On your blog you say that you’re
“peacefully storming the gates
of culture.” That sounds like a
contradiction. Can you expand
on this idea?
MC –
Isn’t that the way Jesus did it, bold
yet peaceful?
MCS –
Confrontational but humble. You
can be both.
JH –
Undoubtedly, we fail at times, but
we’re trying.
BW–
The idea itself may offend, and that’s
OK, but you don’t want to be offensive in
the way you present the idea. We’re trying
to make concepts known in a way that is
polite. We don’t want to be arrogant, pushy,
and rude as you see so often on the Internet.
Christ offended because of what He was
doing and who He was, not because of the
way He presented himself. We want to avoid
a presentation that is in itself offensive, yet
will bring the truth to bear.
MCS –
Very well said, Bert. Even if other
people find it offensive, it’s
also good to model for other
believers how to interact with
culture. We’re teaching in the
classroom, and if our students
go on the blog and see us turn a
flamethrower on people, they’ll
rightly question our integrity.
JH –
Jesus was very brutal with leadership
and their ideas. He is not kind at all toward
those propagating false beliefs harmful
to those who would follow. But He was
always incredibly gentle to the misguided.
I’mmore aggressive at wrongheaded ideas,
but I’m careful to attack the idea, not the
messenger. Someone might disagree in the
comment field and that’s where I try to be
a lot more gentle. As an economist, I’m
not going to be as gentle to Paul Krugman,
who knows better and deliberately tries
to confuse issues, but if somebody says
something they’ve heard from him, then
I’m going to treat that entirely differently.
TM –
That’s another example of our
countercultural approach. So much of what
we hear in the political arena is “I think
... I feel ... but this is what makes sense to
me.” We’re trying to say our politics, our
economics, whatever it is, is grounded in
truth that is beyond us, that’s grounded in
God’sWord. It’s not just how I feel about this
issue or ideology that is publically popular
right now, as opposed to a timeless truth.
Do you attempt to position
yourselves differently compared
to other Christian commentators
or bloggers?
MC –
In part, yes. Sojourners and Jim
Wallis — he’s pretty influential in the
evangelical left community. I don’t recall
naming him by name, but some of what I
say is directed implicitly toward him and
those who follow him.
JH –
I just read something on Evangelicals
for Social Action, a beautifully written
piece that I felt was very biblically wrong.
They were trying to find accommodation
with contentious issues within culture to
bridge peace. I don’t doubt their motive —
they want to have peaceful relations with
unbelievers — but in that particular issue
it seemed like they were not going to get
there without sacrificing clear scriptural
teachings.
MCS –
We’re trying to fight against the
caricature of the Christian right as shrill,
loud, abrasive, and beating you over the
head with a KJV Bible. I don’t think that’s
accurate, but that’s how our culture often
perceives the Christian right. If we can
counter that perception a little bit tonally,
that will position us in the Christian
community as well.
MC –
That caricature is also anti-
intellectual. It’s this idea that we don’t have
good arguments, we’re simplistic. We’re
trying to counter that, too.
Do you think that caricature
is a particular challenge for
Christians engaging culture?
JH –
There are some who would be
politically allied with me who would think
that.
MCS –
I think Christians are struggling
with being in the minority culturally. When
you’re in the cultural majority, quoting from
Scripture has more influence. Now that
we’re not in the majority in any meaningful
sense of the term, we’re going to have to get
used to making arguments from a different
perspective. It doesn’t mean we can’t rely on
Scripture, we have to, but we have to learn
that’s just one argument.
JH–
I posted a comment fromMark Dever
(Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church
and previous Cedarville chapel speaker) last
spring in which he noted that Jesus was
executed as a state criminal. So was John
the Baptist. Both of them challenged the
ruling leadership and it got them killed. We
all could have said, “John the Baptist, can’t
you be just a little more politically correct?
Why do you need to keep bringing that
up?” Yet, he felt God calling him to speak,
and he was faithful. We need to make sure
we speak in a way that if they do kill us, they
did the wrong.
What are your hopes for Bereans
at the Gate?
JH –
Mark talked about us being in the
minority now. We’re in the minority, but not
numerically. If Christians thought biblically,
then we would have an entirely different
situation in this country. If
we could be one small part in
helping Christians think a little
bit more biblically, that would
be success.
TM–
Our students need to see
us thinking this way, not just in
the classroom, but as part of the broader
society. And we want to continue to have a
representation out there that helps identify
Cedarville within Christianity and within
culture.
BW –
I’d like to see us grow in impact in
the public square, where what we’re saying
takes root, grows, and changes the direction
of the nation itself. The concepts we’re
espousing are in decline across the nation
and around the globe. Since we’re anchored
in the Word of God, I’d like to see actual,
tangible change.
MC –
That’s not going to happen
immediately, so we have to be patient and
persevering. So Bert, in 30 years, you better
still be writing.
BW –
I wasn’t thinking quite that long.
(laughter).
We’re trying to say our politics, our economics,
whatever it is, is grounded in truth that is beyond
us, that’s grounded in God’s Word. It’s not just how
I feel about this issue or ideology that is publically
popular right now, as opposed to a timeless truth.
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Cedarville Magazine
