I thought about this earlier yesterday, as I watched an excellent video series (see Part 1 and Part 2) by Jeff Kuhner, in which he relates an experience he had in the Grand Mosque of Paris. Kuhner was struck by the incredibly high level of animosity he encountered at the mosque, and it turned out that at root was Muslim antipathy toward the decadence of the West. The West exports not just its manufactured goods, but its mass culture as well. The entire world is watching the same garbage we pump into our own living rooms and bedrooms via the TV, and is it feeling the same resulting assault on the family and ensuing societal breakdown.

Now, I’m not trying to say that we are the cause of all the world’s ills. Hardly. What kind of family values do the Muslims have when they raid African villages, kill the men and take women and children away as sex slaves? Muslim slavery historically exceeded Western slavery in both numbers and cruelty, and unlike that of the West, continues to this day. But the West has dominated the world, and continues to be the largest cultural driver. No matter where one goes, one encounters Western garb, Western food, and often the English language. The West, and America in particular, sits atop an empire of which the Romans could only dream. And gross Muslim failings notwithstanding, that confers on us greater moral responsibility.

And despite a high level of worldwide animosity toward America, I’m also not saying that she does not have the right to defend herself by going after the bin Ladens, no matter where they may be found. Human nature being what it is, not all the animosity directed against us has been earned, and our actions must not be guided by a false guilt induced by the world’s errant, self-motivated, “politically correct” sensitivities.

But I am saying that our reputation precedes us throughout the world, and sets up high impediments toward the Gospel. If you were raised in, say, a Muslim land, and you experienced a constant flow of cultural effluent coming from the Christian world, would you not conclude that the universal slander against Christianity was true? This is exactly what Paul was getting at when he chided the Jewish believers in the church at Rome:

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God
and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;
and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,
an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth-
you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.
For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.  – Rom 2:17-25

Let’s briefly consider the record. The world-dominating West has amazing accomplishments in science, technology and information, yes, but they’ve come at a high cost:

• God kicked out of the public square.
• Nearly unbridled pornography.
• Glorification of free sex.
• A vapid celebrity/entertainment culture.
• Over fifty million abortions in the U.S. alone.
• Violent crime, particularly against women and children.
• Morally bankrupt government, courts, academia and media.
• Corrupt financial/banking/investment system.
• Divorce epidemic.
• Breakdown of authority in the family and church.

A pretty dismal list, really. Ironically, what the imam at the Paris mosque failed to acknowledge is that the West’s ills stem not from its Christian heritage, or even its failure to perfectly live up to its Christian ideals, but from it having abandoned its Christian roots. The imam’s shortsightedness shouldn’t surprise, since Muslim culture still defines the West by the Crusades, and itself is virtually defined by seeing others’ faults while ignoring its own massive record of evil. Nonetheless, the decadence of the West has set up a huge spiritual resistance against the Gospel.

The question is what to do about it. I’m going to suggest a three-fold approach.

First, each one of us needs to press in to God and make sure that we are on solid ground with Him. We need to place Him first in our hearts, and order our lives accordingly. This may necessitate changes in lifestyle, because without the diligent pursuit of God, human nature invariably falls into all manner of spiritually compromised living.

Second, it is necessary for every Christian to get involved in changing our society. As individuals, and as the church local and universal, we are not islands unto ourselves. Recall what the Lord spoke to Jeremiah during the Babylonian captivity:

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Jer 29.7

The Lord works His will even if the dominant culture is rushing toward hell, and He has identified us as the salt of the earth, so we should be working His truth, grace and goodness into the society in which we are environed, even when things are bad.

Lastly, and paradoxically to the second point, as Christians we need to distinguish between the Gospel and our culture. We can appreciate the benefits we have been born into in the West, but we must not advance the Gospel as subordinate to the West. The Gospel is greater than the West, greater than the East, greater than the division of the world into developed and undeveloped, into 10-40 window or not, or into any other possible man-made division. God so-loved the world.

Moreover, we as Christians need to readily admit to our culture’s failings. Only in doing so can we make clear that the Gospel is distinct from what the world sees of us on its TV sets. Jesus tells us:

Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. -Mt 5:25

If we admit our faults, and make it clear that we are not agents of cultural imperialism, we are going to find a much warmer reception for our message.

In short, we need to get our own lives right with God, work to bring repentance and revival in our society, and then present the Gospel with a humility that is free of cultural hubris.

Watching the lamentable state of the debate in the House last night, it is clear that in rejecting God from our schools and other institutions we have fallen so very far. I really question whether we will get back up. It won’t be easy to do so, and it will require God’s miracle power, working to His glory. It can happen, though time is short. Humanism has our institutions, and is about to claim its third or fourth generation running, which is generally considered the point of no return for losing cultural values.

But He who is above is above all, and He has assured us that the gates of hell will not prevail against the offensive onslaught of His church. If we can rescue this nation from itself, well and good; that is to be desired. But if we must adopt a prophetic distance, and even a godly antagonism, as the West continues to insist on its own destruction, then the Gospel can prosper that way as well.

Share to your social media:

Add to: Facebook | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumbleupon | Reddit | Blinklist | Twitter | Technorati | Furl | Newsvine

Pages: 1 2