When the Cultural Climate Gets Political, How Does the Church Stay Missional?

America is caught up (and has been for quite some time) in a culture war of the kind of nation it will be or become.

America is caught up (and has been for quite some time) in a culture war of the kind of nation it will be or become. In other words, it is a fight over the future vision of American life (Hunter, Culture Wars).

Given the nature of this culture war, sides are created, and partisan politics are born. There are four characteristics to partisan politics that create a politically toxic environment. They are:

(1) Disagreement over the good life

(2) Demonization of the other

(3) Discouragement (and Disenchantment) among the masses, and

(4) Division (Disunity) in the country.

Politics, in its broadest sense, is the activity through which people make, preserve, and amend the general rules under which they live. In other words, as Aristotle described it, politics is the affairs of the city-state. The city-state has four dimensions of its affairs: 1) Community, 2) Constitution, 3) Commander (ruler), and 4) Cause.

Aristotle taught that the city-state comes into being for the sake of life but exists for the sake of the “good” life.

I put “” around good because that’s the ground where partisan politics and thus the culture wars in America are raged.

The Church’s Role in the American Culture Wars

What in the world is the church’s role in the American Culture Wars? I think this is the question the church has been trying to answer now for decades and will continue in the days and years ahead.

Does the church seek to “reclaim America” as some sort of a nostalgia campaign to restore America to some kind of Leave it to Beaver era? I hate to burst the bubble of those who think this way, but it “ain’t” happening. There are many reasons for this, but one in particular is that Evangelicalism …

Continue reading

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.