When I was younger, one of the popular songs was “We just Disagree” by Dave Mason. The refrain was, “there ain’t no good guy, there ain’t no bad guy, there’s only you and me and we just disagree.” In our current cultural moment, many want to dial down the rhetoric by having us effectively sing Dave Mason’s song. Yet, that thought process is exactly what my previous posts in this series denies. I don’t think there are good guys and bad guys–I think there are bad guys and not so bad guys. The best of us is flawed and capable of much harm, while the worst…well you know what the worst can do. And this worldview is the Christian worldview–we are created Imago Dei, but we still have a fallen nature. And both individuals and cultures are either moving toward Christ and godliness, or they are moving away.

Let’s review a few headlines to think about this. In February, David French had an article “Will woke Progressives Allow Celebrities to be Christian,” where he highlighted the social media attacks on Chris Pratt because he attends what some describe as an evangelical church. Secular progressives continue their search and destroy mission on anyone and any church who doesn’t accede to their new sexual morality.

Zoe Church, where Pratt is a member in Los Angeles, doesn’t furnish any theological stances on its website. Its “About” tab links only to a contact form. Hillsong, which counts Justin Bieber, Kylie Jenner and Selena Gomez, among other big names, as congregants is similarly tight-lipped. Its “What We Believe” hits the basics of garden-variety Christianity but makes no mention of LGBTQ affirmation. It takes digging to unearth that these churches are as inhospitable to queer Christians as less-hip congregations. 

This isn’t the only place that culture wars continue. In the last few days we see that Alabama is making a strong legal assault on Roe Vs Wade, with an almost total ban on abortions heading to the Governor’s desk. There is unfortunately a large part of our country and politicians that openly cheer for this monstrous reality–long gone is the “safe, legal and rare” political rhetoric. Some of us are now so morally numbed that we can’t even acknowledge that there is something just a bit wrong by abortion. Rather than seeing children as a blessing from God (which is the only way scripture describes children), part of our culture doesn’t want to see them as children unless they are wanted (and only by the mother–dad doesn’t really get a vote here). The battle over abortion is never going to stop, and there is a bad side of this battle to be on, and there is a good side. And each of us must choose. Contra Dave Mason, we don’t “just disagree.”

These cultural conflicts are inevitably political, as those pursuing each vision are using the political process to drive the change they want. And this value system is not simply a disagreement–it is leading the culture away from Christ and godliness. My point is the culture wars are unavoidable unless you want to surrender. And the further point is, that’s not enough. You will have to keep surrendering, further and further away from your original position. There are spiritual battles ongoing behind the realities that we see today. We should never forget that even while we love our enemies.

PS

One person I know disagrees with me on this, because he doesn’t like to think of other people as Wolves or goats or anything else. Just wants to view them as created Imago Dei. I get it. I don’t think its particularly healthy to be non-stop thinking “is he/she a wolf, or a goat or what?” But on the flip side, we are commanded to test all things, and to hold fast to what is good. When we hear positions that are counter to Biblical values, we should understand that these ideas are not from God, and therefore they lead to results that are not for our best, and therefore we should fight to defeat them. And when they are not from God, they are from somewhere else.