By Jim Denison
During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, divorce rates escalated. Gay marriage first became legal during the administration of George W. Bush. How does culture change? What works? What doesn’t?
James Davison Hunter’s latest work, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010) is a fascinating study of cultural transformation. This sociology professor turned down an appointment to Princeton to continue his work with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia.
His central question is simple: How do we join God in making our world better? We are called to participate with the Creator in his work of creation: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). How do we best partner with him?
Hunter begins with ways culture doesn’t change. Winning elections does not necessarily produce lasting cultural change. Nor do evangelism or church attendance change the culture. More than 80 percent of Americans are identified with some faith tradition, yet our culture is intensely secular and materialistic. By contrast, the Jewish community has never comprised more than 3.5 percent of our population, yet its contributions to science, literature, art, music, film and architecture have been remarkable. At least 180 Jews have been awarded the Nobel Prize, constituting 36 percent of all American recipients.
Culture does not change by popularity. While more evangelical books are being sold than ever before, they primarily target the faith community. Few are ever reviewed by the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Millions of people have heard of Rick Warren and Joel Osteen, but we cannot claim that our culture has been changed by their popularity.
How does a culture change? Culture is embedded in structures of power, primarily through networks of institutions and their leaders. The world of ideas changes when academic think tanks and elite research universities and journals change. Morality changes when elite law schools and public policy think tanks change. The arts change when elite museums and artists change.
The Christian “right” responds to culture by seeking to return America to her (supposed) Christian roots through political organization and activism, but its polarizing rhetoric cannot unify the culture. The Christian “left” argues for justice as the basic biblical requirement for society, but it cannot respond adequately to the postmodern denial of “truth.” The “neo-Anabaptist” approach, growing in popularity today, creates alternate communities which disengage from capitalism and politics as much as possible. Such detachment, however, prevents this approach from influencing the culture.
Hunter calls for an alternative: “faithful presence.” When Christians pursue engagement with the culture, identify with its needs and problems, offer affirmation and hope, and share sacrificial love, we exhibit God’s incarnational grace.
God wishes “shalom” (well-being) for every person in every part of culture. He calls his people to affirm life, recognizing that goodness, beauty and truth remain from the fallen culture. As we train genuine disciples through spiritual formation, we build believers who exercise “faithful presence” within their circles of influence.
God instructed his exiled people to affirm the Babylonian culture and seek its peace (“shalom”) and prosperity, living as his “faithful presence” in a foreign land (Jeremiah 29:4-7). At the same time, they were not to assimilate this foreign culture. Rather, they were to remember always that they were exiles, on their way to their true home.
In the same way, we are not called to change the world, nor can we. We are called to know God and make him known, as he changes the world with and through us. Our primary good is not found in our fallen world but in our worship of the one true God. As we honor him in all we do and love those he loves, our faithful presence is used by his Spirit to advance his Kingdom.
Hunter’s argument is both fascinating and biblical. It is a hopeful corrective to the polarizing political rhetoric of our day, and it mirrors Jesus’ mustard seed metaphor for the Kingdom (Matthew 13:31-32). Changed people change the world. Where will you exhibit God’s faithful presence today?