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This podcast is based on the piece How Not to Change the World (in this very substack). Here is an excerpt …
Starting with the acknowledgement that there is a culture war, and that, to some extent at least, we find ourselves in it - what do we do? For some, it seems that the point of the culture war is to keep fighting the culture war. Fighting this (good?) fight has become an identity and a mark of virtue. If that is you, I will say that it isn’t your identity and it isn’t a virtue. But even assuming that you want resolution to the culture war … resolutions to wars usually come from someone winning and someone losing. What would it mean to “win” the culture war?
I can't stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision …
Everybody wants to rule the world
All for freedom and for pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world
Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair - 1985
Are we trying to change the world - to make the world better? What do we mean by that - some expression of culture that we think is better, even best? Are we seeking to move toward this goal by reducing, defeating, and eradicating the elements of culture that we don’t think are best - those elements we hate or believe to be evil? We may argue that Christianity had something of this effect, especially from the third or fourth centuries into the modern era. Even so, to the extent that this is true, it isn’t the biblical goal - it may be a transformative effect. Having this as a large-scale cultural goal isn’t how you change the world. Changing the world isn’t a good goal. If this sounds off to you, especially if you have been in the church for very long, I understand. We all want to change the world … except you won’t find that teaching in the bible. You will find the promise, but not the command. I want to show you a simple example from the biblical narrative - but first, a parable of culture change from a family which may not be unlike your own.
Read the whole thing here.
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