# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2019_S309
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
When have you heard “God talk” in public discussions concerning political issues (for
example, references to displays of the Ten Commandments or phrases such as “God bless
America” or “In God We Trust”)? How might you use such “God talk” as an opportunity for
Christian witness?
A peaceful civil society allows for the preaching of the Gospel. Civil religion creates room in the
public square for religious discussions. The “anonymous God” of civil religion,20 however, is not
the revealed God who took on human flesh, suffered, died, and rose from the dead to redeem
sinful human beings. We must realize that even our well-intentioned references to God can be
easily misunderstood.

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It is our great privilege and the Lord’s command (Matt. 28:19-20) to tell the world the good news
that God Himself has sought, found and redeemed fallen human beings. He sent His Son to
suffer the penalty of death for sinners and to rise from the dead, offering salvation to all. We
proclaim the name of Jesus, “the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).

Since God reveals Himself in nature, scientific information can be useful as we witness to
people. Research in biology, astronomy or physics may raise questions about the design of the
universe and the existence of a divine designer, but even establishing such common ground is
merely a means to an end. The goal of our Christian witness is the proclamation of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Other points of contact with non-believers might include literature and the arts. Folk tales and
myths of many world cultures tell of a divine creation, a “fall” and a longing for paradise, a great
flood, evil “tricksters” and “redeemer” heroes.
What books, movies or television shows feature a longing for paradise, an evil trickster, a
redeemer hero or similar themes? How do such themes reflect natural law? How might these
themes serve as a point of contact for witnessing about Jesus Christ?
Such themes continue to resonate with people. This human longing for redemption and paradise
reflects the inborn but obscured knowledge of God and His law. St. Augustine (A. D. 354–430),
addressing God in his book, Confessions, writes: “You have made us for yourself, and our heart
is restless until it rests in you.”21
Conclusion
Created by God to live in communion with Him, people remain restless so long as they are
separated from Him, “having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). Even in the
relatively religious United States, the number of the “restless” grows annually. More than 20% of
Americans describe themselves as unaffiliated with any religion.22 This includes more than
thirteen million individuals who describe themselves specifically as atheists or agnostics. Yet
even those who claim to be atheists or agnostics retain the law of God written on their hearts.
They know their Creator exists, even if they suppress that knowledge.
20
The God of civil religion is “anonymous” because the God to whom people refer in phrases such as “God bless
America” is not necessarily the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The anonymous God is the “unknown god”
of the people of Athens (Acts 17:23).
21
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, trans. Henry Chadwick (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998). 3
22
As of November 2015, “the religiously unaffiliated (also called the “nones”) now account for 23% of the adult
population.” “U. S. Public Becoming Less Religious,” November 3, 2015, at
http://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious.

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2019 Convention Workbook