Living in a secularized, post-Christian, even anti-Christian culture, why would you and I trust in God more than we do and in ourselves less than we do? The answer transcends the intellectual: we can believe that heaven, angels, hell, and the devil exist, but such rational assent changes nothing in our lives or our world.
A new poll taken after boycotts of Target and Bud Lights shows most Americans want companies to stay out of the political and cultural battles, although there is a major political divide on the topic, according to a new survey.
As unexpected as it was that the Barbie movie would spark such a widespread and intense cultural conversation, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a film about the brilliant and broken man who became the father of the atomic bomb, has too. The film tells the story of the man who gave the world the power to destroy itself, or as Oppenheimer famously put it, “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
Atomic weapons have been a constant source of debate since their initial use to end the war against Japan in 1945. At the time, Christians had a dual reaction. On one hand, many breathed a sigh of relief that the long war was over, that the boys would come home, and that there would be no further repeats of the devastation seen at places like Iwo Jima and Okinawa, where Japanese resistance was so fanatical that they fought almost to the last man. On the other hand, Christians shared the widespread sense that a deadly Pandora’s Box had been opened and that there was no way to go back to a world before “the Bomb.”
Dr. Zahl states that “the heart of Christian ministry is the facilitation of an emotional encounter with the God revealed in Jesus.” Knowledge, even from Scripture, is not enough by itself. Nor is participation in various spiritual disciplines or practical ministries. Humans are so fallen and resistant to change that only the Holy Spirit can change us. And he does this by speaking to our heart.
Consequently, “the experience of being helped by God in your place of felt need is the heart of Christianity.” In this context, according to Dr. Zahl, stories and illustrations are “powerful technologies of the heart, much more powerful than mere words and ideas” because “they know how to speak the strange electric language of the heart.”
What does this emphasis on Spirit-led storytelling mean for those of us committed to seeing our culture experience genuine moral and spiritual transformation? Let’s consider three responses.
Recently, British author and journalist Helen Joyce offered a hard-to-hear but reasonable explanation for why transgender ideology continues to endure, despite its inherent contradictions, its obvious falsehoods, and the harm that has been inflicted on children. Her words are worth quoting at length:
Next time you encounter a period of hard times, whatever they may be, make a point to ask the Lord to help you endure them in a way that can be of help to others. Such a prayer will not always be easy, but it can go a long way toward putting our pain in perspective.
Recently Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, proposed The National Strategy for Social Connection Act. The bill has three parts. Part one would create a White House Office of Social Connection Policy to advise the president on the epidemic of loneliness and develop strategies to improve social connection. Part two would mandate the federal government to develop an official, national Anti-Loneliness strategy across all federal agencies. Part three would send more funding to the CDC for the study of the mental and physical effects of loneliness.
For biblical Christians to change our secularized culture, we cannot keep doing the same thing while expecting different results. When I went to Cuba on various mission trips, it would have been vain for me to speak in English to people who only understood Spanish. Talking louder would do no good. I needed to speak their language to impact their lives.
The good news is, God’s Spirit knows the spiritual condition of every soul on this planet. It’s as though he were an attorney persuading the jury to choose his client. He calls us as witnesses to the stand when we fit best into his strategy. Then he leads us to give the testimony he can best use to win the case.
