Nov. 1, 2013
For Immediate Release

By Samantha Stevenson and Jose Soriano, student news writers

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.—Dr. Richard Land, professor and president of Southern Evangelical Seminary, spoke on the “Primary Public Policy Issues Facing the United States in 2013 and Beyond” during Campbellsville University's recent Kentucky Heartland Institute on Public Policy event.

Land discussed the Manhattan Declaration, a document that states three issues in which, according to Land, “cannot be compromised.”

The document states Christians believe in and will protect the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of the biblical definition of marriage and the right to practice religious freedom. Since becoming available online, this declaration has accumulated more than 750,000 signatures.

“I long for a time when Christians are thermostats, controlling the temperature of this culture, rather than thermometers, which merely reflect it,” Land said.

Land also spoke about the current state of the United States healthcare and economy, offering a solution to our debt crisis.

Land proposed that a bill be put into law that will limit government spending. If effective, this will place a checks and balances system on our economy, in addition to our legislature. Land argued in favor of a balance between the labor, their management and the government.

Land also suggested a 12-year maximum term for Congress. By limiting the term duration to 12 years, he said this would give the Congress a society in which to live by the standards they've created.

“The only way to change the government is to change the people. The people are the locomotive; the government is the caboose,” Land said.

At chapel, Land used “salt and light” for his address to Campbellsville University at chapel recently.

Land quoted from Matthew 5: 13-16. “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.” The verse also says: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”

He used salt and light, as two different metaphors saying: “Salt is a preservative, and it stops degeneration, and putrefaction,” and light is a metaphor for the actions we should be taking toward the world and our lives. “That is why Jesus said let your light shine so they can see your work,” Land said.

He said, “Jesus does not see us as we see ourselves. He sees our soul, in darkness or light. He sees us as God sees us.”

He said we need to do whatever it takes to make the world better — “not perfect, just less unfair,” he said. Land said there needs to be an eternal perspective in people's thoughts. “Our job is not to impose morality, but stopping immorality.”

He said people might treat you as a nobody, but everybody is somebody to God, and our job, as followers, is to use our light and our salt, to help in any way we can to make this world a better place. Our main goal is not to change actions, but attitudes. An attitude change will lead to an action change, Land said.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.