Can a Christian be a social critic, such as a lawyer or a journalist dealing with a corrupt government? How far can he go in criticizing?<\/p>\n\t
None of these rebukes were given to simply make a person feel miserable. They were given to point out a weakness in the hopes of making an improvement. “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:29). Thus a Christian doesn’t criticize to tear down but to clean up so that building can take place.<\/p>\n Criticism should also be limited to there being a need. You can always find flaws in others, but all flaws are not important. “Do not strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm<\/em>” (Proverbs 3:30).<\/p>\n Too often people are quick to tear down but don’t take thought in advance what will be needed to build back up. They don’t think through the consequences of their rebukes. Worse is not making sure that what is being criticized is actually wrong. “Do not go hastily to court; for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor has put you to shame?<\/em>” (Proverbs 25:8).<\/p>\n Can a Christian advocate change in his government? Of course. But it isn’t advocating change because of discontent with current circumstances. The Christian sees a flaw that is wrong, argues for the removal of the flaw, and its replacement with what is right.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Can a Christian be a social critic, such as a lawyer or a journalist dealing with a corrupt government? How far can he go in criticizing? Answer: John the Baptist ended up in jail because he told the current ruler that he wasn’t properly married. “But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[794,310],"class_list":["post-28930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-criticism","tag-government"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46527,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-jesus-and-his-family-refugees\/","url_meta":{"origin":28930,"position":0},"title":"Were Jesus and his family refugees?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm wondering if Jesus and his family were refugees of political violence, or are these web posts lies? I've seen comparisons to the Syrian refugees on the web. A Google search brought me to your site. Did they flee Bethlehem to Nazareth to escape? What is the best answer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57435,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-innocence-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":28930,"position":1},"title":"The Innocence of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bill Cavendar via\u00a0Guardian of Truth\u00a0XXIX: 3, p. 67, February 7, 1985 The Bible records six different trials that Jesus endured after He was seized in the Garden of Gethsemane. There were three Jewish trials: Before Annas (John 18:13,24); Before Caiaphas, aided by a group of priests and the Sanhedrin\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7872,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-history-record-herod-killing-the-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":28930,"position":2},"title":"Does history record Herod killing the children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 25, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding Herod killing the children, are there any other documents from other sources such as Roman or other ancient cultures documenting this event? Answer: \"Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-was-jesus-born\/","url_meta":{"origin":28930,"position":3},"title":"When was Jesus born?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have known Bible scholars to teach that Jesus was born in the Spring or maybe the month of April!? What say ye? Answer: The day of Jesus' birth gives rise to endless speculations. Instead of picking a day based on some obscure philosophical argument, let's list out the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10540,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-jesus-said-to-be-of-nazareth-if-he-was-born-in-bethlehem-and-who-was-the-serpent-in-the-garden\/","url_meta":{"origin":28930,"position":4},"title":"Why is Jesus said to be of Nazareth if he was born in Bethlehem and who was the serpent in the Garden?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi! My brother-in-law asked me, \"Why was Jesus called Jesus of Nazareth if he was born in Bethlehem?\" My answer was because he was only born in Bethlehem, but he was raised in Nazareth. Was I correct? He also feels that Jesus, in the form of a snake, tempted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41573,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-didnt-john-the-baptist-get-killed-with-the-rest-of-the-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":28930,"position":5},"title":"Why didn’t John the Baptist get killed with the rest of the children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why didn't John the Baptist die, as is stated in Matthew 2:16, but lived to adulthood, baptized Jesus, and was ultimately beheaded, or is Matthew 2:16 simply wrong? Answer: When the wise men came, Herod found out where the Messiah was to be born. \"And when he had gathered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}