By Erwin W. Lutzer
Someone has said, "a Christianity without courage is cultural atheism." If so, what does it mean to respond "courageously" to cultural assaults leveled against Christianity and Christians? Erwin Lutzer provides a thorough and level-headed answer in We Will Not Be Silenced.
Christianity is both all-encompassing and highly exclusive. Jesus tells us to love our neighbors without exception (that message "sells") and he declares himself as the "only way to God" (that message... not so popular). It is those exclusivity points that culture finds irksome, these days especially in matters of sexuality, gender, and marriage.
And then there is that issue of Christianity's place as shaper of culture. Debates aside as to whether America is or ever was a "Christian nation," Western civilization in general and America in particular owe much to the followers of Jesus. However, as Mark Sayers explains in Disappearing Church, our present post-Christian culture wants what Christianity has brought (justice, peace, fairness, and equality) without the King who brings them. He writes:
Post-Christianity is not pre-Christianity; rather post-Christianity attempts to move beyond Christianity whilst simultaneously feasting upon its fruit (p. 15).
When kingdoms clash, difficulties follow. Christians get that. Jesus never promised his followers a walk on Easy Street. He said, "in this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33). The Apostle Paul adds, "all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12), and Peter voices his "amen" when he writes, "don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you" (1 Peter 4:12).
Of course matters are made complicated when certain historical failures in America, e.g. slavery, Jim Crow, and civil-rights, were at times perpetuated and defended by Christians, many even using the Bible to validate their attitudes and actions. And while many believers have been champions of abolition and equal-treatment under the law, without a doubt, some Christians have not helped the cause. These failures have left a stain on the reputation of Christ followers.
Stains are one thing; attacks, marginalization, and culture-cancelling quite another.
How should Christians respond when they see their cultural influence wane, history re-written, and cultural norms turned upside down? Does "faithful presence" mean standing idly by while the foundation brought by Christianity is being upended? If judgmentalism and angry reactionary protests are not the answer, what is?
Silence is not working.
When Paul's life was threatened, he exercised his right as a citizen of Rome and said, "I appeal to Caesar" (Acts 25:11). In We Will Not Be Silenced: Responding Courageously to Our Culture's Assault on Christianity, Erwin Lutzer helps readers with that "appeal." He identifies the challenges, traces their roots, and brings clarity to volatile issues today, issues such as Critical Race Theory (CRT), gender upheaval, the destruction of the nuclear family. He doesn't shy away from topics which, while not foundational to Christianity, have certainly benefited from it, i.e. democracy and capitalism. In doing so he helps Christians move from placards to a solid cultural polemic, one that is historical, critical, and biblical.
When it comes to how to address and change the cultural landscape, hope is not a strategy. Neither is silence. Lutzer helps. We Will Not Be Silenced provides the kind of careful analysis, counter-argument, and winsome approach necessary to respond. I highly recommend it.