Thinking Theologically in Revolutionary Times
Don't do something; Just Stand There!
Yesterday, my twitter thread critiquing Michael Horton’s article on the Jericho March on the Gospel Coalition website struck a nerve with a lot of people. Feedback has been very positive, but I think it is worth expanding the thoughts from a twitter thread to a short article here in order to clarify some possible misunderstandings. I want to make five points to expand on what I said there.
1. We are living through a revolution
The first point I want to make is that we are living in a time of revolutionary change. Christian leaders must be thinking theologically in moments of crisis like this, but it is hard to do so. It is tempting to simply acquiesce to the tides of current opinion because things are so confusing. This is a key moment in the de-Christianizing of the West.
Most people today feel manipulated by propaganda. An anti-Christian elite has seized control of the commanding heights of our civilization and is shoving a new religion and a new politics down our throats. They are using propaganda (political correctness) to do it and supplementing it with intimidation (cancel culture). We cannot believe the mainstream media. We know people are lying but the sheer number of the lies makes it nearly impossible to penetrate through the fog to the truth. This keeps everybody uncertain and on edge. It is easy to be knocked off balance is such a situation.
2. We can and should criticize the bad theology and emotionalism of the Jericho March
Nothing I said should be interpreted as support for the overheated rhetoric, emotional manipulation and irresponsible appeal to prophecy and new revelation from God that we saw at the Jericho March. These are all characteristic of Pentecostal and Charismatic forms of piety in general and we should hardly be surprised when they appear when they talk about politics. That is how they talk about everything. Extreme rhetoric is a habit, and it comes out in a political rally just as it does in a church service.
I basically agree with Rod Dreher’s criticism of the Jericho March. He wrote an article criticizing Eric Metaxsas before it happened, then he live-blogged the event, and then wrote an article defending his decision to criticize it afterward.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/defense-of-jericho-march-criticism/
I agree with most of what he wrote. My critique of Horton was not that he criticized the bad theology and extremist rhetoric of the Jericho Marchers; it was that he used them to discredit the whole idea of American civil religion and the Christian West. He was right in much that he said but he went too far.
I can’t help but object to the idea that just because some wild-eyed fanatics said some heretical things at a rally, we therefore should let the secularists drive God, logic and natural law out of public life. There is no need to panic and I see a lot of Christian leaders doing so right now.
Look at this this way. The people at the Jericho March believe in the inerrancy of Scripture and the virgin birth. Should I give up those doctrines just because some people I disagree with on other matters also happen to believe them? This would be ridiculous. I refuse to let either extreme charismatics or extreme secularists decide what I can believe and not believe.
3. You don’t have to think Trump is God’s man for the hour to see him as the lesser of two evils.
Trump is not the most important issue and to the extent that the Jericho Marchers put him front and center they were wrong. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think anyone in 2020 is unaware of the huge flaws in Donald Trump’s character. He is vain, scheming, over-bearing, undisciplined and insulting. I don’t judge his heart, but he does not seem to have lived a life that would make anyone think he is a Christian. It is a sobering thought that, as bad as he is, the only alternative the other party could come up with is far worse. This – the low quality of the two candidates for president this year – may well be God’s judgment on America. If America is getting the leadership it deserves, then God help us all.
But there are much bigger and more important issues in play here than Donald Trump’s personal character. I think people are naïve about how he is being used as a club with which to beat Christians over the head. Rhetorically, many Christians have been shamed for supporting the party they have always voted for just because Donald Trump is so horrible. Trump is not the Messiah, but it is almost as serious an error to fall into the trap of thinking that he is Satan incarnate. He isn’t that good or that bad; he is just a badly flawed man who unexpectedly managed to do some good things as president. You can vote for him or against him but don’t buy into a Manichean dualism in which he is totally evil.
4. There is a growing divide between ordinary people and knowledge-based elites in our society and this divide is apparent in the church as well.
If you think the New York Times will treat the next Republican candidate fairly you are dreaming. That ship has sailed. Trying to win the approval of people who hate what we love is only going to weaken our resolve to stand firm in our faith.
I think many ordinary people instinctively grasp that criticism of Trump (and conservatism) from the media is not offered in good faith and is not balanced. However, many Evangelical leaders today seem to be gullible enough to think that the enemy is being honest. A year ago, Carl Trueman wrote an interesting article entitled “Evangelical Elites are Out of Touch” and his analysis has been proven accurate too many times to count over the last year. I encourage you to read it.
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2019/12/evangelical-elites-are-out-of-touch
Evangelical elites who live in the world of knowledge generation and communication – who manipulate words for a living – participate in a milieu that is increasingly detached from reality. We are not immune to general cultural trends just because we are Christian.
In this situation, Christian theologians and pastors need to be careful to stay grounded in reality and the best way to do that is to raise a family, participate in a local church and listen to ordinary people with respect. It is just possible that the mechanic or small business owner in your church knows something that the journalists, academics, think tank inhabitants and “thought-leaders” do not know. It is possible, you know!
5. In politics it is never all or nothing.
Anyone who cannot soberly tally up the results of the Trump years and see the good as well as the bad is a fanatic. He or she might be a right-wing fanatic or a left-wing fanatic, but he or she is a fanatic.
I personally think the Christian West is dying and I am pessimistic about the future of America. But I know from history that the decline may be long and drawn out and much that is good, true and beautiful may yet be preserved for a while depending on what we do. The last thing a believing Christian should do is give up and surrender to the growing shadow. That is not a sign of faith, but of despair – and despair is a sin.
As Christians we know that God wins in the end and so I am an optimist with regard to the church and its mission on earth. I know that the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ is the King of this world and rules over it regardless of what the pagans think. So let us shore up what remains and keep the faith. Let us show the world that we still believe in the Lordship of Christ no matter how dark things get. Let us build families, churches and communities as long as we can. We don’t ignore the lengthening shadows, but we also don’t bow to them.
The future is in God’s hands. Will there be another revival of Christianity in the West? We cannot be certain if there will or will not be one. All we can do is pray for it and wait patiently for the Lord to reveal his will. We can say with Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh. 24:15).