Christians today are either irrelevant, or extreme.
Pixabay – Is faith relevant in the 21st century?
That is the public perception at least, says David Kinnaman, the author of recently released Good Faith, a book which aims to help Christians navigate their life in a culture which often either ignores faith or aggressively opposes it.
At an event last night hosted by Threads UK, part of the Evangelical Alliance, Kinnaman spoke about his book, sharing statistics from his research with the Barna Group and ideas about how Christians might respond to a shifting culture. Kinnaman suggested there is a “new morality” which now dominates society, a new code of what is considered right and wrong.
According to surveys by Barna, 91 per cent of Americans believe that “the best way to find yourself is to look within yourself.” 89 per cent agreed that one shouldn’t criticise other people’s life choices, and 79 per cent agree that people can believe what they want, as long as those choices don’t affect society. Kinnaman called this a reorientation “around a Kingdom of the Self…morality has become about ‘What do I want?'”
Attitudes to marriage have shifted, with 52 per cent of those surveyed saying that it’s ‘extremist’ to believe that same sex relationships are morally wrong. As another example of what he called a “digital Babylon”, Kinnaman pointed to a survey which showed that people were more likely to believe that it’s wrong not to recycle, than it is to watch pornography.
The statistics may be shocking, but they shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone aware of pupular culture in the present day. Despite its heritage, the UK is now widely considered to be a ‘post-Christian country’, and the US despite its more complex relationship between Church and State, is surely heading that way too. What are Christians to do in such an environment, where traditional attitudes to morality are suddenly becoming extreme and unacceptable? Different ideas were discussed last night, and here are three of the most pertinent.
Faithful Presence
“None of us is given the right to change the world” said Kinnaman, suggesting that often Christian attempts to “transform culture” mean that “we’re trying to play God, we’re trying to own the world.” Instead, Kinnaman suggested the idea of ‘faithful presence’, which instead asks: “what is God asking you to do faithfully being present in that business, society, neighbourhood, workplace…” Christians don’t need to take control of society, or win a ‘culture war’, we just need to be committed to what we’re called to where we are. As we engage with the wider world, Kinnaman emphasised the call to “live wisely”, and be “full of grace” (Col 4.5-6), and be known for love and good deeds (Heb 10.24).
This is also a reminder to Christians not to be the self-appointed moral judges of society, especially when the danger of hypocrisy is so grave. “Jesus is just as concerned about self-righteousness in the Church as he is about unrighteousness in the world.”Kinnaman tells Christian Today. Values and morality still matter of course, but how we go about talking about those things, and actually living them out, is critical.
Create don’t Complain
A panel discussion about what ‘Good Faith’ looks like led to one panelist using this idiom: “Create don’t complain.” It’s similar to the idea that ‘Christians should be known for what they’re for, not just what they’re against.’ The Church may have genuine fears and concerns about society, but protests about moral decline will do little to help. But the love that comes from God, married with imagination, grounded in an active Church community, can be powerful. A great example is Christians Against Poverty, the debt-counselling which has shown how Christian faith can be a unique, profound, and genuinely transformative presence in society. Creative projects like those seen from outreach organisations like Alpha and Christianity Explored show how Christians can thoughtfully communicate their message in such a way that makes sense to a post-Christian culture.
Just last night Threads UK launched their new Instagram project #FaithLivedLive (found at @threadstagram), a collaborative video project which seeks to ask what faith looks like in the 21st century. Don’t be known only for grumbling critique. If you don’t like the story you’re hearing, tell a better one.
Hope for the UK
Kinnaman has recently completed research with Barna Group across the UK. What does he see as the biggest challenge for the UK Church? “Not to lose hope,” he says. “God is very active. There’s still millions of people that are very committed to Jesus in this country. Theres a great muscle memory of Christianity that could be activated with maybe less effort than most people expect.”
Echoing one of the themes of his book, Kinnaman talked about how the prevailing post-Christian culture means that there is little ulterior motive to be faithful anymore; the faith that grows even through external pressure is a genuine one. Subsequently, Kinnaman says, “Christianity has a real opportunity to be revived,” with people “following Jesus in a new and fresh way.”
Kinnaman was keen to stress that Christian action in the world needs to be not mere human busyness and activity, but reliance on God. “The life of prayer is so critical,” he said. “How can we be people of prayer and pray for one another?”
The evening was more about questions than answers. The question of what it means to respond prophetically to a rapidly changing culture is obviously an ongoing one. It requires serious attention, and perhaps some difficult conversations with those with whom we disagree.
But as followers of Jesus we must remember to be hopeful too. God is still God, the Church is still the Church, and the world is still the world that God loves and wants us to be involved in. There is always hope, there is always (good) faith, and there is always love.
