Culture Wars
Epicurus, Diogenes, Cynic, and Jerry Falwell
by Tim Lien
ap•ro•pos 1 : at an opportune time 2 : by way of interjection or further comment : with regard to the present topic
As I was studying for the first part of Thessalonians, I came across this quote:
After watching clip after clip on CNN of comments by Jerry Falwell, I wanted to create a blog about how my faith differed from Mr. Falwell. And although Mr. Falwell and I seem to be world’s apart, I could not escape the video clips that showed him affirming and proclaiming almost every orthodox tenet that I, too, believe. Sans his political activism and Arminianism, Mr. Falwell and I are brothers in Christ. (That was an incredibly difficult sentence to write.) But Calvin’s quote reminded me that in my Reformed-Intellectualism, I must affirm the supernatural up and against the Cynic, Diogenes, and Epicurus of our day. So, I guess that was me in the background to the right of Mr. Falwell. Yes, I was almost falling off the stage, but I was there.
Posted by Tim Lien at May 23, 2007 03:43 PM
Great comment, Tim. I had something of the same thought last week also and I can assure you that no one was more shocked and disappointed at some of Falwell’s comments then I was.
It crossed my mind that I had many of the same thoughts about “Jesus Camp.” You can be shocked at manipulation, short sighted goals, focusing on works (Arminianism), self satisfied emotionalism, political activism, and bowing before a cut-out of George Bush (that gives me the creeps every time I think about it); but they had a lot of things right. There was a stand against abortion, a desire for Christian education (however imperfectly implemented} etc.
Finally, I’m convinced that Riverwood, in its own way and certainly only through God’s grace, is affirming the supernatural against the Hitchens, Dawkins, hedonists and especially the cynics in our day as we worship Him and proclaim His Gospel.
“Reformed Intellectualism” is a thorn in our flesh for sure. I have found myself more eager to knock orthodox believers than willingly engage those who are actually “threats” to the faith.
Jimmy mentioned Hitchens and Dawkins. Doug Wilson is winsomely defending orthodox Christianity in a public forum in a dialogue with Hitchens. N.T. Wright has devoted much of his scholarly life to defending the historicity of Jesus against the Jesus Seminar.
Yet many in our own small Reformed world see Wright and Wilson as threats to the gospel, when these men are the ones defending the faith in a way that really matters in the larger scheme of our culture.
I think we in the Reformed world could stand much more charity when it comes to interacting with others who are orthodox and confess Christ, be it Falwell or Wright, so that we can readily engage those are genuinely against us.