Yesterday featured an eruption in the culture war: Phil Robertson of "Duck Dynasty" was canned by A&E, his network boss, because of anti-gay and pro-biblical comments he'd made in a GQ interview. Facebook lit up like a Christmas tree: "We're being attacked! Boycott A&E! We're losing our freedom of speech!" These and many similar memes fed into my newsfeed so much that I scarcely saw anything else.
At the same time, I'm reading a book titled The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam, by Eliza Griswold. One of her observations is that Western liberalism (and perceived immorality) feeds the tensions between Muslims and Christians from Africa to eastern Asia. This is especially true of our relaxed attitude toward homosexuality. I well remember being questioned by a Kenyan Muslim in 2004: "Why does America invade Iraq to destroy Saddam Hussein, when it permits homosexuality at home?" He couldn't understand what he considered to be a double standard: hatred of an external enemy while tolerating internal evil. Of course, many conservative Evangelicals would share this view (at least toward homosexuality), and we dread becoming like western Europe in its seemingly anti-Christian pluralism.
And so, yes, I think we do have legitimate concerns about the drift toward immorality in our culture. But what is the best way to respond? Signing petitions? Electing "Christian" politicians who promise to "fight for us"? Creating our own "Christian" subculture? Huddling in our churches and hoping Jesus comes back soon? These can all be valid activities and motives, but there's a hidden danger in them: "evil" becomes an external problem, something or someone "out there" who is attacking me and mine "in here." And so we quickly vilify those we disagree with and let loose the dogs of war.
At the risk of sounding overly pietistic, I suggest that we look at our own hearts. Jesus asked, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ... You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:3,5). The spiritual war is real, and far more pervasive than we care to admit. The "fault lines" (or "battle trenches") are not on the other side of the world or the boundaries between city and rural communities. It's not "us" vs. "them"! The spiritual battle takes place in my heart and in every other human heart in the world. True, we must be careful never to call evil good or good evil. But let's not become hypocrites in our criticism of others.
At the same time, I'm reading a book titled The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam, by Eliza Griswold. One of her observations is that Western liberalism (and perceived immorality) feeds the tensions between Muslims and Christians from Africa to eastern Asia. This is especially true of our relaxed attitude toward homosexuality. I well remember being questioned by a Kenyan Muslim in 2004: "Why does America invade Iraq to destroy Saddam Hussein, when it permits homosexuality at home?" He couldn't understand what he considered to be a double standard: hatred of an external enemy while tolerating internal evil. Of course, many conservative Evangelicals would share this view (at least toward homosexuality), and we dread becoming like western Europe in its seemingly anti-Christian pluralism.
And so, yes, I think we do have legitimate concerns about the drift toward immorality in our culture. But what is the best way to respond? Signing petitions? Electing "Christian" politicians who promise to "fight for us"? Creating our own "Christian" subculture? Huddling in our churches and hoping Jesus comes back soon? These can all be valid activities and motives, but there's a hidden danger in them: "evil" becomes an external problem, something or someone "out there" who is attacking me and mine "in here." And so we quickly vilify those we disagree with and let loose the dogs of war.
At the risk of sounding overly pietistic, I suggest that we look at our own hearts. Jesus asked, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ... You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matt. 7:3,5). The spiritual war is real, and far more pervasive than we care to admit. The "fault lines" (or "battle trenches") are not on the other side of the world or the boundaries between city and rural communities. It's not "us" vs. "them"! The spiritual battle takes place in my heart and in every other human heart in the world. True, we must be careful never to call evil good or good evil. But let's not become hypocrites in our criticism of others.
