As Christians, especially those of us in old line denominations, we can slip into a kind of reaction formation against the ideological, culture bound leftists who have taken over and corrupted our churches into ATMs and chaplaincies for the spirit of the age. This can lead us to perceive “the enemy of our enemy” as a friend, and to cozy up with “conservative” culture figures as our allies.
But there’s no lack of heterodoxy or nominal Christianity among the culture warriors on the right.
1) Friday night’s O’Reilly Factor on FOX News sounded more like a liberal protestant or cafeteria catholic seminar.
Addressing the “Duck Dynasty” controversy, O’Reilly began to lecture on what Jesus really said, how trueChristians should act, and assorted other rhetorical directions all too familiar to those of us who’ve watched our churches taken over and corrupted by the culture warriors of the left. And FOX is supposed to be the “right wing” voice?
It got much, much worse. O’Reilly brought in Bernard Goldberg, usually his go-to guy for exposing left wing media bias. But Goldberg toted out emails he’d received from “young earth” creationists, inferred that their “6,000 year old Earth” was a direct number cited in the Bible, broad brushed all Christians as anti-intellectual wingnuts and bellowed “no matter what the Bible says, no matter what Jesus says, no matter what God says… I don’t respect people believing things that are ignorant just because there’s ignorance in the Bible.”
2) Earlier this week, “conservative” radio host Michael Savage denied and belittled belief in the Virgin Birth of Christ.
3) Glenn Beck not only practices Mormonism, he is a public apologist for it.
The American church “culture wars” raise suspicion that American churches have lost confidence in the Gospel. Those on the left simply don’t believe in the Gospel of Jesus as anything more than a symbol system to enable individual or factional desires; and it seems as if those on the right are looking to political arguments from nominal or even non-Christian champions for validation of a social order that “defends” values to which the churches are unable to win converts.
I’m not for disengagement. I’ve accepted the invitation to be one of five prayer leaders at Sioux Falls’ January 22nd pro-life witness on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, including processing to and holding a vigil at the Planned Parenthood abortion center here.
But we have to be more discerning and responsible about our alliances, because there’s a good deal of culture stuff that can stick to us. Or just stick us,
Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. (Isaiah 36:6)
But there’s no lack of heterodoxy or nominal Christianity among the culture warriors on the right.
1) Friday night’s O’Reilly Factor on FOX News sounded more like a liberal protestant or cafeteria catholic seminar.
Addressing the “Duck Dynasty” controversy, O’Reilly began to lecture on what Jesus really said, how trueChristians should act, and assorted other rhetorical directions all too familiar to those of us who’ve watched our churches taken over and corrupted by the culture warriors of the left. And FOX is supposed to be the “right wing” voice?
It got much, much worse. O’Reilly brought in Bernard Goldberg, usually his go-to guy for exposing left wing media bias. But Goldberg toted out emails he’d received from “young earth” creationists, inferred that their “6,000 year old Earth” was a direct number cited in the Bible, broad brushed all Christians as anti-intellectual wingnuts and bellowed “no matter what the Bible says, no matter what Jesus says, no matter what God says… I don’t respect people believing things that are ignorant just because there’s ignorance in the Bible.”
2) Earlier this week, “conservative” radio host Michael Savage denied and belittled belief in the Virgin Birth of Christ.
3) Glenn Beck not only practices Mormonism, he is a public apologist for it.
The American church “culture wars” raise suspicion that American churches have lost confidence in the Gospel. Those on the left simply don’t believe in the Gospel of Jesus as anything more than a symbol system to enable individual or factional desires; and it seems as if those on the right are looking to political arguments from nominal or even non-Christian champions for validation of a social order that “defends” values to which the churches are unable to win converts.
I’m not for disengagement. I’ve accepted the invitation to be one of five prayer leaders at Sioux Falls’ January 22nd pro-life witness on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, including processing to and holding a vigil at the Planned Parenthood abortion center here.
But we have to be more discerning and responsible about our alliances, because there’s a good deal of culture stuff that can stick to us. Or just stick us,
Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. (Isaiah 36:6)
