Tag: Foreign Policy

The second principle of a Kingdom-based foreign policy is to follow the order of favor.

A Kingdom-based foreign policy should favor Christian nations over all others, secular nations over non-Christian nations, and religiously non-hostile (toward Christianity) nations over religiously hostile (toward Christianity) nations.

When Jehu the prophet confronted King Jehoshaphat after he had aligned his nation with King Ahab of Israel he could not have been more clear, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord and so bring wrath on yourself from the Lord?” 2 Chronicles 19:2.

The order of favor is based on the premise that a peoples’ worldview will always be informed by their most deeply held religious beliefs. Christian and non-Muslim nations, for example, will never have peace with fundamentalist Muslim nations because Islam seeks world domination.

There is a much better chance for a Christian nation to have peace with a nation like Turkey, which is culturally Muslim but for all practical purposes is secular. There is an even better chance of peace with a secular nation that believes in pluralism because Christianity does well in the marketplace of ideas. Continue reading “Toward A Kingdom-Based Foreign Policy – 5”

Once the vision is known, a plan is needed to achieve it. A foreign policy is a strategic plan to achieve a vision of how the world should be.

To achieve the vision the Bible describes for the world, and which I outlined in the previous post, the spread of Christianity is an absolute necessity.

The problems with the world are not primarily intellectual but ethical but both are necessary, along with obedience to King Jesus, to fulfill God’s vision for the planet.

The first question, and the one looming above all other when deciding how a nation should act in its relations with other nations, is, “Does the nation’s conduct promote or hinder the spread of Christianity?”

Sometimes that might mean supporting a fledgling democracy where pluralism provides Christianity an opportunity in the marketplace of ideas. At other times it might mean supporting a less democratic leader who protects a Christian minority from persecution by an anti-Christian majority.  Continue reading “Toward A Kingdom-Based Foreign Policy – 4”

Any successful foreign policy starts with a vision, a picture of how the world should be.

Without a vision, coherency and consistency in a nation’s conduct toward other nations is unlikely.

The difference between a Kingdom-based and secular foreign policy start with the motive and content of the vision.

In a typical secular foreign policy the purpose of the vision is typically judged on the extent to which it promotes the self-interest of that nation. An example is the Monroe Doctrine, which prevented European interference in the sovereign affairs of Latin American nations, preserving American hegemony in the region.

The post-war foreign policy of the former Soviet Union, which was designed to promote communist revolution around the world and establish client states and socialist allies, is another example. Continue reading “Toward A Kingdom-Based Foreign Policy – 2”