As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“For starters, don’t take love for granted. That’s easy to do when fear dominates us. Therefore, remind your members that loving God and loving our neighbor should animate everything we say and do this month.” - 9 Marks
There are a lot of sins in the Bible. We don’t feel the same way about all of them, though, do we? Some sins trigger strong righteous indignation or an intense “ick” response. Others we barely notice.
We’re not entirely wrong to feel that way. Though there are not really any small sins, some are bigger than others. (See Bob Gonzales’ excellent study on that topic: The Greater Sin: Are There Degrees of Sin?).
But this range of reactions to different sins should prompt us to ask some questions.
“Still, like anything, this evangelical movement of pop-culture engagement includes some blind spots—and it may be aging poorly in today’s rapidly changing world.” - TGC
“I am finished with Target. I do not care how many other people go to the store, what boycotts are happening… walking down an aisle where a gay-trans agenda is being pushed upon children is abhorrent to me. A company that promotes such an attack on children will never ever get my business again.” - P&D
“We may think we understand our culture, but much of it remains below the surface. We might not see it until someone crashes into our subconscious cultural beliefs.” - TGC
I doubt that thankfulness is the first thing most conservative Christians feel these days when they reflect on American culture. There are some good reasons for that! I get it. Much is changing. Much more has already changed but is now becoming evident in more ways.
Many of the changes we’re seeing have to do with aspects of life we’re deeply sensitive about—like sexual ethics, marriage, and family. Visceral reactions are, if unhelpful, at least understandable.
There’s a lot of outrage and fear.
“When it comes to being equipped on how to steward their citizenship, there is often little theological reflection. As a result, the public theology of God’s people is formed by other voices throughout the week, from social media to pundits to politicians.” - Daniel Darling
“We must be more purposeful about this than ever before. It must be instruction that is Bible-based and does not follow the extremes or errors of popular culture.” - P&D
“For Protestants to move forward in advancing God’s kingdom, we must remember the things that make us truly human. ‘It is a way of rebelling against the abolition of man.’” - Rick Plasterer, Carl Trueman
“in commenting on the challenges posed by the cultural acceptance of transgender ideology, the letter could have done a better job in bringing to bear the kind of pastoral sensitivity this topic deserves.” - Nicholas Perrin
Discussion