Theology Thursday: Cultural Christianity

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him. I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Today's question:
Is it important to work for a "Christian society"? How should we think about cultural Christianity?

Pastor Brady’s thoughts:
Let’s start with a definition: “Cultural Christianity” is the idea that there are traditions, ways of life, and even moral norms connected to the Christian worldview and practice that are beneficial to societal flourishing and should be encouraged, though actual faith in the saving grace of an actual Savior is unnecessary to that flourishing. Christianity’s truth claims are likely just wishful thinking, and anyway they’re irrelevant with what we’re really trying to do, which is simply to live better, more peaceful and prosperous lives.

We can think of cultural Christianity like this: it’s a desire to harvest and benefit from Christianity without Christ.

After decades and perhaps even centuries of decline (at least in the West), in recent years there has been a surprising resurgence of interest in and appreciation for Christianity’s positive cultural influence from some unexpected places.

Last year, famous atheist apologist Richard Dawkins made news by seeming to offer praise for some aspects of Christianity. He likes Christmas hymns and the impressive architecture of some of the beautiful cathedrals, but rejects that there’s any truth to any of it. “I like to live in a culturally Christian country,” Dawkins said, “although I do not believe a single word of the Christian faith.”

In July, Elon Musk made some similar comments, calling himself a “cultural Christian” and saying he believes Christian principles lead to more happiness.

Psychologist and media personality Jordan Peterson does not believe in God but says he acts "as if" God exists because, for him, it provides meaning, purpose and order.

It’s safe to assume we (Christians) would prefer everyone actually accept the truth of the gospel and place their faith in Jesus. Given that not everyone will, should we welcome cultural Christians and encourage cultural Christianity nevertheless?

The Case for Cultural Christianity
From a Christian perspective, cultural Christianity is appealing for (at least) three reasons:

First, perhaps people who are attracted to the societal benefits they believe stem from a Christian worldview (or even the presence of churches in their community) could potentially be won to Christ and the church through those perceived benefits.

I can imagine the following scenario:

An unbeliever who is seeking truth is first drawn to Western philosophy (maybe classical liberalism - including the freedom of religion and expression - and the rule of law). He learns that Western philosophy is heavily influenced by Christian tradition and history.

From there, he investigates the Christian worldview’s influence on the American founding, which wasn’t “Christian” in the sense that it explicitly aimed to turn peoples’ eyes toward Jesus, but the Declaration of Independence and the articles of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were premised on and contain some pretty Christian-y ideas (equality under the law, a right to life, the liberty to pursue happiness (which Christians should see as an opportunity to pursue holiness)).

Convinced, now, of man’s and society’s need for moral guidelines and boundaries, our unbeliever turns to the Bible to better understand the Christian worldview. He reads, studies, prays, seeks pastoral counsel, believes in the truth of the gospel, gives his life to Jesus, and joins a church.

Or:

An unbeliever during the Christmas season hears the hymn O Holy Night in a department store and for the first time really listens closely to the words:

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

She has been searching for just this kind of hope - the only kind of hope that can speak to the death and destruction she sees all around her in this world. She visits a church and learns the song is talking about Jesus, and this leads her to commit her life to her Lord and Savior.

In these two scenarios or in similar situations, we could argue that the prevalence of cultural Christianity - the Christian worldview’s influence over Western thought, Christian songs being played in public places - contributed in the conversion process to actual, saving faith in Christ Jesus.

Second, cultural Christianity is appealing for many people - including Christians and some non-Christians - because it makes us feel better about the world around us; the 10 Commandments on public display, prayer in public school, TV commercials that say “Merry Christmas,” the President of the United States swearing fidelity to the Constitution with his or her hand on the Bible, governments that agree with the church on marriage and abortion, a celebrity singing “God Bless America” during the World Series.

Each of these things create a social and cultural environment that seems more comfortable for and less hostile to Christians. Whether these or similar faith-adjacent displays actually serve to enhance anyone’s belief is not really the point; our world feels more Christian when they’re present, and we Christians feel less at odds with the world.

Third, data suggests many of the lifestyle choices one could derive from biblical principles leads to flourishing. Examples: waiting until after marriage to have sex, practicing wise stewardship (even frugality) with money, and treating others kindly. Who wouldn’t want to live in a society with fewer broken homes, less debt and poverty, and more generosity? If biblical principles lead to prosperity, then we should embrace those principles, even if we don’t particularly care about the “Jesus as Lord and Savior” part of things.

The Case Against Cultural Christianity
I have three main concerns here, in ascending order of importance:

First, many of those promoting the idea of cultural Christianity seem to generally be doing so as a result of calculating that a Christian ethos (though not a Christian orthodoxy) is preferable to the other options.
Dawkins, for example, doesn’t really like Christianity, but he likes it more than Islam, and he’s commented that he’s worried about the increase of Muslims and the rise of Islam in the UK.

Former atheist-turned Christian Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a human rights activist, explained that her decision to convert was at least partly in response to her view that the current world is threatened by “woke ideology,” “global Islam,” and authoritarianism. “The only credible answer,” she says, “lies in our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition.”

That sounds good, and there’s even some truth to it. But we aren’t Christians because of what it protects us against, we’re Christians because the truth of the gospel has taken hold in our lives.

Second, I worry that cultural Christianity inoculates people against real, saving faith. What I mean is, we already have a significant problem in our culture and even in the American church of those who identify as Christians knowing and holding true to what our scripture actually says. It’s hard enough to get people on board with sound doctrine and to understand that salvation isn’t a result of hard work by “good people” but a saving relationship with Jesus.

I’m concerned that embracing cultural Christianity will cause more people to feel as if they’ve checked the Christian box without ever actually coming to salvation. I worry that too many American Christians desire a resurgence of Christian influence in our culture more than they desire a genuine revival of Christian faith, and those two things are not synonymous.

Many of the people who peddle Christian influence in popular culture - cable TV hosts, TV and radio preachers, politicians - are not faithful disciples of Jesus. We should care about that. The good name of our God - and our witness by association - is damaged when it’s
used as the means to an end rather than the end itself.

Those who want cultural Christianity without Christ want the cultural fruit of a bunch of other people’s faithful thinking and living but they do not want to actually be personally accountable to God or his people for their beliefs and behavior. Though we may feel more kinship with them here on earth than we do those who eschew the whole kit and caboodle, sadly, they will not be joining the chorus of believers in heaven. Because…

...Third, If we believe the gospel is true, then cultural Christianity does not save souls. We are Christians; we are in the soul-saving business. Yes, it’s possible scenarios like the two I presented earlier could take place, with mere exposure to Christian thought or song in a public space leading a curious person to the foot of the cross, but I think instances like that are extremely few and far between.

The outline for conversion in the New Testament and pretty much all successful evangelical efforts throughout history are the result of Christian preaching, Christian teaching (including books and video resources), and Christian relationships, primarily through the work of the local church.

That’s the game plan: faithful Christians doing God’s work and adding to their number.

Conclusion
If given the choice, and all other things being equal, yes, I would prefer to live in a culture steeped in Christian values and influence. There’s some pretty significant overlap between the places most of us would choose to live and the places where Christianity has left the biggest footprint.

But! But. We must not mistake that for the real goal: faithful discipleship - our own and others. Comfort, familiarity, acceptance, and even prosperity are much lower on the list of Christian priority than genuine followership of Christ Jesus, which has often throughout history and still today required setting aside comfort, familiarity, acceptance, and prosperity for the sake of the gospel.

Jesus came to bring life everlasting, but the fruit of salvation is intended to include good works that produce flourishing. A world built on biblical principles is in theory better for the poor and needy, it is in theory better for peace, and it is in theory better for evangelism.

I want believers the world over to be free from oppression and official opposition, not because it’s safer or more secure, but because freedom from persecution means freedom to evangelize and disciple.

A “Christian society” is not nearly as important or useful or even achievable as a society of Christians. Those of us in the faith should put more mental and physical effort (and prayer!) toward the latter than the former.

Related Resources: 
Article - Let the Cultural Christians Come Unto Jesus
Article - New Atheism Learns How to Destroy Christianity
Podcast -  The Holy Post discusses cultural Christianity (starting at 24 minute mark)

To know Him and to make Him known!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to minierccstaff@gmail.com and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.