Christians Changing the World
I know there are a few of you who check it somewhat regularly – sorry for being mostly absent recently. Life has been getting in the way – things are awfully busy in the Christian household, and I just haven’t had the time or energy to devote to the blog. That will probably continue for at least a couple more weeks. I’ll be trying to do some short posts at least – and I will be back with some more substantial posts after things slow down.
To that end, I did want to post a link to a really great interview in Christianity Today from last year. Its with the author of the book I’m currently reading – To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. Its not the easiest read, but its been highly recommended to me, and definitely worthwhile so far.
The author’s big idea is that the typical Christian attempts to “change the world” don’t work, and don’t really (in his estimation) have any chance of working, because they misunderstand how cultures actually work and how they change. He offers a critique of these attempts, along with his own proposal for how Christians should interact with the world around them – and whether “world changing” should even be our goal.
If you have any interest in how Christians interact with the world, the so-called “culture wars”, Christians and politics, and so on, its worth your time and effort to at least read the interview, which presents many of the author’s ideas in brief. I’m not yet ready to say he’s right (I’m only 60 pages into the 300 page book), but he definitely has a perspective we should be hearing and considering. Here’s a few quotes (from the interview) to whet your appetite:
“When Christians turn to law, public policy, and politics as the last resort, they have essentially given up on a desire to persuade their opponents. They want the patronage of the state and its coercive power to rule the day.”
“By focusing too much on political power, we overlook how social power plays out in everyday relationships and institutions. There are four characteristics to the social power that Jesus exercised. First, his power was derivative—originating from intimacy and submission to his Father. Second, his power was humble—rejecting the privileges of status and reputation, suffering indignities with joy. Third, his power was compassionate—serving the good of all and not just the good of the community of faith. And fourth, his power was noncoercive—blessing rather than cursing “the other,” as we can see from his encounters with Samaritans and Romans.”
“Christians need to abandon talk about “redeeming the culture,” “advancing the kingdom,” and “changing the world.” Such talk carries too much weight, implying conquest and domination. If there is a possibility for human flourishing in our world, it does not begin when we win the culture wars but when God’s word of love becomes flesh in us, reaching every sphere of social life. When faithful presence existed in church history, it manifested itself in the creation of hospitals and the flourishing of art, the best scholarship, the most profound and world-changing kind of service and care—again, not only for the household of faith but for everyone. Faithful presence isn’t new; it’s just something we need to recover.”
