The Church's Engagement of Culture in the Next Generation
I (Steve Cowan) just delivered a paper at a regional meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society in which I "prophecied" two near-future developments in American culture: (1) the demise of postmodernism, and (2) the demise of Darwinism. The former will fade from the cultural scene, I think, because relativisitic thinking simply cannot persist in any culture for very long. Every society has to be built on a shared moral vision, and postmodernism, by definition, cannot provide such a vision. Darwinism will soon go the way of the Dodo because it is, as many have pointed out, a theory in crisis. As more and more anomalies challenge the evolutionary paradigm, and as ID theory becomes more refined and culturally respectable, Darwinism will be seen for the psuedo-science it is.
I do not wish to debate on this blog (for now) whether or not these predictions will come true. I would like our readers to assume, for the sake of argument, that they will in fact take place. My question, then, is: what should the church (and individual Christians) do to impact our culture for Christ's kingdom in the wake of these important developments? And what should we do to prepare for them?
Keep in mind that what I am envisioning is this: (1) a culture in which some form of theism seems most plausible to most people--a culture "haunted" by an intelligent designer; and (2) as culture looking desperately for some social/political paradigm to provide a stable foundation for society in order to avoid the anarchy that postmodern relativism would entail. Comments welcome.
I do not wish to debate on this blog (for now) whether or not these predictions will come true. I would like our readers to assume, for the sake of argument, that they will in fact take place. My question, then, is: what should the church (and individual Christians) do to impact our culture for Christ's kingdom in the wake of these important developments? And what should we do to prepare for them?
Keep in mind that what I am envisioning is this: (1) a culture in which some form of theism seems most plausible to most people--a culture "haunted" by an intelligent designer; and (2) as culture looking desperately for some social/political paradigm to provide a stable foundation for society in order to avoid the anarchy that postmodern relativism would entail. Comments welcome.
4 Comments:
First, Christians must recover from the self-imposed privatization of belief that dates back to the Great Awakenings in pre and post Revolutionary War times. To sequester the Gospel is to withdraw its objective truth claims from the public square and leads to a loss of meaning. Christians cannot fill the void that postmodernism will leave without jettisoning the dichotomy of the sacred and secular realms.
Secondly, this means developing a Christian mind that is not beholding to political or cultural whims, but one that is informed by Scripture and careful and deep thinking about important matters. Which dovetails nicely into what Intelligent Design writers are doing with Naturalism. They persistently present a case against Darwinism that is so heterodox they were often not invited to a place at the table of discussion until more recently. And they built coalitions with non-Christians knowing that it would not dampen their message but strengthen it.
Lastly, the Christian must be willing to act. Someone once wrote that "even fluency is a liability if you don't have anything to say" and the development of a full-bodied Christian worldview is to go into the world and make an impact as an ambassador of Christ. After years of talking mainly to ourselves this will require much practice, patience, and good leadership in order to become conversant with non-Christians about prevailing ideas and trends.
We,as Christians sometimes are afraid to speak up,and tell people what we know and believe.Sometimes it may be that we know that secular people wont accept it or consider it,we also may have been ridiculed for speaking up,and then there are those who don't know what to say and do because they are still not sure what is in their hearts.Sometimes,I will say,I find it easier to share my beliefs at church or even in this blog.That is kinda embarassing,but it's true.I don't talk a lot outside of that,I have but it has been rare.But,this may be a lesson for me,and others too.Let us not be afraid to share the Gospel.Let us not be afraid to witness verbally to others.Lets stand up and no matter what the "world" brings up against us,lets not falter and succumb to what the "world" sees as our purpose and what we should beleve.All of the beliefs of Darwinism are false to the Christian if we truly believe that God was the Creator.Well,if we believe it,then we need to spread that belief,in a non pushy way of course.If we are pushy,then darwinists and secularists will wonder,"are they really who they say they are"Let us not give them any stronghold.I'm speaking more to myself on that,but to others too.Dr.Steve Cowan said in a recent post that we are to use the spiritual weapons of preaching and persuasion.That is very true,and we should consider that in this case.
Sorry, didn't want to go through the process of logging in, however, please call me Joyce. In answer to your question, Dr. Cowen, I can only surmise that it would have to be something on the order of gnosticism that you foresee forthcoming in our culture. Given the recent emergence of interest in the Gospel of Judas, and of course DaVinci Code, it seems that it may be well. We definitely need to be prepared to give an account of our belief in the Gospel and know the signs of the times to combat the lies; however, given gnosticism has its strength in the mystical gnosis, and all the media coverage it will bring...it seems to me that it just may cause those who are just coming to Christ and may experience gifts and the power of the Holy Spirit much confusion and/or doubt. Sometimes I wish I could have been kept in a bubble :o
GBU
* well[.]-add- on its way! lol.
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