I read an article recently in the Washington Post that posed a fascinating question that targeted a tension I feel when engaging in political discussions and current cultural issues.
The question – “Where are the Christian intellectuals in the public square?”
The article does a good job predicting the reasons that Christian perspectives are no longer a part of the world’s stage in these discussions. However, no matter the reason why – I do agree with the overall argument that there is a vacuum right now in our discussions when we don’t have (fill in your preferred historical Christian leader) presence involved. Is there a voice of faith that can challenge the status quo?
I also read a report about the recent 20/20 episode entitled “The Girl We Left Behind.” It is the tragic story of Kayla Mueller who was an ISIS hostage in 2014-2015 for 18 months. This story was told by those she encountered while held hostage. I was proud of ABC’s willingness to air the testimony of fellow prisoners who spoke about Mueller’s faith in God and the way that it effected her attitude and hope during the abuse, torture, and rape she endued while being held hostage. Do her actions speak loud enough for anyone to hear?
The closing paragraph of the article got my full attention. It described these people as Humble Prophets – those that are willing to speak and point out our shortcomings while not condemning their foes to hell. They understand their own issues and limits, but call all of us to something higher than our comfortable limits. Here is the closing quote….
“Humble prophets are hard to find, especially in this election year, but they have a special vocation: to remind the skeptical that religion, which can indeed be divisive, is also a moral prod and an intellectual spark.”
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Do you believe that we are missing these types of characters on the world’s stage today? If so – why?
If we don’t really have a shortage of Christian Intellectuals, do you agree with the reasons they are discounted as stated in the article? Why do you think they don’t have a voice?
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I think Mike pence is one of those Christian voices in our current culture. He speaks boldly for Christ, is ridiculed for it, but is gracious and non condemning. He is a virtuous man, is not shrill, kind of like EF Hutton….when he speaks, people listen. Most disagree but at least they listen. I feel like we are in a serious cultural war in this country and world. The level of push back is always a point of debate among Christians. Too much and we come across as angry,mean and judgmental. Too little and we are perceived as weak, milquetoast and ineffective. Sometimes the command to stand firm doesn’t seem to be enough in the face of the evil practices that we witness say coming from Planned Parenthood. In our decades of silence as Christians, we ceded so much cultural ground that “standing firm”, looks like standing down. It sort of feels like right now is a time to reassert, that many are saturated and disgusted with the state of our culture. Making up for decades of compliance is certainly going to appear to most as aggressive, bc in comparison to our past behavior it IS! Would love to hear your thoughts in a sermon or otherwise, as to what role and with what intensity Christians should engage.