I am afraid that today, many evangelicals in the U.S. subtly have given room to two idols, and that cannot please God. I think that can happen by ultimately placing their trust in two things. If so, how could that happen?  

How? Christians Have Been Shaped by Naturalism

In a series of blogs under the category of the “normal Christian life,” I argued that Christians in the west, and especially in the United States, have been deeply shaped by naturalism. I also wrote about this in ch. 2 of my Authentically Emergent. Now, I don’t mean that they have denied God’s existence. That would be the case on philosophical naturalism. Roughly, that’s the view that there’s only the natural; there is no supernatural – and the natural usually is defined as being physical.

Instead, there’s another version that can, and does, affect Christians – preternaturalism. On it, Christians could officially hold to orthodox doctrine and God’s existence, yet (perhaps subtly) not really tend to seek Him for His power in daily life. To the extent God is thought to be “irrelevant,” Christians practically would tend to be living in their own strength, wisdom, and power. That kind of view lends itself to a functional deism – that, in practice, we regard God as being somewhat distant, leading us (again, to various extents) to rely on ourselves.

Two Idols

Two ways I think evangelicals, at least in the states, can rely on themselves and other things are in science and politics. How so? First, consider many evangelicals’ (and others’) responses to COVID-19. It seems our great hope is in scientists developing a vaccine, all the while we try to flatten the number of cases by practicing good hygiene, including masks and handwashing, and social distancing.

Now, there is nothing wrong with implementing and following such measures; after all, God gave us medicine and reason so we could help combat the effects of the fall through illnesses. Yet, what I seldom read or hear about is Christians’ turning to God in deep dependence, repenting of any known sins, and trusting Him to stop this virus. And, surely God can use scientists to do that – so, I am in favor of science and the pursuit of a vaccine.

But, the question is: ultimately, where is our trust as Christians? Is it ultimately in scientists and what they can develop, or is it in the living God, who is almighty and our healer? If it is the former, then they have become an idol. From what I have heard (and I could be missing some things), there is a relative lack of deep dependence on God Himself to deliver us from COVID-19.

Second, consider American evangelicals and politics today. While there is not a uniformity amongst evangelicals in favor of Donald Trump and his actions, nonetheless, amongst many vocal ones, there still seems to be a general mindset that if you are not for Trump, you are not a good Christian.

Surely he is a flawed person – and we all are. Personally, I think he has taken some good stands on some matters, but not all. But, whether we agree on that or not is not the point. My concern is that there is a tendency for evangelicals to make him an idol, as though he is the savior of America and the world.

This feels like a replay of the 80s and the ways in which evangelicals put their trust to too great a degree in political power in order to try to secure policies in line with God’s will. Now, I am not saying that Christians and politics should have nothing to do with each other. If we don’t influence political leaders, they will be left to do what is right in their own eyes, and these days, that likely will not be from a biblically informed worldview. Jesus is to be Lord of all, and so He has things to say to politics and power! But, again, the issue is where our trust really lies. If we place it in a human being, we are in effect making that person into an idol, and that cannot please God.

Conclusion

It doesn’t take much to see that we are living in very serious times, and we deeply need the Lord in all His fullness of Spirit and truth. But that means there is no room for idolatry, especially amongst Christians.