Oct 24, 2015 | Culture
Colson’s public-square work offers modern evangelicals a workable model. Initially, Colson considered himself contra mundum, “against the world,” as a believer. He wished to stand against evil. He never lost this vital perspective, but his friend, First Things editor Richard John Neuhaus, suggested Colson tweak the self-descriptor. The Christian, he said, is contra mundum pro mundo, “against the world for the world,” an elegant and accurate summation of evangelical engagement with a fallen order. The believer, and particularly the public-square witness, opposes evil, but does so not to defeat opponents or gobble up cultural territory. We are against the world out of love, seeking always to win lost friends to Christ and usher them into flourishing.
–Owen Strachan. “Chuck Colson Was Not a Culture Warrior: And anyway, he stopped “winning” his battles a long time ago.”
Sep 7, 2015 | Culture, Parents and Family
The gay “marriage” ruling, the gift that keeps on giving. As one headline read: “‘Sister Wives’ family points to same-sex marriage cases in arguing against Utah polygamy ban.” Of course they would, and they would be perfectly logical to do so. In fact, the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling pretty much redefined marriage out of existence. Remember, when Justice Kennedy in the 1992 case that legalized sodomy said, “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” This sounds like more at the heart of what Christians call the fall that we read about in Genesis 3. Satan’s temptation to Adam and Eve was that what God provided wasn’t good enough. If only they would listen to him they would “be like God, knowing good and evil,” the perfect equal to Justice Kennedy’s hubris. (more…)
Aug 31, 2015 | Culture
Mars Hill is the famous place in Athens where the Apostle Paul debated with and spoke to Greek philosophers as described in Acts 17. It is also the name of an audio journal produced by Ken Myers for more than 20 years. A couple years ago Andrew Ferguson at the Weekly Standard wrote a great piece about Myers that prompted me to start subscribing to Mars Hill Audio. Myers is definitely a high culture guy, so you won’t find any analysis of pop culture in the journal, but he always does thoughtful interviews that teach me things I didn’t know, and helps to expand my understanding of the world as a Christian. (more…)
Jul 29, 2015 | Culture
Most people would date the start of the culture wars to the 1960s and the sexual revolution, but the secular left’s war against all things traditional actually began with the Chambers-Hiss case in 1948, according to Mark Judge. He makes a persuasive case. More surprising to some would be the man he puts at the heart of the effort to fight back against this alien religion, Richard Nixon. And that’s exactly what Judge argues, that communism and it’s offspring, modern liberalism, is a religion. (more…)
Jul 13, 2015 | Culture
What is this world coming to when The Onion can mock the abortion industry without any seeming embarrassment or concern? That’s just what they did in one of their faux news stories, “Planned Parenthood Opens $8 Billion Abortionplex.” A mall dedicated to abortion! It’s really kind of astonishing when you think about it. The Onion’s is a reliably liberal take on the world, although I don’t doubt that they are equal opportunity offenders. (more…)
Jul 2, 2015 | Culture
David Harsanyi at The Federalist is one such conservative supporter who is having second thoughts. In “Was I Wrong To Support Gay Marriage?” he articulates what should have been obvious to everyone from pretty much the beginning of the push to redefine marriage:
I’ve supported same-sex marriage ever since I first heard the idea. And when I became a political columnist in the early 2000s—despite being the “conservative” at a good-sized newspaper—I was the only one at the paper (as far as I can recall) who unequivocally backed gay marriage publicly. Though I wasn’t gullible enough to believe I’d be persuading many readers, I was gullible enough to believe that my allies in the cause were merely concerned with “equality.”
As we dig out from the avalanche of half-baked platitudes about “love being love” and watch alleged news organizations and the White House adorn themselves in cheerful rainbows, we can look forward to the self-righteous mobs that will be defaming anyone who is reluctant to embrace the state’s new definition of marriage. Love is love, except when a person loves their God and follows the principles of their faith, evidently.
Do a majority of Americans who support gay marriage believe these traditionalists deserve to be treated like unrepentant Klan boosters? Of course, there will always be the obnoxious Puritan, as the quote goes, who loves God with all his soul, but hates his neighbor with all his heart. But, as any honest observer would tell you, there are also many profoundly decent religious people who aren’t filled with enmity, aren’t bigoted, aren’t hateful, but do still hold long-established notions about what marriage should look like.
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Colson’s public-square work offers modern evangelicals a workable model. Initially, Colson considered himself contra mundum, “against the world,” as a believer. He wished to stand against evil. He never lost this vital perspective, but his friend, First Things editor Richard John Neuhaus, suggested Colson tweak the self-descriptor. The Christian, he said, is contra mundum pro mundo, “against the world for the world,” an elegant and accurate summation of evangelical engagement with a fallen order. The believer, and particularly the public-square witness, opposes evil, but does so not to defeat opponents or gobble up cultural territory. We are against the world out of love, seeking always to win lost friends to Christ and usher them into flourishing.
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