Are Evangelicals (And Baptists) Primarily Supporters of the Prevailing Culture?

I've been reading a book by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith called Divided By Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. I've actually been reading a great deal on this subject because I am trying to get to the heart of why evangelicals have been so anemic, if not completely wrong on the race issue for so long. Emerson and Smith make the statement that Evangelicals in America have always been supporters of the status quo. They have not challenged the prevailing culture because they bought into it from the very beginnings of America and have not been able to discern truth from error in the American experience. Of course, they are not talking about peripheral moral issues like sexual promiscuity, alcohol and drug abuse, etc. Primarily, they are talking about our relation to capitalism, the pursuit of wealth, our uncritical acceptance of the American Dream, and acceptance and defense of slavery and racial segregation. It seems that whatever the prevailing cultural opinion is on this and other similar issues, evangelicals have gone along with the culture instead of offering an alternative based on the ethics of the Kingdom of God.

Emerson and Smith say that evangelicals have taken this position of defending the status quo because our primary emphasis is on evangelism and church growth and we want to have a stable society to be able to pursue those ends. Changing society is not seen as being within the scope of the evangelical witness, unless we are dealing with an accepted sin issue, like alcohol consumption (which led to prohibition). This separation of the spiritual from the physical has allowed evangelicals to fill their churches on Sunday and support slavery and subsequently, segregation, the rest of the time.

This is an interesting analysis and I think that there is some truth to it. This past Sunday, I preached on the relationship between a Christian and money. I referenced Jesus' words in Matthew 6:24 where He says that you cannot serve both God and money. It was a difficult message to preach in a suburban American context. Our whole lives, we are told that our worth is directly related to our lifestyle and how much money we make. To say that we are not to fervently pursue wealth is heretical to the American Gospel. The words of Jesus on this matter seem strange and foreign to us. We are constantly looking for the "Yes, but . . ." that gets us off the hook. Pursuing wealth isn't so bad, right? We all think that we are the exception to the rule and that we can handle riches. Jesus told the Rich Young Man to sell all he had and give it to the poor (Mark 10:21).  When he couldn't do it, Jesus said that it was hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mark 10:24).  It isn't impossible, but it is hard. Rich people cling to their riches and put their confidence in what they are able to provide for themselves. This attitude is in direct opposition to faith in God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

In America, we are very rich. We are actually the richest people to every walk the face of the earth. We have everything we need. We are so self sufficient.  As Evangelical Christians, we have actually supported the pursuit of wealth and abundance and have made it a mark of favor with God. Like the Laodiceans, we can say that we are rich, we have acquired wealth and we do not need a thing. But we do not realize that we are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3:17).  A man's worth is not determined by his wealth. Again, this is a very difficult message to preach in America because we keep waiting for the preacher to say that there is a right way to pursue wealth. We keep waiting to be told that it is alright to be wealthy. If we are pursuing wealth, it is not alright. We must pursue God and not money. You cannot serve both. If you are primarily pursuing wealth and security, you will end up hating God. If you pursue God first, He will make you into a generous, cheerful giver and He will bless you so that you can be a blessing to others and increase His praise (2 Corinthians 9:10-11).  But, we often have it completely backwards and there is little direction from the Church in how to get it right.

As I reported last week, Southern Baptists are in decline. We have almost always gone along with the prevailing culture in these types of issues. I wonder if we are declining because we are preaching a non-confrontational "gospel" to rich Americans who don't need anything and do not realize how poor they really are spiritually? I wonder if we really know how to call people to repentance from foundational sins like greed, selfishness, and self-sufficiency? If we leave people dependent upon themselves, how can they be dependent upon God? If we leave them in love with their money, then won't they hate God? Are our churches filled with such people? If so, then it seems that getting them to engage in evangelism would be a difficult prospect.

Comments

[Gary Snowden]

Alan,

That passage certainly qualifies near the top of the list of what F.F. Bruce described in his book, The Hard Sayings of Jesus. Our pursuit of wealth, being tied to the American dream, is something that cannot be harmonized with Jesus' statement about the impossibility of loving both God and money at the same time. Yet, as you well point out, it's extremely difficult to preach that message in our churches where affluency is the norm and the goal of so many.

[Robert Dando]

Alan,

I hope its ok to reflect on your post from the UK.

About 15 years ago i was asked to preach at a friends church in Virginia on an aspect of the future and the return of Christ. I chose to speak on "The church believes in Christian Hope not the American Dream". Probably a naive thing to do, BUT, the amazing thing is that no one complained and a number of people were very positive. I wonder if most of the people in the "pews" already mostly get this. Many of them read their Bibles, and the understand the tension between the words of Jesus and lives of the 21st century. Maybe they are really glad to get teaching on things they don't know how to handle, rather than just reinforcement of what they already now.

Best wishes and continued prayers for your family