America in a Convergence Zone

Dear New Hope,

“The God of the Bible has sent his church into the world to tell the truth about himself.” So writes Al Mohler in his book “We Will Not Be Silent.” In my brief analysis of the massive shift toward secularization we have experienced in American culture, I will be quoting extensively from Mohler’s book. My aim is twofold. First, to put a spotlight on the rapid change in our culture. Second, to point us to the truth of Jesus Christ, who is the hope of America.

First, what is secularization? It is a “process whereby societies become less theistic as they become more modern.” Statistically, polls show that the majority of Americans still believe in “a god”, but there is little question that the role of “god” has been marginalized in political sectors, judicial decisions, and moral judgments. The “separation of church and state” which historically was a phrase used to protect the church from an overreaching and abusive federal government has now been turned on its head. The idea of “separating church and state” now means protecting the government from anyone who tries to insert a biblical worldview. In a secularized culture, the Bible is outdated and the church is obsolete.

Wherever freshwater merges with saltwater is called a “convergence zone” which forms an awkward boundary between two bodies of water. Morally speaking, it feels like America is at a convergence zone, where the freshwater of biblical theism has come to an abrupt end and the saltwater of secularism is taking over. In this convergence zone, there is a new way of doing business, a new way of decision making, a new species of ethics which is neither compatible nor friendly to the old way of doing things. This is an awkward time, especially for Christians who have long felt protected by religious liberties and feels those liberties precariously slipping away.

In the history of America, there was a presumed “theism” that governed moral decisions in the public square. Christians have historically felt protected because the “moral judgment of the culture matched the convictions and teachings of the church.” But this has radically changed before our eyes as the way our country runs has fundamentally changed. Our culture has become untethered from a common theistic anchor and has begun to drift across the open seas of subjective morass. It is of peculiar interest that in such a culture, Christians who have a biblical worldview are now considered “a relic of the past and a repressive force that must be eradicated.” We are viewed as “intellectual outlaws” who are on “the wrong side of history.”

When culture goes through a convergence from biblical theism to secular humanism, it becomes uncomfortable and even dangerous to speak God’s truth. At first, there may be a risk of reputation and relationships as public opinion changes. This is soon followed by a risk of financial loss or legal sanctions. Eventually, religion is privatized to the house of worship, sinful behavior is legalized, and speaking the truth about God is criminalized. Mohler writes: “This is how religious liberty dies – by a thousand cuts. An intimidating letter here, a subpoena there, a warning in yet another place. The message is simple and easily understood. Be quiet and get in line or risk culture.” My friend, this convergence has happened. We now live in such a culture.

How are decisions and moral judgments made in this new culture? Al Mohler writes: “For most men and women in culture, the only moral criterion to use when assessing the morality of sexual relationships is the issue of consent.” Biblical morality is out. Objective truth is out. Consent and public opinion is the order of the day. And there are plenty of theological liberals who are marching to the same beat. One popular liberal pastor encourages that we should view the Bible more like a “community library than a legal constitution.” What he means is that we should be free to pick & choose what is relevant and binding from the Bible, and leave the rest on the shelf to collect dust. In other words, in a secular culture it may still be appropriate to say “God bless America” at the end of a political speech, as long as the “God” one is referring is NOT the God of Holy Scripture who made Himself known in His Son Jesus Christ. That “God”, according to culture, is too narrow and morally judgmental. America is experiencing the convergence of weather patterns. The high pressure system of theism and low pressure system of secularism have clashed violently and our culture is spinning out of control. The result has been confusion, chaos, and a legal battles wherever “religious liberties” are at odds with “erotic liberties”.

“What we’ve seen is a massive change in one generation” (Tom Smith, director of the General Social Survey of the National Opinion Research Center at the Universe of Chicago). It is a massive change which Mohler calls: “a moral revolution.” It has happened rapidly, like tectonic plates shifting beneath the surface of the earth, and the visible results have been catastrophic. The revolution has redefined culture, changed the landscape of the family unit, and perhaps forever altered the course of America. The following is a brief overview of the “massive change” we have experienced in the last 45 years at a political level towards marriage & sexuality.

1969 – California Governor Ronald Reagan signs into effect the first major “no-fault divorce law.” (We cannot underestimate the damage that divorce has had on our culture. The moral revolution was made possible, Mohler says, because the church sat quietly by for decades as the family unit disintegrated. “The evangelical abdication of responsibility for divorce set the stage for a loss of evangelical credibility to speak to the larger issue of sexuality and marriage.”
1972 – The Supreme Court overturned a Massachusetts law that had prohibited the distribution of birth control to unmarried couples. (Eisenstadt v. Baird.) Though it may not seem like a big deal to us, this decision effectively began a process where culture separated sex from the marriage union. Remember the days when cohabitation and sex outside of marriage was frowned upon? Sadly, those days are long gone.
1973 – The famous Roe v. Wade case effectively made abortion a legal alternative to deal with unwanted pregnancy. Since that date, an estimated 60 million babies have been legally aborted (roughly, 6x the population of Michigan). What a stain on America was left by that 5-4 decision.
1986 – The Supreme Court ruled that the state of Georgia was not violating the constitution by criminalizing sodomy. (But…10 years later…see next)
1996 – Just 10 years after its 1986 decision, the Supreme Court reversed itself deciding that “no state law targeting those with a same-sex sexual orientation could be constitutional.” (Romer v. Evans)
2003 Supreme Court struck down all criminal laws prohibiting consensual same-sex behavior. (Lawrence v. Texas.)
2004 Elections. In 2004, “no fewer than 11 states held referendums to ban gay marriage.” Those referendums passed with a strong majority of American voters. (But…see next)
2012 Elections. Just 8 years after voters upheld traditional marriage, 4 states considered measures that “would have defined marriage as exclusively the union of a man and a woman.” This time around, Mohler writes, “not one effort to define marriage as the exclusive union of a man and a woman succeeded.” In just 8 years, America was in the convergence zone and the groundwork was laid for a complete revision of the marriage union.
2013 – The Supreme Court struck down the federal government’s definition of marriage (DOMA) as exclusively the union of a man and a woman. (United States v. Windsor.)
2015 – The Supreme Court, in another 5-4 decision, ruled that state-level bans on same sex marriage were unconstitutional, effectively redefining marriage. (Obergefell v. Hodges.)

Here we are in 2016. The landscape of marriage and sexuality has perhaps been forever altered. The America that was once governed by a common understanding of theistic and biblical ethos is now being battered on the open seas of a secularized culture. No-fault divorce is widely practiced. Legalized abortion has killed millions. Adultery and cohabitation are acceptable alternatives. Marriage, which in human history was defined as the union of a man and woman, has been redefined to mean something different. But Al Mohler writes: “Government does not create marriage – it recognizes it…Failing to understand this, many people have fallen into the trap of simply assuming that marriage is whatever any government or system of laws says it is.”

Admittedly, this moral revolution has affected how “patriotic” some Christians feel towards America. A generation ago, it was common for Christians to be among the most patriotic voices in America. The feeling then was that the cause of America and the cause of the gospel were somehow intertwined. Nowadays, that national patriotism is waning as Christians realize that America is not the light of the world! Jesus is!

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope!

This shift, or convergence, may feel uncomfortable to many Christians, but there is good news in the midst of it all. Russell Moore writes, “The illusion of being a Christian majority in this country has not been good for our understanding of what it means to be the people of God.” The massive revolution in culture has caused us to separate the gospel from the American flag and redefine our primary allegiance. For generations, Christians were comfortable in our nation because of national favor and legal protection. Now, we realize that we stand in the lineage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and are faced with tough decisions over who to obey and how to respond when a secularized culture tries to force us to bow. We stand in the lineage of John the Baptist who dared to speak God’s truth to the King of his day: “It is not lawful for you to marry her!” We stand in the lineage of the apostles who decided it was more important for them to obey God rather than men. We stand in the lineage of Jesus, whose birth was from a virgin, whose cross was a political scandal, and whose resurrection proves He is Lord.

All of this presents a tremendous opportunity for Christians. We have a radically different and beautiful alternative to the chaos of our culture. In a recent podcast, Russell Moore urged: “Don’t normalize Christianity. We have an obligation to keep it strange. It must be seen as a scandal by modern culture.” In another place Moore writes: “Only a strange gospel can differentiate itself from the culture around us…The strange, freakish, foolish old gospel is what God uses to save sinners and to build the Church.” The virgin birth; the crucifixion; the resurrection; the call to repent – all of these biblical truths are scandalous in the convergence zone of a secularized culture, but they are the words that will bring life.

The shift of culture into secularization has opened doors of discussion that a generation ago were closed. A Christian family who is united in godly marriage and raises their children with a biblical ethos are itself a wonderfully strange thing in our culture. Perhaps we Christians were too comfortable in an

America that protected our rights and upheld our values. We may feel that the massive change in culture is “bad for us”, but perhaps it is not bad for the gospel. What we know for sure is that the freedoms that once safely protected us like a shield are now being removed piece by piece. Christian liberties are dying a thousand deaths. As a result, we are having to think critically over big issues. It is becoming impossible for a Christian to “blend in” with culture. Christians are now forced to process a biblical worldview in the area of sexuality, ethics, marriage, and family in ways we never did before. “In that light”, writes Mohler, “the moral confusion of our day represents a real opportunity for courageous Christian witness.”

And that is what I encourage of you, readers: Courageous Christian Witness. We have unprecedented opportunity to give witness to a biblical worldview at the workplace, at family reunions, in the coffee shop, and among friends. As Scott Sauls writes, the church is now in a position to “gain power, not as a religious majority, but as a life-giving minority.” Christianity is now viewed a strange species. We are a freshwater fish swimming in a saltwater ocean. We are viewed as relics of the past. But whenever people see “relics” of the past, they like to stop and stare. And when they do that, we have a strange opportunity to tell them about the beauty of Jesus. We can testify to a theism that is rooted and established in biblical orthodoxy. We can tell them of a Savior who died unjustly at the hands of a court system that declared Him guilty, though He was innocent. We can identify as people of the cross who though we suffer unjustly have a true and better hope in the resurrection. And we can tell them that Jesus is the coming King who will one day return, usher in His eternal Kingdom and restore order to a chaotic world. Until then we sing the old hymn:

“This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet!
This is my Father’s world; the battle is not done.
Jesus who died will be satisfied, and earth and Heav’n be one.”

Additional Resources:

We Cannot be Silent: Speaking truth to a culture redefining sex, marriage, and the very meaning of right & wrong. Albert Mohler.

Onward. By Russell Moore.

www.russellmoore.com. “Why Christians must keep Christianity Strange.” And, “How to Engage the Culture as the Church.”

www.gospelcoalition.org. “Keller, Moore, Deyoung on How to Speak to our Culture about Sex.”