How do we engage with culture as Christians? More importantly, how do we actually impact or shift culture?
It seems that we are being swept along by agendas that are driving the narrative and that do not reflect our values. For many people the rate of change has become too fast, particularly for those who have been slumbering in their Christian enclaves. In one election cycle, some communities have gone from being able to discuss the pros and cons of an issue like gay marriage to being arrested for expressing their biblical perspectives. How have we got to these points and how should the church be positioned?
Some in the church have been shaken and rattled and have retreated to a more isolated position: retreating from the evil world. Others have been back-pedalling worthy of the Olympics trying to find some illusory safe space where they can find "unity" and not offend anyone. Hiding their views to avoid being de-platformed or cancelled, and in the process compromising their beliefs to avoid standing out. A small remnant have taken hold of the challenges of the day and have been thrust into taking a stand. Lawsuits have been entered into; pastors have been arrested; churches have been burned; and people have been caught up in the threshing machine battle of culture. I posit that Christians should be at the forefront of any discussion of culture and cultural shifts. Why? Because if the Bible is true and Jesus is the Son of God, then we have the only answer. "I Am the light of the world" John 8:12.
One of the fundamental truths about God is that he separates light from darkness. This has been a season of clarity in the confusion as the battle of good against evil has never been clearer. The modern versions of "Committees of Public Safety" at the social media giants have determined what can be heard and who can say it. Socialist, Marxist and anti-Christian groups like ANTIFA and BLM seem to have flourished to the point where people have lost their careers for agreeing with Martin Luther King that "all lives matter" or that people should be judged by the content of their character not the colour of their skin. Racist CRT ("critical race theory") has metastasised from the steamy Marxist back rooms of academia into the mainstream.
As seen in the French Reign of Terror in the 1790s, a new "Religion of Reason" has swept societies replacing science with scientism. Parents have been coerced into vaccinating children who are up to 50 times more likely to die from the vaccine than from the virus it purports to prevent. Scientism's social control justifies hiding risks and having children take a dangerous, experimental and unapproved treatment where there is an almost zero chance of illness (See Nick Clegg as a Facebook "truth determiner" gloating about suppressing the true story of the girl who had a terrible vaccine reaction.) The co-conspirators in the media suppress any alternative views with righteous fervour. The Great Reset's "Build Back Better" mantra required its' pandemic to move forward with a global agenda which would allow for "global solutions for global problems". Individual liberty, personal sovereignty and free speech are impediments to this agenda. Their view is that the existential threat of issues like climate change justifies the elites of scientism putting in place greater levels of control over people. This seems to be why there is a movement to sweep aside civil liberties in the greatest social control effort since the Second World War and to usher in Chinese Communist Party style state control including a form of social credit systems. Good people have vaccine passports and the rest are "others" or "othered". Already in Canada there are signs in the Vancouver International Airport to separate the vaccinated from those who are not vaccinated. Even mentioning true statements or scientific views that are not in the approved lexicon of the new theocracy may result in social death every bit as severe as the guillotine that saw to the clergy and nobility in France. Let's not even bring in the racist teachings of "white guilt", privilege and revisionist history. In short, the agenda of the enemy is all laid bare for those who care to look.
Where does that leave us as Christians? I was on an online prayer call recently and I found myself becoming angry. One person prayed about kindness, and I thought, "we all like that". Another prayed for unity and against division and again I thought, "that's good we need more unity". Others prayed for inner peace, revival and so it went. So why was I feeling the bony finger of an Old-Testament prophet rising? I am not an angry person so was asking the Lord what was going on? In a flash I had the revelation that fits onto the framework of clarity and separation set out above. Everyone was praying safe prayers that were designed to not offend. They were praying around the issues of the day. Imagine Daniel's friends praying for more kindness and global peace when he was in the lion's den! There was no context to the season we were in and certainly, no urgency and no connection to fighting the evil works of satan. See 1 John 3:8 - the reason Jesus came was to destroy the works of satan and our purpose is to be united with him in this destructive calling. None of the prayers I heard connected to the key issues of culture that we were dealing with. I also had a revelation of a cloud above the ground - these safe prayers were like the cloud and they were not touching the territory (ground). Anything that did not interact and connect with the ground - the issues we are facing - what we call culture - was just the hot air clouds of religion. If your prayers and Christian walk do not touch and impact culture then it is the religious spirit - like Pharisees blowing a trumpet.
Jesus directly dealt with the issues of His day: paying money to Caesar; adultery; resurrection controversies; the falseness and hypocrisy of the Pharisees; the young ruler's dependance on money; the true meaning of the Sabbath etc. His Kingdom was transformative. John the Baptist called out the illegality and immorality of the political rulers (and was arrested and beheaded). God through Moses dealt with the culture, gods and rulers of Egypt. Elijah dealt with the corrupt political, economic and religious elites of Ahab and Jezebel. Walking through time we can see many examples such as Wilberforce dealing with slavery. Christians need to lead in reconciliation for racism, slavery and injustice not be led by others empowered by an anti-Christ spirit. Jesus is the answer and we cannot find safety or victory by hiding or trying to conform and not offend. Of course prayers about kindness, love and unity are important but not as shields to protect us from speaking about the issues of the day. Our prayer lives as Christians must have a destructive purpose - what works of satan are we joining with Jesus to destroy? "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds...) (II Cor. 10:4)
The church Thyatira in Revelations 2 was criticised for tolerating Jezebel. What does that really mean? It means they did not go out of their way to address the Jezebelic influence. They lived with the cancer in their midst. They tried to find a place of peace and did not confront what God obviously cared about. Other examples in history would be the church that did not speak out against anti-semitism and Nazism growing in the community in Germany and the church that coveted peace through appeasement in England. The church did not address the evil of slavery. The church that was silent and did not address fraudulent measures and weights and suppressed any talk of fixed elections as being "political" while at the same time knowing that God hates a false measure and a false witness.
Peace and Unity are also being used as shields by some who say, "don't say anything that brings division". Sorry brothers and sisters, but Jesus came to divide as a separator (John 9:39). Unity means to be as one even as Jesus is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Guess what? The Trinity have a common goal - to destroy the works of satan. If in the body of Christ you are trying to find peace everywhere at the expense of the gospel or not addressing issues of the day, then you are out of order. Paul contended with the apostles when they were out of order. When Jesus spoke it often resulted in the political and religious leaders trying to kill him. Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead - how's that for bringing New Testament era unity. Unity is only possible in the Church if you are in Him - it is "oneness" and abiding in the vine of Jesus that brings unity not peace. Oneness is found "in Him" and that means caring about what He cares about. In Ezekial 9 we see angels marking on the forehead those who cared about what God cared about - the rest were judged harshly. Likewise our prayers and Christian walk must be marked by caring about what He cares about today.
My point is that if we are praying religious prayers of studied neutrality that do not connect with our culture we are missing what God is caring about. That was what I was feeling on the call - righteous anger that no one was legislating with Heaven to enable His agenda. No one wanted to say anything controversial or that could be deemed "political".
So church - rise up and join the battle - put oil in your lamps and don't be caught sleeping and slumbering.
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