face ACLU in Gay Adoption Lawsuit
- California: Christian organizations driven off of college campuses for having doctrinal and lifestyle requirements required of their officers: InterVarsity Christian Fellowship banned from 23 California Colleges
- Speech ordinances on college campuses:
- Virginia: Calvary Christian church denied a special use permit for the purpose of having a day care for disabled children. The grounds of the denial were later proven false, but the permit was still withheld: Va. Town Says Church School Prohibited Because Kids Would ‘Endanger’ Other Children
- Michigan: Public-school child was prohibited from offering his friends an invitation flyer to church summer camp in 2010, while all other organizations could send things home with children. (The Flottmeyer family had this problem that their Madison public-school. It took going in as parents to straighten things out – including showing them legal decisions): In Michigan, Educators Are Re-Introduced to an Old School of Thought
- Hawaii: Atheist files lawsuit in Oahu against two churches meeting in school “defrauding government by paying substandard rent.” The same atheist then moved to Michigan and filed similar lawsuits against churches meeting in schools, though the schools were happy to host them: In Hawaii, Atheists “Lei” in Wait for Churches Meeting in Public Schools
- Florida: The city of Jacksonville Beach refused to offer a church a permit because the church wasn’t wanted there: Church Wins Discrimination Suit Against City
- Mozilla CEO: Forced out of his job because of a private political contribution done in conjunction with his Christian worldview: Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich Steps Down
- Military: Severe limitations on military chaplains: Chaplain Alliance Files Brief With US Supreme Court Supporting Right to Pray
NIC’S READING LIST
In addition to the resources mentioned above, here are some of the books I’ve been reading lately that relate to this topic:
A Testament of Hope by James Washington – Martin Luther King Reader
Two Faces of Liberalism by John Gray
False Dawn by John Gray
Losing the Race by John McWhorter
Authentically Black by John McWhorther
White Guilt by Shelby Steel
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
Basic Economics and Applied Economics by Thomas Sowell
From Prophesy to Charity by Lawrence Mead
Wealth & Justice by Peter Wehner and Aurthur Brooks
Entrepreneurship for Human Flourishing by Chris Horst and Peter Greer
Generous Justice and Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller
The Tragedy of American Compassion by Marvin Olasky
Please Stop Helping Us by Jason Riley
Toxic Charity by Robert Lipton
Work Matters by Tom Nelson
Work: The meaning of your life by Lester Dekoster
Bloodlines by John Piper
Ordinary Michael Horton
Engage & Equip 
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