The culture war in America is in full swing. We can see it playing out everywhere – and lately it is becoming increasingly volatile. Like it or not, you in the middle of it, and in some cases it can “eat your lunch.” It affects your relationships, your economic situation, your job, your entertainment, the news reporting you consume, and even your religious life. Are you content to let it simply batter you around, or do you want to be able to stand strong against it? What, exactly, are we dealing with here?
Where the Culture War Is Playing Out
Education
There is a massive fight going on these days in our public schools. This is particularly playing out in two arenas.
The first regards the teaching of critical race theory. Those who promote it believe that society is “systemically racist,” and that white students must be brought down a notch by favoring non-white students in various ways. Those who are against it believe it is teaching our children a form of overt racism.
The other prominent fight in the education realm regards whether or not to accommodate transgender students in various ways. Advocates believe that boys who identify as girls should be allowed to participate in girls sports, and vice versa. They also believe that those same boys (or girls) who consider themselves transgender should be able to use the locker room (or bathroom) of their choice. Those who oppose this argue that a persons “trans feelings” about their gender do not reflect reality, and that those children need psychological help with their gender dysphoria, not an accommodation that allows them to invade the personal space of children of the opposite sex.
Arts and Entertainment
Hollywood has long been known for pushing “liberal” values on society by making films, and producing other works, that flaunt the moral sense of society at large. There have been cases in the past where this kind of advocacy has corresponded with right morality, and has been a force for changing moral wrongs – regarding race, for instance.
In modern times, however, the entertainment industry has been on the wrong side of moral values and has been promoting sexual immorality of every kind. For years they have portrayed sex outside of marriage as a natural and normal. In more recent times they have expanded that to actively promote homosexual relationships and transgenderism. This is being done even to the extent of making animated movies for children designed to help normalize this behavior. Those who oppose this normalization of immoral behavior are pushing back by speaking up against these Hollywood offerings and boycotting the companies that create and support them.
Media
It is no secret that the mainstream corporate media, supported by that portion of the population that agrees with them, are all in on woke culture. They demonstrate this by their vitriolic tirades against traditional values and its supporters, and by burying stories that go against their value set. Much new media has been created to counter that. Some of these new outlets fiercely promote traditional values. Those who are opposed to the content and messaging of the corporate media are increasingly turning to these alternative sources in order to get news that they consider less biased.
Business
It is certainly true that every business that wants to stay in business must make a profit. And there is certainly nothing wrong with that. However, the kind of business that is carried out and the means used to do business do have a moral component.
In the past, there was a fairly consistent understanding of the moral boundaries that a business should not cross, and that understanding was based on a belief that the values of the Bible were actually true. In modern times, however, as atheistic relativism has increasingly ascended, morality is regarded more as a relativistic notion that can be altered based on the personal beliefs of those who control a business. Thus, rather than looking at an objectively real set of moral values to go by, an increasing number of businesses define morality, honesty, and integrity based on a relativistic foundation – the beliefs of those in charge. They consider that it doesn’t really matter what they do to make more money, or what societal values they promote, as long as they are able to get away with it. The result is that some businesses operate in a way that actually hurts their customer base, as well as supports and promotes societal values that are harmful to individuals, families, and society at large.
Personally, I’m not typically one that promotes boycotts. However, I do make an effort, as much as possible, to avoid doing business with those that promote values that oppose my biblical beliefs, and I support those that are supportive of my values. Many Christians share my thinking on this.
Government
The purpose of government, based on a biblical worldview perspective, is to help maintain order in society in a way that allows the populace to live life in freedom and security. But in more recent times, enough people who adhere to a different set of worldview beliefs – beliefs that have a different purpose – have taken control in many areas. They see the collective as having priority over the individual, and look to the government to control society rather then to liberate the citizenry to live their lives freely. The result of this alternative purpose is more government regulation, higher taxes, more social welfare programs, and a higher level of control over the lives of the citizenry. And the political philosophy that underlies this approach is based on Marxist principles.
Based on the construction of the American government, the citizens should be able to reign in this more totalitarian tendency by electing politicians who will govern based on the rights of the individual. We are in a place now, however, that makes this more difficult. One difficulty is that so many people have bought into atheistic Marxism that there are now a large number of politicians who actually believe this is right. The other difficulty is that the unelected government bureaucracy has grown so large and powerful that many times they can operate even outside of the supervision of the politicians that supposedly oversee them. Those who oppose this trend are now finding themselves in a position where they have to be bold, and even aggressive, in opposing it.
So Why Is it That Christians Always Seem to Be on the Defensive?
As we make our way in life, those controlling the major institutions of society are diligently working to make people who hold Christian (traditional) values feel that they are bigoted if they don’t agree with the “progressive” policies that are being promoted in society.
- Those who don’t affirm homosexuality or the transgender movement are called homophobes.
- Those who don’t support abortion are defamed as anti-woman.
- Those who want secure borders are accused of being xenophobic or anti-immigrant.
- Those who don’t agree with critical race theory or who support the police are besmirched as racists.
The truth, however, is just the opposite.
- Homosexuality and transgenderism (as well as all other forms of sex outside of marriage) are immoral.
- Abortion is immoral (as the murder of innocent human life).
- Not securing borders (not maintaining order in society) is immoral.
- Advocacy for overt racial discrimination (which is what CRT and anti-police advocacy is all about) is immoral.
So, why is it that Christians always seem to be on the defensive when it comes to culture war issues? That is a great question! The primary reason is that most don’t seem to know how to turn the tables on those who would attack us. The truth is, turning the tables is quite important, because right morality is on our side and we need to stand up for it.
Going on Offense
When someone attacks your Christian values, their reason for doing it is that they believe in a different set of values that deem Christian values to be evil. With that as their starting point, they just jump right in and start attacking Christians and Christian beliefs as if their own beliefs are true – which they are not.
When that happens, a person’s first tendency is usually to try to defend themselves against the attacks. However, that is the exact wrong response. The first response should be to ask why the person believes their attack is even valid. Instead of going on the defense, we should immediately go on the offense and make them justify their attack.
- Why do you think sexual immorality right?
- Why do you think murdering an innocent baby right?
- Why do you think promoting chaos in society right?
- Why do you think promoting racism right?
When you do that, some of those people will immediately freak out because they have never considered the possibility that their beliefs aren’t right, and they have absolutely no answer to your question. Some others will realize they don’t know how to reply and will respond by becoming verbally abusive. Then, there are those who will simply try to argue with you based on the assumption that they are right, but will still not give you a reason. The truth is, you will rarely find anyone who has any kind of intelligent reason for their beliefs and is able to engage you in a civil discussion.
Most of the antagonists you will encounter in this arena will be Naturalists – people who believe the natural universe operating by natural laws is all that exists. They are Atheists and don’t want to have anything to do with God. When it comes to their views of morality, they have absolutely no objective reason why their beliefs should be considered right. It is always simply because “that is what they believe based on their own personal preferences.”
So when you ask them the questions above that push back against their beliefs, every answer they give will be based purely on their personal preference, not on any objective rationale. To get them to admit that, you can simply ask, “How do you know that is true?” You will need to do this every time they try to justify their beliefs. You may have to go round and round with them and keep asking that same question as they continue their assertions before ultimately it will become evident that they have no other defense. They may try to argue that their beliefs are for “the greater good,” or for “personal rights,” or “human rights,” or any of a number of other defenses. But you must realize that since they don’t believe in a higher source than themselves for their values, their final answer can only be their personal preference.
When you get to the point where that becomes evident, you can ask, “So, what makes your preference have priority over that of anyone else?” Ultimately there is no reason.
But defeating their argument is not the final landing spot. You will also have the possibility of sharing your beliefs with them. God does exist and we can know Him in a personal relationship. Beyond that, He has revealed to mankind what is morally right and wrong.
This doesn’t mean they will ever agree with you, but they will have no choice but to quit badgering you. They can’t defend their beliefs.
If we operate on the defense, we will always be pushed around. But we are not the ones who are promoting immoral values, they are. And, as Christians, we should have the boldness to stand our ground. It is much easier to do that when we go on the offense.
© 2023 Freddy Davis