8 Sep 2022

91

Worldview and Ordinary Work of a Christian Lawyer

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The job under consideration is becoming a Christian attorney. Lawyers are professional public servants who understand the legal process and are hired to lend their legal knowledge in resolving various conflicts. The concept of prosecutors and defense attorneys is a biblical one, and the legal system today reflects the biblical model. However, there are challenges for a Christian lawyer to work at a secular law firm with possibilities of representing someone on a case that has moral problems. The intense pressure to succeed on a claim or billing hours raises temptations that may compromise Christian ethics of honesty and integrity. Most lawyers work long and lonely hours as the profession demands a large amount of one’s time and energy. They also face many ethical and moral challenges including how to protect and defend a client using sneaky but legal tactics ( Murray, 2017) . For example, a lawyer will have to win a legal case but using morally questionable tactics or represent a client who is guilty using falsehood, blame shifting and excusing the crime.

Sometimes the identity as a Christian may intersect with that of a lawyer in defining a Christian lawyer. There are two ethical worlds associated with Christian lawyers: the moral world and the Christian faith. These identities create challenges in maintaining integrity in the legal context if lawyers fail to work within the framework of the Christian worldview ( VanDrunen, 2010) . Some people contend that a Christian can compromise his morals during her line of duty, for example jeopardizing their integrity to represent a wrongdoer and help them get off the book for the wrongdoing. As a result, there has been a popular belief by Christians that the cultural landscape is not headed in the right direction due to the concept of worldview, defined as an overall view of the world from a philosophical viewpoint and encompassing perspectives on everything that exists. A worldview defines a person at the deepest level of one’s being and determines a person’s way of being in the world.

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In examining the fundamental beliefs of Christians, Albert Wolters came up with a reformational worldview structure that lays out the significance of following biblical worldview in ordinary work. Albert Wolters is a theologian who sought to articulate a reformational worldview in his book Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview . This book aimed to spell out the content of a biblical worldview and its significance for Christians as they seek to obey the bible ( Wolters, 2005). He refers to this biblical worldview as reformational as it speaks everything in the world since all spiritual concepts of salvation apply to the entire creation. He gave a well-developed presentation of a balanced perspective that interprets and guides all aspects of life. Albert Wolters stated that Christians have commonly restricted application of Christian faith that I separated from a secular sector of life.

The reformation thinking has influenced the development of the western legal institution. The worldview plays a central role in defining the life of a lawyer by shaping what a person believes and how they behave in response to the experiences. A reformational worldview actively resists dualism in Christianity and refuses to view Christianity as a separate realm to life. Instead, this worldview sees Christianity as a way of life for every domain, requiring one to justify rights and ethics, rather than intellectually. A question always emerges of how to live in the world without being in the world. There is an aspect of dualism between sacred and secular, spiritual and physical as well as eternal and temporal ( VanDrunen, 2010) . This split view of reality has been an obstacle to genuine faith and one of the causes of powerless versions of Christianity that is common in many Christian communities today. The division of life into segments is often done as a response to pressure rising from secular worldviews in the society. Wolters believed this division of life tens to promote secularization and grant legitimacy to secular worldviews.

There is also a concept of natural law in Christian ethics that reflects about how a person should act. The argument under natural law is that it is possible to know the right thing to do without divine revelation. However, reformation thinkers disagree with this concept, arguing that natural law is not sufficiently Christian. Instead, they provide a more comprehensive moral theology. At the same time, the loss of a comprehensive Christian vision has caused a contemporary breakdown in behavior among believers. Wolters defined the nature and scope of a worldview, distinguishing it from philosophy and theology. He then outlined a Reformed analysis of creation, the fall, and redemption, calling on Christians to participate in the recovery of all nature ( Wolters, 2005) .

Christian worldview states that it is possible to be a Christian lawyer, rather than being a Christian and a lawyer as two things. Under the biblical worldview, a Christian lawyer is supposed to approach the profession while honoring Christian teachings, a distinctive feature of the reformed worldview that demands a life in subjection to respecting the scriptures. Usually, Christians must work profitability for their survival and support their families since labor is a gift from God and not a consequence of sin ( Murray, 2017) . For believers living under the providential care of God, employment can be rewarding and productive, providing an opportunity to put the God-given skills and gifts to work. On the other hand, the call to be a Christian supersedes any other request to occupation, and sometimes being a Christian places demands on how a person should execute their work. While the Bible does not split identity into multiple parts, the world often demands people to do that, forcing people into adopting two characters.

One way of approaching Christian worldview is by committing to contact the interaction with others with knowledge of the scriptures and how they require a person to behave. Christians need to integrate faith in their work by doing jobs with Christian distinctiveness with excellence and accountability ( Murray, 2017) . Secondly, a person is supposed to serve people as an opportunity to uphold Christian teachings. For example, a Christian attorney should help people deal with an individual’s legal matters in a way that glorifies God. Taking heed to these principles would help a person to obey scriptures while being more effective in the work they do. Therefore, a Christian attorney can successfully function as a lawyer by applying the reformational worldview. Like a doctor or soldier, a lawyer is called by God to do legal service diligently yet ethically within bounds of the law. This entails adhering to the high standard of ethics that requires an attorney to place the client’s interests ahead of his own ( Murray, 2017) . These ethical standards are consistent with the Christian ethic to live unselfishly in serving others. The ethics also entail living a life that is empowered by Biblical principles and representing clients within the bounds of the law.

In conclusion, it is essential to understand what it means to have a biblical worldview and hold onto it by applying in everyday activities. The application of this worldview involves identifying the major non-Christian worldviews that vie for dominance in the society to understand how it differs from the Christian worldview. A lawyer is both a challenging and rewarding profession, especially for Christian attorneys. However, they can be successful by incorporating aspects of biblical worldviews that will guide them in how to work ethically. The main focus of reformers in the Christian worldview is to invite Christians into engaging the world with integrity. Believers need to rediscover the biblical doctrine of work and apply the principles in their duty.

References

Wolters, A. M. (2005).  Creation regained: Biblical basics for a reformational worldview . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing . 

VanDrunen, D. (2010).  Natural law and the two kingdoms: A study in the development of reformed social thought . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 

Murray, K. A. (2017).  The professional ethics of Christian lawyers  (Doctoral dissertation, University of Southern Queensland). 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 15). Worldview and Ordinary Work of a Christian Lawyer .
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