Reformed Church Leader Urges Christians to Unmask 'False Doctrines' on God, Justice
A high official of the global body of Reformed churches told Christians to unmask the "false doctrines" that limit God's sovereignty to only the spiritual realm and be engaged in seeking justice through a lifestyle centered on ethical investing.
"If we had followed these false doctrines in the 16th century or in the 1930's or in the decades of apartheid in South Africa, our witness would have been tarnished," said the Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), according to a report Monday by the Alliance.
Nyomi spoke to an audience of Reformed Christians at the Christian Lifestyle Conference in Belfast, Ireland, hosted by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland over the weekend.
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One of the key points of his speech was on consumerism and the problems that stems and are fostered from a lifestyle based only on satisfying ones desire. He called on Christians to resist this way of living but rather be aware that how they spend their money affects poor workers around the world. He urged Christians to participate in ethical investing, use fairly traded products, and advocate for economic and ecological justice.
"We cannot yield to the rather mediocre view in which the powers that manage God's household today convince us that individual needs and greed are more important than the needs of the community," said Nyomi, "and that privatization and the motif of unbridled profit are paramount even if they oppress large numbers of people."
He questioned how Christians can neutrally stand by as millions of people around the world suffer and die because of the world's economic system.
As example, Nyomi spoke about people not having enough money to buy food, the lack of healthcare, education, and public drinking water.
Furthermore, the WARC general secretary noted that Christians can fall into idolatry when they worship economic systems as gods and allow them to rule their lives.
Yet God has authority over all parts of an individual's life and not only the spiritual aspects, emphasized Nyomi.
He said the Bible tells Christians that God cares for those suffering and called on believers to challenge systems that oppress people.
"How can we stay silent when the way the household is managed leads to death for some people in the household?" Nyomi asked
"We are called not to keep silent but to stand on the word of God [and] to be actively engaged in resisting anything that denies fullness of life."
The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) is a Protestant global church body representing 75 million Reformed Christians in 216 churches in 107 countries. Member churches include Presbyterian, Reformed, Congregational, and United Churches. WARC is often involved in social issues such as economic globalization, ecological and gender justice.
