Category: Ethical Issues

Two Idols of U.S. Evangelicals Today? Science and Politics

Virus Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay; Political Image by chayka1270 from Pixabay

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.

Some Reflections on the George Floyd Killing

Like many of you, I have seen the videos of George Floyd’s arrest, assault, and death. What they show is damning and disgusting. I then read a blog by the theologian Roger E. Olson, entitled “What Would It Take (To Convince Doubters That America Is Becoming a Police State)?” I think it is worth reading. Here is a short excerpt:

This kind of thing has been going on in America for a very long time. The difference now is that the incidents, which constitute a new kind of lynching, are being video recorded. In many cases the killing police officers are either not charged with any crime or are found “not guilty” by a jury—in spite of clear evidence of guilt.

We are facing a serious time in America, not only with health and economic concerns and pressures from the corona virus, but also from blatant, murderous racism. Understandably, in response, people have been very angry at such an injustice and inhumane treatment of a fellow human being. People of different races are joining together to protest, and they are recognizing something we all know (or presuppose) deep down: human beings should be treated with justice, dignity, and equality.

Yet, what is sad to me in that regard is that we as a society have forsaken the best rational explanation for that knowledge: that humans are intrinsically valuable. How so? That would require that there are essences to us (and these core morals). The best answer I have found (and defended) is because humans are made in God’s image. This is so irrespective of skin color or ethnicity, sex, or class; it is so solely on the basis of being a fellow human.

Yet, this deep recognition that we are worthy of being treated with justice, dignity, and equality cannot be sustained on the many competing views of ethics on tap today, such as relativism, various naturalistic versions, postmodern ones, or critical theory (for more on that, see my blogs under “Social Justice and Christians”), for they do not have a place for, or cannot make sense of, the reality of essences. These views cannot preserve these core morals, which I argue in my book, In Search of Moral Knowledge, and will be doing in my current blog series, “Making Sense of Morality.”

For that reason, Christians should lead the charge against racist actions, and they should speak up for their fellow image bearers whom God loves. Christians have the best moral basis for protecting all human beings from injustices.

However, it seems that many of us live as though emotivism is true, which is the view that moral claims (like, “injustice is wrong!”) really just express feelings (“ugh, injustice!”). When coupled with deep anger, people can act on those feelings violently, especially in a time when the virtue of self-control, and the intrinsic value of humans, seem to be devalued or rejected. So, police, who should protect the lives and property of innocent people, can act out brutally.

Also, while understandably angry at the injustices done to Floyd and others, some protestors have been looting, vandalizing, or burning stores. In response to the injustice done to Floyd and other African-Americans, those people have perpetrated their own injustices against others who were not responsible for those racist acts. For example, burning some stores at an intersection in my city only spreads more violence and injustice, rather than protest and address the violence and injustice done against Floyd and other victims of police brutality. This is not justice; it is taking vengeance. Worse, it is taken against those who did not commit the injustice. But, even worse, taking revenge is off limits; God reserves that only for Himself (Rom 12:19), and He will repay with perfect justice, for He is just.

Dallas Willard on the Loss of Moral Knowledge, & a Related Spiritual Aspect

Posthumously, Dallas Willard (one of my key mentors) published a book with Routledge called The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge. I learned a lot from him about the importance of tracing the history in the west of how morals became viewed as mere opinions, preferences, constructs, etc. That became the backbone of my own In Search of Moral Knowledge.

In May 2019, the Biola Center for Christian Thought convened a meeting sponsored by Dallas Willard Ministries to discuss this book. From that, I came away with an idea that there is a spiritual aspect to this issue, and not merely moral & philosophical ones. To read what I developed, see my “A Spiritual Issue with the ‘Disappearance of Moral Knowledge’” at the website for the Evangelical Philosophical Society.