Churches Controlling Culture

I was asked recently: “Shouldn’t it be important that churches are involved in the culture of a community?” This prompted a string of questions that I think should be considered before more churches or communities tear themselves apart.

We are commanded to be the salt of the earth. Are we meeting that standard, or are we actually promoting moral decay because it fulfills our real goals?

It was at the height of the campaign for Sheriff that the pastor of the church I was attending asked me: “How did (name of church) get in the middle of all this?” I hate stupid questions. The pastor is a power player in the political realm, and he boasts of it. He backed our current Sheriff because they were friends. Many of us who attended that church pleaded with the pastor to reconsider because Bob Norris had serious issues. Let me be blunt: Bob Norris is a mudslide. So imagine a man who wades into the middle of a pile of mud in the rain on a hillside, caterwauling “How did THIS happen?” when the earth gives way.

This begs the question, should the church have been placed in the muck in the first place? Were they cleaning up the mud, stuck in the mud or getting swept away in mud? One thing I do know: they sure threw mud.

If the church wants an answer, it must get to bedrock: what did Jesus do? There is no doubt that Jesus changed the culture but He did it by His teaching, healing, and sacrifice. When asked to engage on the political issues of his day he refused. When asked about taxes, he seemed dismissive. When the hopes were alive that He would overthrow Rome and become the earthly ruler, they were crushed. He side-stepped and stymied the bigwigs by focusing entirely on his mission. Yet, people were more interested in secular power than eternal salvation. They still are, and often we find that the involvement of the church with culture feeds not spiritual purity but personal power.

We have a deep history to refer to when we consider whether it’s a good idea to have the church invested with political power. A prime example is the Catholic Church, which enforced an excruciating price for non-conformists. Not only was the Word of God not spread throughout the world, but you could get burned at the stake for making it available to the common man as William Tyndale found out. Terror, torture, and death enforced the supremacy of Catholicism for hundreds of years. If only more peasants could have read The Word, the tyranny could have been countered much more quickly.

As for the church’s impact on current culture, we see a vast movement known as Dominion Theology. Their keystone concept is called The Seven Mountain Mandate. The idea is to take over education, government, arts and entertainment, family, religion, business, and media. It’s the polar opposite of the approach of Jesus. That’s your first clue. It’s also promoted by the most heretical churches in America and is, in fact, an idea based on Hinduism. In other words, Christians must clean up the earth and all its systems in order for Christ to return. They even go so far as to believe that God needs us to get this done for Him. Tell me you’ve never read Job, Psalms or Revelation without coming right out and saying it.

I watched a video of Pastor Paula White, Trump’s spiritual guru, saying when she strides around the grounds of the White House it becomes holy ground because she’s walking there. Contrast that to God instructing Moses in Exodus 3:5 “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” One person thinks her stilettos confer holiness but she’s crazy as a pet coon, and she’s leading the cultural takeover of America in matters of faith. We’re in deep trouble folks.

This takes me down the next path. Jesus was the perfect example and He came close to ignoring the culture of His day. What happens when oh-so-fallible humans decide we must impact our culture? What if our motives are impure? What if our methods are flawed? What if our opponents have a good throwing arm too? What if a man is boosted to power with huge Christian backing who has Masonic ties, deep legal and moral flaws, and a tendency to not comprehend the role of law enforcement? What if other Christians are critical and not quiet about it? The result is an open war and the name of Jesus drug through the mud.

I’ve been outspoken, and as is my way, convinced I’m in the right. I read a social media comment castigating people who are “heresy hunters” and DIY yourself church critics. I didn’t take it personally but it did make me think. I had to re-evaluate if I was accomplishing anything good and maybe I should pipe down and focus on my own flaws instead of those of others in high office. I must admit, I was amused by the DIY comment as it seemed to imply: Do not attempt to shed light on darkness yourself, leave it to the professionals when the pros got us in this mess in the first place.

Still, introspection is a rare virtue but I am determined to give it a shot. I hope you’ll join me.

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