As Mike Winther continues his Biblical Principles of Government series, we'll explore practical components about how the world works while increasing our intellectual inquiry. All of this is so we can gain a better understanding of how we can make a difference.
He kicks off the show by discussing whether the topics covered in the series really matter.
For many Christians, they don't. Everything is already seen as a foregone conclusion. This is a view that people have held since the second century AD. If your answer is yes, this matters, then what are you going to do? This lecture will highlight why it matters and what actions you may want to take.
You'll Learn:
- [00:52] Does the stuff that we've been talking about matter?
- [01:19] For a lot of Christians, the stuff doesn't matter.
- [01:37] If the answer is yes, what are you going to do?
- [02:11] Matthew 10:16
- [05:57] Mike makes a chart with two extremes like 0% government and 100% government. He also makes a chart with philosophical positions and the number of people with those views.
- [08:15] With extreme positions the vast majority of our population will fall in the middle of a bell curve.
- [13:05] His chart shows how candidates move towards the middle majority in a way that makes the two political parties similar.
- [15:29] Political parties and candidates will try to position their beliefs and what they tell you as close to the hump in the bell curve as possible.
- [17:53] The political solutions in America actually aren't political solutions. We're not going to change America at the voting booth.
- [19:15] We need to move up by educating people and changing hearts and minds.
- [21:55] The dialectic is a philosophy or explanation of how history works.
- [23:19] The thesis and antithesis do battle. Neither side wins but there is a blending.
- [29:33] The real victory goes to the bold.
- [33:52] Every issue has unthinkables on both sides.
- [37:00] If you want to persuade someone, you need to ask whether they're in the Overton window.
- [37:32] The public opinion bubble. The concept of the dialectic. The concept of the Overton window. These are three accurate ways of analyzing how change happens in society.
- [38:34] America is as America thinks.
- [40:44] Hearing policy options over and over will move someone's Overton window.
- [42:57] Sharing ideas is the start to shifting public opinion.
- [43:06] How do we move the population bubble? How do we do these things to change the course of civilization?
- [44:09] Number one thing is we need God's help. Promote truth and a Biblical perspective.
- [44:32] You don't need immediate results. Go for the long haul. You can accomplish a lot if you don't care who gets the credit.
- [48:44] The elections are just the fuel gauge.
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