Cultural Engagement

May 23, 2017

‘Kuyperania’ in review

When it comes to responding to contemporary shifts in culture, Christians have much to learn from Abraham Kuyper, the late Dutch theologian, university president, and prime minister of the Netherlands. “If God is sovereign, then his lordship must extend over all of life,” Kuyper wrote, “and it cannot be restricted to the walls of the church or within the Christian orbit.” Continue Reading...

November 29, 2016

Are Christians stuck with 3 approaches to cultural engagement?

How are we to be in the world but not of it? How are Christians to live and engage, create and exchange, cultivate and steward our gifts and relationships and resources here on earth? Continue Reading...

November 02, 2016

Toward cultural renewal: Russell Moore on the future of the religious right

“A religious right that is not able to tie public action and cultural concern to a theology of gospel and mission will die and will deserve to die.” –Russell Moore In this year’s Erasmus Lecture at First Things, Russell Moore offers a striking critique of the religious right of decades past and present, pointing the way toward a renewal in public theology and a revitalization of Christian institutions: Alas, while many the movement’s conversations have often focused on key issues and the right high-level policy aims, far too often, it has suffered from a narrow theological imagination and an increasingly cynical political pragmatism. Continue Reading...

September 20, 2016

The gospel as pearl and leaven

In its 2,000-year history, the church has actively integrated evangelism and social action in powerful and transformative ways. Yet for many of today’s Christians, we feel as though we must choose between a life of ministry and cultural engagement, that our vocational paths are inevitably torn between “saving souls” and “serving justice.” Continue Reading...

July 21, 2016

Now Available: Kuyper’s ‘Pro Rege: Living Under Christ the King, Volume 1’

How do we live in a fallen world under Christ the King? In partnership with the Acton Institute, Lexham Press has now released Pro Rege: Living Under Christ the King, Volume 1, the first in a three-volume series on the lordship of Christ. Continue Reading...

June 09, 2016

Exiles in the American Lion’s Den

We have routinely pointed to Jeremiah 29 as an introductory primer for life in exile, prodding us toward faithful cultural witness and away from the typical temptations of fortification, domination, and accommodation. Continue Reading...

February 05, 2016

Plans to Prosper? The Forgotten Truth of Jeremiah 29

For many evangelicals, 2 Chronicles 7:14 has become a predictable refrain for run-of-the-mill civil religion, supposedly offering the promise of national blessing in exchange for political purity. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Continue Reading...

January 28, 2016

Revisiting the Tensions of ‘Faithful Presence’

A generation of Christians has been inspired and challenged by James Davison Hunter’s popular work, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World 1st Edition. Continue Reading...

November 10, 2015

Kuyper’s Impact on Chuck Colson

“I’ve done my best to popularize Kuyper, because that’s what’s so desperately needed in Western civilization today: a looking at all of life through God’s eyes.” –Chuck Colson Given the recent release of Abraham Kuyper’s 12-volume collection of works in public theology, it’s worth noting his influence on modern-day shapers of Christian thought and action. Continue Reading...

September 09, 2015

Cultural Task #1: Crucify Our Incipient Darwinism

One of the long-running mistakes of the church has been its various confinements of cultural engagement to particular spheres (e.g. churchplace ministry) or selective “uses” (e.g. evangelistic conversion). But even if we manage to broaden the scope of our stewardship — recognizing that God has called us to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty across all spheres of creation — our imaginations will still require a strong injection of the transformative power of Jesus. Continue Reading...

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