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Reconstruction of Western Civilization
52 Plays10 days ago
We hear a lot these days about deconstruction. In this episode, Paul and Dustin discuss how to reconstruct our society when so many good things have been eroded.
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Transcript
Deconstruction of Norms
00:00:14
Speaker
All right. Well, welcome into, what do we call this, Answering Pilot? Answering Pilot. That's right. Yeah. What is truth? That was his question. And so we're answering that that particular question. um And today, Dustin, we're going to be talking about, well, we talk a lot about deconstruction. you know And sometimes people even ask, well, what is deconstruction, even though we talk about it a lot?
00:00:36
Speaker
And just sort of the the questioning of everything, I'm giving you a really loose definition. I mean, we could get real formal, but, you know, young people today especially questioning everything, questioning history, questioning, you know, what's real, what's not real, what's true, what's not true, et cetera, et cetera. So lot of...
00:00:55
Speaker
I don't know, literary deconstruction, i think that's where it where it sort of originated, but you get theological deconstruction, people deconstructing their Christianity, deconstructing their faith, the whole bit. Academic deconstruction, um ideas, etc.
00:01:10
Speaker
Well,
The ARC Conference and Cultural Philosophy
00:01:11
Speaker
we want to talk about reconstruction just a little bit, all right and reconstructing Western civilization, which is just another way to say um What we've been talking about, which is how the church can influence culture, because that's what we're called to do. And we've got that dominion mandate we talked about last time.
00:01:29
Speaker
And um so we'll talk more about that as well in a future broadcast. but You know, just just rebuilding the the walls, if I could use a biblical picture. What was it, Nehemiah? Commissioned to rebuild the walls that had fallen down. and So it was kind of like a Nehemiah moment for us in a very real sense, metaphorically speaking. So that's kind of where I'm coming from.
00:01:51
Speaker
And there are a lot of folks who are talking about these things. and I think there's some interesting conversations um on a lot of ah podcasts and blogs. And one of the the the conversations that I've come across over the last few years, last couple of years, I guess I should say, is the ARC conference.
Atheism's Philosophical Shortcomings
00:02:09
Speaker
I always get this wrong. It's the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship.
00:02:15
Speaker
And um it's not um probably not a conference at that most evangelicals have ever heard of or go to. But ah you're familiar with Jordan Peterson. He's one of the co-founders. And I think I heard about it either through him or through somebody like Bethel McGrew, who actually follow her sub stack, trying to think of who else. I came across a podcast a couple of years ago. I can't remember the title of it, but they were talking about the The amazing, i don't know amazing was, the surprising, the surprising,
00:02:48
Speaker
um ah again, forget how they worded it, sorry, but atheists becoming Christians. Just a lot of these outspoken secular atheists who were all of a sudden influenced by interested in Christianity. Some have experienced true conversion to Christ. Others, it's more of a conversion to cultural Christianity.
00:03:08
Speaker
Others haven't really come all the way, but they realize the bankruptcy of atheism, philosophically speaking, morally speaking, culturally speaking. And so anytime folk are talking about those kinds of things, I'm interested.
00:03:23
Speaker
Yeah. Because ah we know that there's only one true worldview.
Reinvigorating Western Institutions
00:03:28
Speaker
Right. And it's the biblical worldview. And there's only one source of truth, the the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God.
00:03:35
Speaker
That's why we're answering pilot. What is truth? Well, we know the truth, not because we're smarter than everyone, but because God's revealed it to us through his word. And so these are the things that we want to talk about. But anyway, at the ARC conference, it's it's essentially an international conference, and it's focused on cultural philosophy, geopolitics.
00:03:55
Speaker
um Western civilization, basically. And they're discussing things like, um' I don't know if they're using the term reconstruction. Probably not. i mean, that's an old word, by the way. could be loaded. but Right, yeah, definitely.
00:04:09
Speaker
But cultural renewal, um the recapturing or the re-embracing of ah Western traditional values, which you and I know are ah rooted in in the biblical worldview, strengthening families, pushing back against societal and institutional declines. So all of these things, that's what we're that's what we're talking about. So, um again, you know me. I'm notorious for these lengthy introductions, not trying to do that.
00:04:39
Speaker
But one of the questions on the table is, well, how do we even begin to think about um cultural renewal? How do we begin to think about this dynamic of reconstruction? And I think this is, again, one of those things that You know, ours wouldn't even do it justice. You know, this is something we could talk about every week and literally and and in different ways we we will.
00:05:02
Speaker
um But so let's just think broadly. Let's throw some things on the table um to kick around just a little bit. what What are some of the things that we need to be thinking about? I came across an article.
00:05:15
Speaker
And again, I know it sounds like I'm talking in circles, but it's how my head works, how my brain works. But I came across an article by Carl Truman. Okay. I always read Carl Truman. Well, always is not the right word. I have read Carl Truman a lot over the years. Okay. I really appreciate him.
00:05:31
Speaker
And I can't remember how I came across him this time because I hadn't read him in a while, so that's why I can't say always. ah But he was at the art conference. Okay. So there's the connection. There you go. So even though I'm – gosh, I don't want to like Matt Chandler, and I'm not being ugly. But anyway – ah he um If I knew Matt, bro, forgive me. um So anyway, ah he he he wrote this article, and it was it was a wide-ranging article. I don't even know if he wrote it i think it was an interview.
00:06:01
Speaker
um But he he did make a couple of points that I thought we could throw on the table. One of the things he talked about was some the reinvigoration of our institutions. That's one of the things that has to happen if you know Western culture is going to be rebuilt. and I don't even know if if folk would understand or or have their their thoughts begin to work just just by saying that.
00:06:26
Speaker
But it certainly conjures up a lot of things in my mind when I hear that phrase, the reinvigoration of our institutions. Because we talk about structures a lot. Yeah. um Structures like family, things that are in culture, so family, community, but also just just like a a road system or government or science or...
00:06:48
Speaker
You know, how we dress at the cotillion. Right. I mean, these are these are societal structures. Right. And so when I think of a reinvigoration of institutions, I'm thinking sort of the bigger scale. I'm thinking government.
00:07:02
Speaker
um I'm thinking that moral values. I'm thinking. church, um maybe education, it actually, yeah, education, those kinds of things.
Cultural Criticism and America's History
00:07:13
Speaker
that make sense? Yeah, I think maybe even a part of it would be defining what those institutions are. Yeah, yeah. Because what does it mean for it to be an institution? Well, that means it's a building block.
00:07:24
Speaker
of our society and so what are those things you know the family is an institution um i mean you you already mentioned government education those kinds of things but i think even just understanding what are the core values as a society that matter yep um in building a society and understanding what those are is maybe even a first step to invigorating it. Yeah. um is Is knowing what they are yeah and how do we how do we build those back up. Yeah, that's right.
00:07:57
Speaker
We talk about um deconstruction, as I said, ah from time to time. We talk about... um the the The vernacular term, you know the common term, wokeism, which critical theory. yeah And so I i think um there are lots of things that have eroded lots of our institutions, which erodes culture in general.
00:08:20
Speaker
And, of course, underneath that is the erosion of the Christian worldview. But um yeah you know through critical theory, whether the critical race theory, critical gender theory, whatever the case may be, You have a whole generation or two of people, and and let's just talk about the West in general, but or let's just not talk about the West in general, but here in the United States. Now, you can see it across the pond.
00:08:43
Speaker
You can see it in Europe all over when we see the news every day. But we have a whole generation or two of of people who they seem to hate their own culture. And and it's appropriate to talk about that. i mean, we're just coming off the the Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations and all that stuff. and You know, obviously, um our ultimate loyalty is to to King Jesus, but there's nothing wrong with being patriotic as long as you understand that's underneath the Lordship of Christ. And it's a good thing to love your country. um
00:09:17
Speaker
You know, you can you can make an idol out of anything. I think you made that point yes on one of our broadcasts. But where I'm going with that is it it seems that there are a lot of people, for whatever the reason, they still want to live in America, but they hate America. Right. And they hate what it stands for. They hate our institutions. They hate they hate our values. They hate our history, the whole bit. And I think a lot of us, they don't understand. Right.
00:09:41
Speaker
Yeah, interestingly enough, I stumbled across an article this afternoon, actually, and I don't remember who wrote it. I wasn't sure it would come up. You're right. So I didn't i didn't make the mental note.
00:09:52
Speaker
um But it was, in fact, referencing the fact that there's this sermon that gets preached, as this person said, um every 4th of July.
00:10:03
Speaker
um When the flags start coming out and, you know, everybody starts, you know, feeling really patriotic, there's always this quote unquote sermon that comes out that reminds us of how awful the United States of America has been throughout history. And obviously the number one thing that always comes up first is slavery. Sure.
00:10:21
Speaker
um But then all the other atrocities that the United States is responsible for. Right. basically so we should really be ashamed um to live in this country and one of the several points that this article was making is that those that are that are truly patriotic, and especially Christians who appreciate the country that we live in, and the freedoms that we have, and and the background that formed this nation, um none of us are trying to imply that there aren't bad pages on the history books of the United States of America. Right.
00:11:01
Speaker
ah That there weren't bad things that that we allowed to happen or participated in or did um and that there weren't evils that took place. Right.
Media's Influence on Cultural Perceptions
00:11:12
Speaker
But that's every nation's history. Oh, yeah. um And so to to... And that seems to be, particularly since this is where we live, that tends to be what you hear so many that want to be critical.
00:11:27
Speaker
The way that it's presented is that the United States is unique in that we're we're the ones that have brought all this evil on the world. Mm-hmm. And... That there's not an acknowledgement that, well, slavery was a part of every single civilization from the beginning of time. Sure.
00:11:45
Speaker
um And so, you know, we're not pretending that we haven't participated right in bad things. Right. there's also an ability to appreciate the good things that have come about. yeah And that that, as we've already said, the reason for those good things is that in its founding, much of it was based on a biblical or a Christian worldview. Yeah, that's right. That's right, 100%.
00:12:14
Speaker
Yeah, and we're not trying we're not even trying to say, well, you know, because every civilization in history is is engaged in slavery. Every every racial group in history is engaged in slavery. Therefore, it's okay. Right. We're not saying that that at all. Not at all. And and you made that clear. ah We're just saying we're guilty as charged, but at the same time, we're not unique. And and let's don't fixate on that because there's much to there's much to lament, but there's much to celebrate. Much to celebrate and much to preserve.
00:12:44
Speaker
ah which is what we're talking about. And so, like you just said, the Christian worldview is behind all of the good things that have transpired in America. And again, we also need to make a distinction between the U.S. government and the actual citizens of the United States. Right. um I mean, we've been we've been complaining about certain things our government is involved in right now. Mm-hmm. But we're we're we're not saying we hate America. right We're saying we love America. um and And we mean that, again, in a biblical way. And and we want what's good for American citizens.
00:13:16
Speaker
i want We want what's good for for people that live elsewhere as well. And if we lived in a different country, we'd be advocating for for their good as well, and to the to the degree and to the extent that we can bless others in other countries. That's what we want to do. We send missionaries and all the rest. um and And we're talking about Western civilization in general here today as well.
00:13:36
Speaker
um But this this this idea that, and again, it seems like the the young people, and we talk about Gen Z, but the the young people that that fixate on these things, you know, and again, I don't want to be critical, but there's there's almost this...
00:13:54
Speaker
They're so ah culturally and historically illiterate and ignorant, they they they easily get fixated on you know this thing like slavery and how—it's not even our purpose to talk about slavery today, right but it's it's probably the best example.
00:14:12
Speaker
But they get so fixated on that, they don't they don't realize, wait a minute— yeah There's lots of other things, and we we don't have slavery anymore. And it was Christians who got rid of it, exactly by the way. And, um you know, because we don't believe in slavery.
00:14:30
Speaker
The Bible doesn't teach chattel slavery. So anyway, not to belabor that point too too too far. There's so many things I've... feel like saying, but that's that's why we I get us off track. um So these these folk that that seemingly, and in and it's in our institutions, talking about education in many ways, but certainly the media, that's a big institution.
00:14:55
Speaker
They're taught to hate America. And... um I guess the point I'm trying to make is if if they knew a little bit more about our history and they knew a little bit more about what the Christian worldview actually says and who actually fought to—I mean, I think of a William Wilberforce. Now, he's in the U.K., but 38 years of his life he spent ah defeating the the slave trade there in in the UK and all the rest. So this guy's a hero. He's a Christian. He's a hero. right He changed the world for the good, and that's what Christians do. And so we want to preserve that cultural good, to go back to our previous conversation. excuse me
00:15:39
Speaker
um But I think when we talk about reinvigorating are our institutions, one of the things that we have to realize and Carl Truman says this, because of what's happening in our institutions, you have a whole generation, he uses the term, of culturally bankrupt people.
00:15:58
Speaker
They don't understand what our culture is or should be, nor do they have a ah vision for it. All they know is they hate slavery, right to borrow the example that we've put on the table.
00:16:09
Speaker
And so there's a lot of um there's a lot of reconstruction that we have to do because it's really impossible to have ah confidence in in a culture that you've been taught is worthless.
00:16:22
Speaker
Yeah, and they're so inundated by that message. you know the the
00:16:30
Speaker
all the time readiness of media information that we have now, we're constantly fed that message. yeah um And so, I mean, anytime you pull up a screen, whether it's on our phone or your iPad or you open your laptop,
00:16:48
Speaker
um almost anywhere you go, you turn on your television, you're going to hear that message in some way, shape or form. And we become, we can become so desensitized to it, to where it just starts to be, okay, well, it's what everyone's saying.
00:17:08
Speaker
So it must be true. yeah And, and the resistance to, that idea, it gets less and less. I thought it was interesting not to take us down another rabbit trail or anything, but, um you know, the World Cup's going on right
Christianity's Role in Cultural Renewal
00:17:25
Speaker
now, and the United States is hosting it, and there's been all of these stories about all of these fans from all over the world that have been coming to America to watch these soccer matches, and it's great time, and everybody's, you know, it's it's it's gone really well so far from all reports.
00:17:42
Speaker
But there's been so many stories of all these international fans that have come to the United States and they've gotten a certain message from the media yeah that they hear about how awful America is. yeah But then they actually come and they see and they're like, this is great.
00:18:01
Speaker
This is amazing. Yeah. There was one fan that was quoted that said, if you watch American media, you'll think that America's awful and terrible. But if you actually walk through America, you get a totally different story. Yeah, yeah. And so, yeah, that's what we want to do is we want to recon... We don't we don't want to, again, just tell everybody that, well, America's just so great and everything's wonderful. Mm-hmm.
00:18:26
Speaker
But at the same time, we want to cut through that message of everything here is horrible. And it's, you know, we're all terrible. We're all evil. Yeah. um We do want to reconstruct that, yeah to use that term, so that...
00:18:41
Speaker
even our messaging is at least, at the very least, more balanced. Mm-hmm. To where, yes, we need to know about the bad things that happen. Yeah. We don't need to ignore that. Right. But we also need to know about the good that's happening and and and about what the solutions can be for those bad things as well.
00:18:57
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Excuse me. Sorry. and and And you and I are going to talk on this podcast, as we have, um about the bad things that are happening in our country because we lament those ah bad things as Christians and we want to change them.
00:19:16
Speaker
um But to your point, and and I'll add this, we're not saying that um we, because we're American people or American citizens, are superior to other people, German people or Japanese people or whatever.
00:19:33
Speaker
um But to your point, I think a lot of folks who have visited America for the first time with this World Cup dynamic, You know, they're discovering, ok well, a lot of things are different here than they've been told. a lot of things are different than where they're from. And again, that would depend on where.
00:19:50
Speaker
But like our air conditioning works, right? There's an abundance of food here and easy access to it and very affordable, you know, Freedom to walk around without fear of being attacked, at least where we live. Right. yeah so And that could go on. but you well all Again, all of those things are good cultural goods, but they are the direct result of the Christian worldview. and Without the Christian worldview, without Christianity, without the values that that that come from Christianity, we wouldn't have any of that. Mm-hmm.
00:20:23
Speaker
um He said, well, air conditioning. Yes, air conditioning. Air conditioning, because we're we're we're cultivating, as you pointed out last time, we're cultivating the earth, taking dominion.
00:20:34
Speaker
um we're We're making life better to borrow. is Is that the Spinks guy making life easier? yeah Yeah, that's his ad. But I mean, he's right. I mean, that's that's what we're supposed to do. And again, I'm not falling into materialism or anything like that. But I'm talking about the truth, justice, and beauty ah these are the sort of the under undergirding dynamics of a Christian worldview and what what we're propagating. So, yeah, um and you know the messaging. We could go back to critical theory like— ah
00:21:06
Speaker
Young white males have been taught that they're worthless. And that's why there's so many problems among young white males today. You have more women in college today than men and lots of other things. And a lot of college women, of course, think that Just because a guy's a male, he's he's toxic. if he's ah If he's masculine, he's toxic. So all of these things are coming against the Christian worldview, whereas a biblical worldview of men, a masculine man, is that he's responsible.
00:21:37
Speaker
He wants to be a provider. He he loves his wife. He's going to guard her and protect her and cherish her, and he's going to raise good children, and he's going to be a responsible member of society and and and build something Like um air conditioning and easy access to food and things like that. um So, yeah. So you've got these these our institutions um propagating this message that that America's evil, and we just need to we need to push back on that.
00:22:12
Speaker
One of the things that we need to do is push back on that. I was i was thinking about... um One of the things, because our culture is not worthless, by the way. Right. We have some problems.
00:22:23
Speaker
But anyway, um ah one of the persons that that I came across, again, I don't know how long ago this was, but but i've I've heard her story and I can't remember all the details, but I think she was also featured on this um she's an atheist her name's ayin hersey ali muslim raised muslim um just a compelling story but anyway um she she speaks at this art conference and one of the things that uh uh and she's coming to christ by the way out out of islam and she talks about the oppressive nature of islam and how horrible it is and
00:23:04
Speaker
and And she essentially, when not to tell her whole story, but essentially when she started thinking, it and again, she's an atheist, but became an atheist, but coming to Christ, It was more of a, again, a cultural Christianity because she saw atheism um had had no, what's the word? It had no ah metaphysical capital.
00:23:25
Speaker
In other words, you you can't defend good you can't defend goodness on an atheistic worldview. okay where Where does goodness come from? Well, you and I argued yeah on a recent broadcast, it comes from God. god himself And if you don't have God, then what does it matter? right we're just We're just here, so I'll do what I want.
00:23:43
Speaker
Um, and um you know, if I want to kill you for, uh, oh, we were talking about the mob encroaching on my, my territory, um, which is anyway, i don't want to get too far field again, but, um, it has no metaphysical capital just to yeah you know, put it that way for morality or values.
00:24:03
Speaker
Um, and and And she was searching for that. You know, she she wanted to know what life was all about. Anyhow, um she because she was badly treated, as you can imagine, in Islam.
00:24:16
Speaker
But anyway, she said this, and I'm not quoting her. I'm just summarizing something she said. But she said, Christians don't fully appreciate—oh, and by the way, one more thing. Sorry. I think initially— you know you I would wonder, and again, I still don't know because I've done a lot of research. And again, I'm not trying to question her, but is she born again or is she just a cultural Christian?
00:24:38
Speaker
And maybe initially her whole thing was more culturally motivatederientially motivated, motivated. But it seems like, and I could be wrong, I don't know.
00:24:48
Speaker
I have to do more research. It seems like Because she now talks about a genuine relationship with the Lord Jesus. and She talks about salvation. She's not just talking about cultural dynamics. Sure. She's talking about...
00:24:59
Speaker
you know spiritual dynamics. So anyhow, she says she doesn't think that Christians fully appreciate the role that Christianity has played, which is what we're talking about, but the role that Christianity has played in shaping Western civilization and all its benefits. All its benefits. That's the key.
00:25:18
Speaker
And she says most people today, of course, are ignorant of history which is part of what we're talking about. And so I think one of the one of the things that we need to do in terms of reinvigorating, to go back to Carl Truman, our institutions, we certainly need to spread the gospel.
00:25:41
Speaker
that that's That's foundational, right? Right. But we also need, and and then and then what flows from the, what are the cultural goods that flow from the gospel? We've mentioned some of those just with reference to the World Cup, as as as providence would have it.
00:25:56
Speaker
um But also um just just all those values that are good. And and since I threw the phrase on the table, I'm going to throw All the metaphysical capital or the metaphysical capital that is required to even sustain your moral outrage at slavery.
00:26:15
Speaker
you You can't really be morally outraged at slavery unless you're a Christian. No, you can't. I mean, really, a Darwinian— worldview, what would be the problem with slavery? Yeah.
Youth's Shift Towards Christianity
00:26:29
Speaker
um If I'm stronger than you, if I'm more intelligent than you, then why shouldn't you be my slave, be my servant? Yeah. Might makes right. Yeah, might makes right. Survival the fittest. Survival the fittest, yeah. um So, yeah, the biblical worldview um is what counters all of the evils that we talk about in society. The things that we see and lament in our own culture
00:27:00
Speaker
are the direct result of walking away from biblical values. um whether Whether they were understood to be biblical values initially or not, we know that, for example,
00:27:16
Speaker
um that slavery um is wrong because it does go against biblical ah values um that all men are created equal yeah is a biblical view. It's not just something they came up with to write the Constitution. and That's right. that's right it it um It comes from Scripture. um and um i mean It even says that there's there's no slave or free. Right, right. For those who are in Christ. it's Right. um And so, um and we know that, again, if you are educated on history, that it was Christians that were at the forefront of trying to abolish ah slavery in America and slavery in England, um around the world. yeah
00:28:02
Speaker
um And so, yeah, we want... ah When we're talking about reconstruction, we want to reconstruct these biblical values because the things that we see being deconstructed are the direct result of turning away from those biblical values. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, and just to put a finer point on that too, or at least what I was trying to communicate, and you picked up on it,
00:28:30
Speaker
the gospel is foundational, and then you have these cultural goods that that flow from the gospel. They're downstream from the gospel. Well, one of those, what we need to to not only talk about those and promote those and and provide that metaphysical capital, cetera, et cetera, but we need to we need to we We need to get back to real education.
00:28:49
Speaker
Right. let's Let's teach history. And again, I know there's a lot of history teachers out there who are teaching history. And I know a lot of Christians who are teaching history. And then there are a lot of podcasters who are teaching history. But again, it seems that we've got a generation or two that's just really ignorant of our own history. And so somewhere they're getting this.
00:29:11
Speaker
and And, you know, we can talk about where it might be coming from, but... Well, yeah, and we know, we've talked about it before, that those, the the winners write the history books, as they say, but yeah to to maybe word it a little differently, those are in power control the narrative of what history is. Yeah. um And so much of what is taught as history today is taught with an agenda,
00:29:34
Speaker
driving it yeah um yeah but you know what what we're in favor of is we want history to be taught simply as the facts as this is this is what has happened throughout history yeah and again that means the ugly side as well as yeah the beautiful side yeah um we don't want to shy away from the dark pages of history um and But we want to teach them as as a ah learning opportunity, not just to know that this happened, which we do need to know that it happened, yeah but to know why it was wrong, yeah how do we counteract the wrong that took place, um and where is that answer found? And again, we keep coming back to, it's the found in the gospel. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.
00:30:22
Speaker
That's exactly right. There is a trend, um and we've talked about this before, ah among young people, which is a good thing. And again, there's ebbs, there's flows, as always.
00:30:37
Speaker
And so we're talking about how there are a lot of young people who just ignorant, but then there's a lot of young people as well who are like, well, something's wrong.
00:30:50
Speaker
You know, then and they're they are pushing back. And again, some of them, they're getting a hold of the Christian message. Some of them are getting hold of other messages. We understand that. Some them are just angry.
00:31:02
Speaker
Some of them just dropped out. You know, they're just living in their parents' basement. And and sometimes that's some people are just lazy. but But sometimes, you know, some of these young men, they're like, what do I do? I got i got no future. i got in this In this culture, I got no future.
00:31:17
Speaker
Right. so we we we could cite a lot of reasons for that but um it it it seems like and this is one of the things they talk about at the art conference and one of the things that other folk are talking about but it seems like that that there are folk uh particularly on the right who seem to be expressing a greater appreciation for Christianity than than they had been expressing up until very recently, if if that makes sense.
00:31:48
Speaker
um And so, again, i go back to that podcast, the surprising—I wish I had looked it up. Well, just popped in my head while we were talking, but i and had the surprising— a number of atheists who um are believing in God. Well, it is surprising.
00:32:08
Speaker
and And I do think God is doing something. i don't you know Again, I don't have any statistics or anything like that, but but I do know these are conversations, and I do know these are trends.
00:32:19
Speaker
And um so the question is, well, why like aside from the sovereignty of God, circumstantially, providentially speaking, what would be some of the driving forces that that would be a reason for for people to be kind of looking at Christianity in a different way? And obviously, I think part of it is, again, the bankruptcy of of the message that that that they've been fed. A lot of folk are waking up to the reality that there's no...
00:32:53
Speaker
There's no real purpose in life. There's no real meaning in life. There's no real ah way for me to get ahead if if your messaging is is true. You know, I'm um i'm trapped here.
00:33:05
Speaker
So... You got a lot of folk who are pushing back on that. And going to throw an example. And this is going back a few years. You remember who, oh his name just went out of my head. Who's the famous militant atheist that we used to talk about 20 years ago?
00:33:23
Speaker
i mean, he's he's still around, but he kind of fell out of, what's the word, the national conversation. ah Oh, my God. Anyway, it'll come to me. Richard Dawkins? Yes. Thank you. Richard Dawkins.
00:33:35
Speaker
You know, he came out one time years ago. Now, he's an atheist. And again, a militant atheist, right? right What were they called? There were three of those guys who were like the, I don't know. Yeah. yeah You know i tell about, the three musketeers of atheism.
00:33:50
Speaker
um Anyhow, he came out and he said he wanted the Bible taught in public schools. Do you remember that? and Yeah. He was like, and people were asking, well, you're an atheist. Why would you want the Bible taught?
00:34:00
Speaker
Well, he realized that the Bible was the foundation of Western civilization. So, so I think even what he was saying back then and see the, you know, the new atheists were different than him. And, and, and a lot of these folks, certainly they don't listen to Richard Dawkins anymore. The ones that are at the art conference, you know what i mean?
00:34:22
Speaker
But, We were praying, of course, and we were talking about it, and i don't think he realized it, of course. And again, i don't know the mind of God, but it seems to me like God certainly uses Christians to preach the gospel, but he also uses pagans to do and say stuff and that he uses yeah to his advantage, for his glory. We see that in the Bible. yep and And so here's Dawkins planting the seeds, basically saying, without the Bible, you don't have Western civilization, and it must be taught in school. Not because I believe in Jesus, he said, which, of course, is tragic. right and And the message the Bible is the Lord Jesus.
00:35:00
Speaker
But, you know, just lots of our... um literature and and and and the things we've been talking about, values, but even, even what do you call it, ah phrases that we use you know then that come from the Bible. um I wish I had thought of this ahead of time.
00:35:20
Speaker
People don't even know where they come from or what they mean, right but they're common they're common parlance today, certain things. um You know, like they're like sheep without a shepherd would be one. Sure. And so people would know what that means. Well, it comes from the Bible. And there are better examples than that. I'm just throwing that out. And so I guess I'm rambling again, brother. I'm so sorry.
00:35:42
Speaker
But where am I going with that? Well, There are a lot of people like Richard Dawkins who have become more conservative, and they're willing to embrace Christianity to a point. yeah They're not embracing Christ, per se, a lot of them, but they are embracing cultural Christianity. Now, here's the question.
00:36:03
Speaker
Is mere, and I've already tipped my hand, but is mere cultural Christianity ultimately enough to reconstruct? No.
Cultural Christianity vs. True Faith
00:36:12
Speaker
No, you're right. So there that's it. We're done. No, I'm just kidding. See you time.
00:36:17
Speaker
Yeah. No, but that, yeah, there's didn it took me, i don't know why it takes me so long, but. Yeah, just cultural Christianity, it's it's good. I mean, I'd rather people be cultural Christians than, as Carl Truman said, anti-Christians. Right, right. Right, or anti-Christian culture. And that's what wokeism has been. it's been and And again, they they'll tell you it's a lot of other things. They'll they'll they'll talk about the oppressed and the oppressors and all that. Look, we hate oppression.
00:36:49
Speaker
the there's no The Bible talks more about oppression than than than you could ever dream of. when God hates oppression, and so we hate oppression. But that's not what um critical theory is about. It's about changing who the oppressors are right in reality. They want to be the oppressors.
00:37:08
Speaker
But I don't want to be an oppressor. right Listen. Right. Somebody said it the other day. I can't remember. You might know. But it's like there's a sense in which you could you could say, we just built a country that just said, leave me alone. You know, that's kind of where I'm at. Leave me alone. Let me do my thing. Right. I'm not going to bother you. You don't bother me. And again, I'm really being reductionist here. But um so the the the problem, well, what what what would be the problem ah
00:37:40
Speaker
Well, before I get to that, so, yes, I'd rather live where a Richard Dawkins loves cultural Christianity. I'd rather be next door neighbor to him than somebody who hates me because I'm white. Sure, sure. male.
00:37:54
Speaker
You know? Or Christian. Or Christian. Yeah, man, I got three strikes against Right. so So if we're going to rebuild... um You got to go deeper than that.
00:38:08
Speaker
I will say one thing. i don't know how much time we have. um I don't want to get into that. I'm going to come back if we if we run out of time. Okay. I mean, if we have time at the end, I'll come back to that.
00:38:23
Speaker
um let me Let me just skip down. We got some notes here just to kind of keep us on track. If we don't, I'll talk in circles the whole time. But um let me me see what I want to say.
00:38:35
Speaker
Well, Let me put it this way. if If you fail, and Truman points this out, so thank you, Carl Truman, for keeping me on track. if you if If you have cultural Christianity on it but you don't have genuine Christianity, and and what do we mean genuine Christianity? We got to deal with the cross.
00:38:51
Speaker
You got to deal with Jesus. You got to deal with our sin. you got to deal with, you know, the cross and Jesus being the solution. Jesus defeating sin. um You know, living the the perfect life that we couldn't and and dying as a sinner's death in the place of guilty sinners and conquering the grave because he had no sin of his own.
00:39:12
Speaker
Raised from the dead. If we don't deal with the resurrection, if you don't believe that. Mm-hmm. you know That's the heart of our faith. You don't have genuine Christianity. So if you reject that, then then all you're doing is embracing
00:39:30
Speaker
uh the the if all you're doing is embracing certain values there's nothing that's going to sustain those values right because only truth sustains our values because as we've witnessed and the reason we're in this mess is because people's values change based on a myriad of factors unless they're rooted in Christ, unless they're rooted in the truth. Yeah. Does that make sense? It does. um it Yeah, that because that is the that is the problem with cultural Christianity, is that
00:40:02
Speaker
you know It's an acceptance of what you perceive to be the good teachings of the Christian faith or of the Bible itself um without, as we've said, dealing with sin and dealing with our own hearts and and dealing with Jesus as Lord yeah um and So what what that ultimately ends up constructing is a facade, yep a fake front yep um that has the right terminology maybe, that has the right look on its face to resemble Christianity, but at the heart of it, there's no bones yeah there. and so um
00:40:43
Speaker
If we want to rebuild it, then we do want to see ah people, their hearts and lives change from the inside, not just an outer. Cultural Christianity is just changing what it looks like on the outside. Yeah.
00:40:59
Speaker
um But we want to see that heart changed. but and And it's because we know we want people saved and that that's how they have to be saved. Yes. You know, they have to be changed from the inside out. That's right. um But we also know that anything that's constructed without the inside being changed first, without hearts being changed, we know that it it ultimately will be deconstructed. That's right. There you go. It'll be deconstructed.
00:41:26
Speaker
You might say, I like certain laws that Christians implement better than Sharia law that the Muslims implement. Okay, well, time goes by, and you're like, well, why do we have this law? I don't like that law anymore. And you forget why, and it's not rooted in in Christ or truth or anything solid. just It was just rooted in, oh, I like this better, preference, yeah which is relativism.
00:41:48
Speaker
Not to, again, harp on our president too much, but, I mean, he there's a classic example there, and that's why we did a five-part miniseries where, ah you know, when he's campaigning, he's all too happy to um hold up his Bible and and say he loves two Corinthians or whatever it may be, you know, but espouse his a lot of conservative viewpoints that are rooted in Christianity that are rooted in a biblical worldview and, and talk about, I love the Christians, but you know, um and things like that.
00:42:24
Speaker
But ah one of the reasons that we have criticism for some of the things that he's done, for example, and again, not just picking on him, but is that as we've seen,
00:42:38
Speaker
the fruit of how he has lived out, ah we can tell that the the the genuine Christianity does not appear to be there. yeah And so the the cultural Christianity that helps him get elected in elections...
00:42:56
Speaker
um can all can only carry so far, but then what's really inside is going to come out. And we've seen that in some ways yeah that that grieve us. um But again, not just to pick on one person, but that's what we want for our culture and for our society is to see those, again, those hearts changed to where it's not just this facade, um but that genuine ah rebuilding can take place on the gospel.
00:43:26
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it'd be great in the future to have an expanded conversation on that very point and bring in the whole idea of nationalism, Christian nationalism, what is what is the difference, and and and how nationalism ultimately...
00:43:47
Speaker
if you have Christian nationalism without Christ, it will devolve into nationalism, but that's a whole different subject. And if it just devolves into into nationalism, well, that that can certainly disappear as well.
Long-term Cultural Reconstruction
00:44:00
Speaker
So anyway, um,
00:44:03
Speaker
Reconstruction. We got to say something. We have said something about it, but I want to say a little something more about it before we end, unless you had something. No, go ahead. um it it it One of the things that that we have to realize, you know, I've talked a lot, and other people have, about um the Muslim worldview. Without without going down the list, one one of the things that undergirds Islam, they take the long view. they're not
00:44:37
Speaker
They're not trying to conquer the world next week. that They are trying to conquer the world, but they're going to take a thousand years to do it if that's what it takes in their mind.
00:44:47
Speaker
And they don't mind being patient. Do you know what I mean? Right. um And again, I don't want say a whole whole lot more about that right now. Not not that we couldn't, but they're they're just very patient. They have a completely different mindset than most Americans. most americans We want what we want. We want it now. yep And I'm like that. yeah and And sometimes that's wrong.
00:45:09
Speaker
But nevertheless, that's what I want. But I think um with reference to what we're talking about, we're going to have to take the long view. And don't necessarily... You know, oh, a thousand years. and No, but Carl Truman points out that where we are now compared to where we were, it it didn't happen overnight. And we talked about the long, or was that in ah in a sermon I preached? to The long, slow march to the institutions. i think that That might have been in a sermon. it's the same dynamic, right?
00:45:40
Speaker
Well, and you used the word earlier, eroded, or erosion. And um that's, again, when we're wherere we're looking at what's taking place in our culture, in our society right now, we are seeing the results of an erosion that's taking place.
00:45:59
Speaker
over a long period of time. yeah um It's not that somebody came in and just blew it up with a bomb. you know it's It's gradually been worn down over time. um you know We were just at the beach um on a vacation, and you know you can see beach line and how it's you know gradually worn down over time.
00:46:20
Speaker
And if you were to look at a picture of the same coastline from 30 years ago compared to what it looks like now, it might look drastically different. Yeah.
00:46:32
Speaker
That erosion is still taking place even right now, but I don't notice it. Right. Because it's a slow and gradual. And so, yes, the erosion is a slow and gradual process.
00:46:43
Speaker
Rebuilding what's been eroded away is also is equally going to be yeah a gradual process that's going to have to take place. Yeah, that's right. ah There's a tree in my backyard that's massive.
00:46:54
Speaker
I love it. and But I remember when it was this high because we had another tree fall on it and about kill it. and And I didn't think anything about it. But anyway,
00:47:06
Speaker
ah it it trees grow relatively slowly. So this thing was tiny. And I just remember thinking, how in the world did that tree grow so fast in such a short period of time? it was just like unbelievable to me because I was sitting there looking at it literally the other day.
00:47:24
Speaker
And I thought to myself, well, the actual ice storm that knocked the other tree down, that knocked that one down, was 20 years ago at least. so And I remember that because I was having some health issues at the time.
00:47:38
Speaker
and And so it was hard for me to cut the tree up. but Now I just cut that thing up. Wouldn't take me no time at all. You know what i'm saying? Yeah. Anyway. um So, yeah, it's 20 years. So and you you don't see it growing, but there it is. um So we we have to take that long view. And then I think the last thing and we got to wrap it up here.
00:47:59
Speaker
We because I talk a lot. We talk a lot about. our institutions. We talk about government. you know That's big. Talk about education. That's big, education, whatever. um One of the things I think we need to certainly embrace is that every individual Christian, and we talk about this too, but I think this is this is this is a good point, um you just you you need to focus on influencing others for Christ where you are because it was the early Christians
00:48:32
Speaker
you know in the New Testament, for example, that they turned the whole world upside down. and And part of that was not only the gospel message and God's sovereign work, but somehow, some way, they made Christianity attractive.
00:48:49
Speaker
And we got to focus on making Christianity attractive just by being good Christians. And again, I'm not, oh, we should be nice. No, no, I'm not.
00:48:59
Speaker
We should stand for the truth. And sometimes that means being firm. Right. But what I am saying, Christians are just good people or we should be. And when people see good people, that influences them.
00:49:12
Speaker
And then, of course, we give a reason for the hope that lies with us, be able to defend the faith. Right. So I'm not just saying, oh, the whole culture be transformed if we're all just sort of nice people. That's not my point. But my point is that there is a local dynamic. You being a good neighbor to your neighbors.
00:49:28
Speaker
and And I think we can all contribute to the reinvigoration of Western civilization um in in that way. as In the conversations, at the coffee shops, across the fence, in the things that we do, in the service of others,
00:49:45
Speaker
That's just a thought. That starts with our motivation. Yeah. um And it's why we want to be good people, good citizens.
00:49:56
Speaker
um We want to do good things in our community and for others. ah But that motivation is for Christ's glory. yeah It's to put his gospel on display.
00:50:10
Speaker
It's not so that people can tell me I'm a good person. No, right. If I'm doing that, then I'm failing. Yeah. um And again, lots of people would like to be called a good person for doing something. Yeah.
00:50:24
Speaker
um But if that's all anyone ever says about me, then I feel like I failed. Yeah. You know, um what i what I want to be able to say is I do things differently because I serve a different king.
00:50:40
Speaker
um And so at our hearts as Christians, that's where our motivation needs to be, is that why why do I do the simple little things that are kind, that are good, that are helpful to others, that bring about good things around me? Why do I want to do that?
00:51:00
Speaker
It's because I want to put Christ and glory on display and I want to put the gospel and its changing power on display. yeah And if we do that and we keep that motivation in mind as we do things and as we go along, then that's when the little pebbles will start to be stacked up and we will gradually build You know, we we, again, we want the microwave. We want everything to happen right now, and we want to change the whole world, and miraculous things can happen. Yeah.
00:51:29
Speaker
But the way that God built his church is one person at a time. That's right. Telling one person at a time. Telling one person at a time. And that's what we want to do. That's right, brother. Well said.
00:51:40
Speaker
Amen. All right. I'm done. You got anything else? I think we're good. All right. Well, we'll see you next time on Answering Pilot. The Answering Pilot podcast is a ministry of Randall House Church in Greer, South Carolina.
00:51:52
Speaker
You can learn more at www.randallhousegreer.com slash church. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at at Randall House Church. Don't forget to like and subscribe, and we'll see you next time.