There is a new evangelical group blog that looks pretty lively, and which also looks like a good addition to the fray. HT: Justin Taylor
It was there, however, that Jared Wilson wrote a bit on why the culture war will go to hell. He gave ten reasons that I would like to interact with briefly, but make sure you go over there first and read the full expression of his reasons first. My responses will not be an expression of any kind of fullness at all, but rather just a bit of kibbitzing from the sidelines.
Here are his thoughts and my responses.
1. It is theologically naive to think that laws or policies can make anybody a Christian.
Right. And nobody I know thinks that they can.
2. Its medium is moralism, not gospel.
That is a real danger. Activist moralists can forget the gospel. So can inactive immoralists. So can quietists. So can watchers of Monday Night Football. Who forgets the gospel most frequently?
3. It is theologically naive to expect people who don’t know Jesus to act like they do.
It depends on what you mean by “act like they do.” I don’t expect them to sing robust psalms and hymns, and tithe faithfully. I do expect them to refrain from chopping babies up into little pieces.
4. It is often hypocritical because judgment begins at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). We need to get the beam out of our own eye before getting that other beam out of the world’s eye.
This one is dead on. Evangelicalism is not the solution to America’s problem. Evangelicalism is America’s problem. That reflection we see of ourselves in the outside culture is simply our own reflection in a set of fun house mirrors. That’s us you are looking at. You name the problem in the outside culture, and it is simply an overblown and grotesque version of what we have going on in the sanctuary . . . for those of us who even have sanctuaries anymore, and that’s another thing.
5. It battles against flesh and blood, something we are not supposed to do (Eph. 6:12).
The man who wrote that he did not battle against flesh and blood witnessed to kings and appealed to caesars. We don’t fight horizontal battles without reference to the spiritual battle. Obviously. But if we fight “spiritual” battles only, then we are to real spiritual war what video gamers are to actual combat. Adept with our thumbs.
6. Its cultural treasury is temporary.
Aborted children are not temporary. “Culture wars” does not refer to art museum funding squabbles.
7. It makes idols of comfort and safety and propriety and power, and is largely driven by a fear of what icky people are doing in the public schools.
People sometimes throw themselves into battle because of fear, that is true. And it is bad when they do. But they more frequently stay out of battles because of fear.
8. It has no root in Jesus’ ministry, and needs to recognize that heart change doesn’t come through political power, cultural pressure, or zealotry.
And yet Jesus, with this transparently “non-political” agenda, managed to get Himself on the hit list of all the political authorities. How did He manage that? Was it all a big misunderstanding?
9. It mangles mission, putting us in an adversarial relationship to the world, instead of in a relational, serving, and evangelistic stance.
It only mangles mission if we substitute it in for mission. But we can engage in the culture war without making that mistake. Forgetting or downplaying the gospel is always bad. It is bad when you do it in a picket line, and bad when you do it in a Lazy Boy recliner.
10. The culture war is carried out for our name’s sake, and not for the name of Jesus. Dying for somebody says a whole lot more than debating them.
The first part of this is important. Everything is always to be done in the name of Jesus. But the “dying” versus “debating” dichotomy is too simplistic. What if debating one person is a way of dying for another? What if dying for someone involves saying something on their behalf in a way that ruins my reputation?