What Are Biblical Values? What the Bible Says on Key Ethical Issues

Abstract

In January 2018, a travel seminar from Columbia Theological Seminary had the opportunity to speak with members of the ruling Fidesz party in the Hungarian Parliament. The Fidesz party––led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a right-wing populist––was eager to meet with representatives of a Christian seminary. Orbán’s party members spoke repeatedly about the importance of protecting “Christian values” through aggressive anti-immigration legislation, defining legal marriage in strictly heterosexual terms, and increasing birth rates among ethnic Hungarians. Our largely progressive group was deeply confused. Several students asked various forms of the same question: “What Christian values in particular are you talking about?” The politicians kept responding with the same list of policies. Finally, our translator and guide interrupted and explained, “They want an actual list of values. They want you to talk about the Bible, or Christian theology.” The politicians looked puzzled and could only repeat their list of policy positions.