Theology That Bites Back
“The dishonesty of the whole endeavor is what causes conservative believers to adopt our classic and traditional tone—that of shrill—which we have used for so long it has almost become an art form among us. We have been cordoned off, and our response is to dance impatiently in place while heckling unbelief from our assigned place on the periphery.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 180
“The point here is not that modern evangelicalism is sick, but rather that it is the sickness. And what is the name of the sickness? The name is unbelief, and the apostle warned that it is by faith that we stand. We do not support the root, but rather the root supports us.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 178
“Nothing has proven to be more irrelevant than the liberal lust for relevance.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 178
“So many churches, denominations, parachurch ministries, mission agencies, and publishing houses have drifted into unbelief and liberalism that one would think that we should know what it looks like by now. But Solomon’s words still ring true. Fools receiving an inheritance from the past do not think to inquire whether or not they are being fools. Every morning is a new day to them, and they see no need to cling to all those dry and dusty lessons from the day before. They just take the valuables, shake the dust of wisdom off them, and head down to the pawn shop.”
The Cultural Mind, pp. 177-178
“In Paul’s theology, grace and works do not mix at all—otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. At the same time, Paul teaches that grace works . . . We are not saved in any way by good works, but we are necessarily saved to good works.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 174
“Grace has no handles and is impossible for sinners to pick up. But grace does have hands and consequently has no difficulty picking us up.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 173
“We careen from one thing to the next, thumb on the remote. Our presidential debates are not debates at all but more like demolition derbies between competing sound bytes. On virtually all our products, we plaster some form of ‘New! Improved!’ In other words, the product is emphatically not what it was the last time we were foolish enough to buy it. Sermons have deteriorated into 10-minute-long, entertaining sketches of some inspiration mini-thought or other. Momentous event on the other side of the world are summarized for us on the evening news in one minute and forty-five seconds . . . and now this. Continuity bores us. Sustained thought is wearisome. And whatever you do, it better be different from last time. In a culture like ours, fads are just like cotton—the fabric of our lives.”
The Cultural Mind, pp. 169-170
“The Lord’s usual preaching target did not appear to be drug dealers and hookers. His assaults were usually directed at religious professionals. Further, He did not address them in a true collegial spirit, as one truth-seeking rabbi to another. Instead, He referred to ‘Fools and blind! Blind guides! Hypocrites! Serpents! Brood of vipers!” From all this we might conclude that seminaries should be called a bag of snakes from time to time in order to help them keep their vision and focus clear.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 166
“I hope it is possible to say this with all reverence, but Jesus was a tough customer . . . the image that many have of the Lord’s personality and strength of character comes more from man-made traditions and saccharine portrait painters than it does from the Bible. One easily envisions a genteel limp-wrist standing outside the door of someone’s heart, gently tapping, because of course the doorknob is only on the inside. The only thing missing from this vision is the ribbon in his hair. I have sometimes thought that a far better picture of Jesus knocking at the door of my heart would be a commanding hand from offstage, two rows of angels with a battering ram, and a worried-looking troll peeking out over the wall of a castle. Otto Scott put it well when he said that God of the Bible is no buttercup.”
The Cultural Mind, pp. 163-164
“When God is ‘removed’ from His predestinating throne, men do not merely breathe a sigh of relief. Rather, they quickly notice that the throne is vacant and begin scheming about how to occupy it . . . The only alternative to a predestinating state is a predestinating God . . . And because we do not want Him, we get them.”
The Cultural Mind, p. 161-162
