Should we be culture warriors or cultural missionaries?

I consider the University of Virginia sociologist James Davison Hunter to be one of the most profound voices on cultural engagement in the evangelical world. His magnificent tome, To Change the World, has been highly influential for me and for many who seek to influence society through cultural engagement.

However, his 1991 book, Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America, might be the work for which he, or at least a phrase he coined, is best known. In it, he popularized the idea of “culture wars” as the struggle in American public life between progressives and the orthodox over issues such as abortion, school prayer, and gay rights. To be clear, he explained the word and concept, but he did not endorse them as his preferred cultural model.

Nonetheless, from then to now, many evangelicals have seen themselves in a spiritual battle for the “soul” of America over such issues. In this view, the other “side” is not just wrong but immoral. 

By advocating for abortion, for example, they are condoning the murder of millions of babies. By supporting same-sex marriage, they are undermining the foundations of society. By advancing the normalization and legalization of euthanasia, they are championing the unjust deaths of the elderly and infirm.

How can we tolerate such positions and those who defend them?

By contrast, many in recent years have encouraged Christians to see ourselves not as culture warriors but as cultural missionaries. In this view, we are to understand those on the other “side” as the mission field to which we are assigned. Missionaries do not condemn or do battle with those they seek to win; they build relationships, meet felt needs, and earn the right to share the gospel and build transforming communities.

So, which approach is best?

“Whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful”

In Luke 3, we find John the Baptist in the wilderness of Judea, where he was “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v. 3). Luke reports that “he said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance’” (vv. 7–8).

Calling people a “brood of vipers” seems the approach of a culture warrior, wouldn’t you say?

In Matthew 23, we find Jesus speaking to the religious leaders of the day in similar terms: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (v. 13). He calls them “blind fools” (v. 17) and “blind men” (v. 19). Using one of the most picturesque metaphors of Scripture, he describes them as “whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (v. 27).

Paul employed similar vehemence when writing to the Galatians. He said of the Judaizers—those who insisted that Gentiles must be circumcised as Jews to become Christians—“I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!” (Galatians 5:12).

Clearly, there is biblical precedent for “speaking truth to power,” condemning sin in unequivocal and prophetic terms. If you have cancer, you want your oncologist to be clear in her diagnosis, even if her words feel hurtful at the time.

“All things to all people”

However, these same three figures also model the “cultural missionary” approach by which we build relational bridges to those we seek to persuade to faith.

John the Baptist spoke to the various cultural issues of the moment in words intended to equip rather than offend. For example, when “tax collectors,” some of the most hated people of the day, asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” he said, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do” (Luke 3:12–13). Roman soldiers, Gentiles who were typically hated by the Jews they oppressed, asked the same question and were told, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages” (v. 14).

In both cases, a culture warrior might have condemned and castigated these people. John sought instead to help them fulfill their vocations righteously and redemptively, responses that would have greatly enhanced the cultural life of the day.

Jesus loved every person he met (cf. Mark 10:21; John 11:35–36; 1 John 4:8) and therefore spoke to them in ways that would most effectively lead them to repentance and restoration to his Father. Even his sternest words were spoken for this purpose. And most of what he said to people was couched in compassion and seasoned with kindness.

Paul similarly sought to “become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). He spoke harshly when required so as to lead those he addressed to repentance and to protect the people they would otherwise victimize. He engaged Jews in the synagogue and Gentiles in the marketplace. He built relational bridges wherever he went to bring as many as possible to Christ.

“Bad ideas have victims”

From this discussion, we can conclude that we are missionaries to our culture who must sometimes employ “culture war” confrontation as a means to this larger end.

For example, we should be bold and clear in condemning abortion as the killing of unborn children, same-sex marriage as the endorsement of behavior that harms its participants and society, euthanasia as a threat to those who can least defend themselves, and so on. But we should condemn sin, not sinners. We should remember that those who choose abortion are among its victims as well, that many who engage in LGBTQ lifestyle and/or advocacy genuinely think they are advancing civil rights, and that some who choose euthanasia for themselves or others are facing terrible end-of-life suffering.

In all things, “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) should be our goal and our mantra. Both are necessary. Each reinforces the other.

And we should keep in mind that those who reject biblical truth are those who need it most. The sicker the patient, the more urgent the physician. As my friend John Stonestreet said, ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims. Scripture is clear: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

CS Lewis commented on the sixth beatitude by writing, “It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.”

“God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him”

We’ll close with a brilliant observation that illustrates Lewis’s assertion. St. Theophilus of Antioch (died AD 183) wrote: “If you say, ‘Show me your God,’ I will say to you, ‘Show me what kind of person you are, and I will show you my God.’ Show me then whether the eyes of your mind can see, and the ears of your heart hear.”

He then explained:

Those who can see with the eyes of their bodies are aware of what is happening in this life on earth. They get to know things that are different from each other. They distinguish light and darkness, black and white, ugliness and beauty, elegance and inelegance, proportion and lack of proportion, excess and defect. The same is true of the sounds we hear: high or low or pleasant. So it is with the ears of our heart and the eyes of our mind in their capacity to hear or see God.

God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him, provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes, but some have eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the light of the sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the sun does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and their eyes. In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds.

A person’s soul should be clean, like a mirror reflecting light. If there is rust on the mirror, his face cannot be seen in it. In the same way, no one who has sin within him can see God.

But if you will, you can be healed. Hand yourself over to the doctor, and he will open the eyes of your mind and heart.

Let’s pray and work to help everyone we influence meet this “doctor,” to the glory of God.