The answer, of course, is no. It is true that there are many Americans, both left and right, that are finding some large source of their purpose in engaging in the political process at some level. Even this blog is necessarily engaging in the political process as we try to shape ideas about public policy, and how those policies align with a Christian worldview. And it should be obvious that we Bereans think that some level of this type of “politicking” is good–Christians should be engaged citizens in their country, especially when those citizens have the privilege of being part of the process of selecting leaders. Here at BATG, we desire that our leaders govern with goals that are consistent with a biblical worldview, and that’s not going to happen unless Christians promote those policy goals and challenge potential candidates to govern according to those principles.* Politicians respond to the pressures of constituents and donors, and failure of Christians to engage simply means that there is pushing going on in only one direction. Nature abhors a vacuum, and you can be sure that in politics there is always someone ready to push ideas when others aren’t.

I would be classified as a culture warrior from the earlier generation, and most people that think about that label are likely to have some sort of negative reaction to it. Being a “culture warrior” seems so divisive, and conjures up images of an aggressive Christian trying to ram their particular religious beliefs into public policy. There is some truth in this, but only some. The brilliance in the tactics of the left for the last 100+ years is to aggressively push a radical secular agenda against the social status quo (which was historically based on Judeo-Christian values and ethics) while proclaiming conservative resistance to their onslaught was aggressive, since in their mind the status quo was oppression and they were speaking out on the behalf of the oppressed. Conservatives were engaging in the culture wars, even though progressives were always picking the fight. Conservative resistance to progressive change has always been labeled reactionary by those representing the progressive side, from Marx to the present.

The idea of one side pushing and one side resisting on culture speaks to the broader issue of why everything today is political. There is one side wanting politics to dominate all spheres of life, and that side is the progressive movement. Secular progressivism’s God is the state, contra a biblical view of sphere sovereignty, or a U.S. constitutional view of separation of powers and federalism. Why is it that everything needs to be decided in Washington D.C., or Brussels, or the U.N.? Are there not other social institutions that can more effectively deal with the problems of this world? Churches and other civic groups and mutual associations have long dealt with problems that were historically not considered a government responsibility, and it’s by no means clear that the rise of Leviathan has resulted in a better result. And even if a problem is most appropriately addressed through the coercive power of the state, why is the answer pushed by one side always a federal solution, contra the 10th amendment of the U.S. Constitution?

As Christians, we understand that a unique part of being created in the image of God is that we are both individuals, and yet social creatures as well. Each person in the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are individual persons of the Godhead, and yet each person is fully God–there is only one God, a mystery that we can’t fully comprehend or adequately describe. But the result is that as we humans image our Creator, we likewise are drawn into social relationships. After the Fall, many of our social relationships are dealing with the problems of our rebellion (the curse) against our Creator, and in dealing with these problems, it’s not surprising that we would have conflict when we operate out of different worldviews. Those with a secular worldview are going to trust in chariots and horses, while we trust in God. When we look at mighty things of this world, we will nonetheless say “our help comes from the Lord.” This fundamental difference in worldview is going to lead to looking for solutions to the problems of this world in entirely different places, and in many instances, totally disagreeing on what the real problem to be dealt with is.

Progressives have generally stood behind, and conservatives generally condemn, the saying “Government is what we do together.” Progressives see no limits at what they can accomplish through the power of the state, and believe that they have the wisdom and superior morality to achieve their goals. And this hubris leads to attempts to make everything political, with absolutely devastating social results. As the liberal comedian Bill Maher recently said on his HBO platform, while defending his continuing criticism of Democrats,

“It’s not may fault that the party of FDR and JFK is turning into the party of LOL and WTF,” Maher quipped. “Canceling Lincoln and Dr. Seuss, teaching children they’re oppressors and math is racist, making Mr. Potato Head gender neutral and now an emoji for pregnant men… California just passed a law requiring large retailers to have a non-gendered toy section… We need a law for that? Do you have to inject yourselves into everything?”

You can see the whole thing here, but with Mahar’s typical language (yes, you were were trigger warned!)

Christians understand that concentrated power is a tremendous threat to liberty because of the fallen nature of man. Likewise, the idea of utopia on this earth is not going to happen absent Christ’s return. As in most things, the Christian wants to improve the world “little by little” through the daily redemptive work of our more completely loving God and loving others. In this way our leaven should spread throughout the social collective.

So you say you want to change the world? The Berean answer to this goal is change yourself–die to your fleshly desires–and you may have a redemptive role in society as you are salt and light in the world. But trying to change others through the political process is likely just going to make you a “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Rather than thinking big, we need to be thinking small, and thinking local. As Christians, we are conservative as we try to conserve that which we have accomplished in the past that is consistent with God’s good order, we are liberals as we want to extend the blessings of liberty to all peoples, and we are progressives in that we want the world to be progressively conformed to a consistency with God’s good plan. And only a part of that agenda, in most cases a small part, do we hope to accomplish through the political process.

* That does not mean that we need a collective process to do this, e.g., a “moral majority” coalition to organize Christians. I’m not personally against that (some Bereans are) but just saying it’s not required.