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Culture Circus
by Seth Elliott

There’s a battle in Seattle. In case you haven’t read the article describing the scene, here’s the gist, as told by Janet Tu from the Seattle Times:

“Things have taken a bizarre turn since the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group for atheists and agnostics, put up an anti-religion sign in the state Capitol. The sign was stolen, then turned in to a Seattle radio station. Now the Capitol will host protests, countersigns, and maybe even a Festivus pole.”

Unfortunately, this is the reality we now live with. At best, our culture is immersed in a sort of forced pluralism, where every idea gets equal air time no matter what criteria it doesn't meet. There’s not much anyone can do about this, as reflected in the bi-partisan statement by Washington Republicans and Democrats:

"The U.S. Supreme Court has been consistent and clear that, under the Constitution's First Amendment, once government admits one religious display or viewpoint onto public property, it may not discriminate against the content of other displays, including the viewpoints of nonbelievers," the statement said.

The law of our land, rooted in individual liberty, allows for national suicide. When the people lose their moral bearings, the elegant reality of the American experiment is that there is no law to bring us back. As John Adams said:

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other."

Given this socio-political constant, there are a few principles, more subtle than constitutional law and less nasty than ideological antagonism, which may buy us a few more years of existence as a country. It is worth a try, because America still holds great promise if its people can learn to get along in the latter days of the information age.

First, accuracy. I must respectfully point out that the atheist group in Seattle bears a name that is suggestive of our Bill of Rights, but typically Satanic in its level of inversion. Americas are guaranteed freedom OF religion, not from. Nowhere is there a constitutional right to not be exposed to people who disagree with you. Isn’t that what secularists of all stripes have been telling religious people for years now? This organization exists to agitate. Period.

Since they are well within their rights to be agitating scourges, the solution is not in trying to take away their rights. Someone needs to take their leaders out for coffee and ask them to explain why the highest body counts in human history are posted on the scoreboards of 20th century, secular dictators. They need to talk at length until they reveal the source of their hatred. It will not ultimately be God, but some wretched human that misrepresented God to them. And then, we need to be about the real solution.

Christians must live up to their own standards. This principle has been used against us since before Saul Alinsky encouraged radicals to embrace it in the 1970’s. When we steal a sign that offends us, we might as well hand the atheists the whole ballgame. Their subsequent and loud gesticulating at our hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Finally, Christians must become deep wells of insight, knowledge, and inspiration for a world that has none of this. We must take a real light into the world though loving, authentic relationships with others. We must become more of who we say we are. otherwise, our laws will permit the flicker that precedes the dying of our light.

“Help me, Obi-Wan, reform is our only hope.”

By Seth Elliott


Here's a news flash for all the so-called culture warriors who tend to preach to the choir with amazing frequency, intensity, and duration: STOP. Stop the apocalyptic email blasts. Stop the delusional comparisons of yourselves to our Founding Fathers. Hold the cheese, and please pass the credibility.


Americans have come to think that Christians are, well, goofballs. They would rather elect a freshman moron than an evangelical sympathizer to the presidency. My GenX friends are actually more afraid of the theatrics of televangelists than the cultural threat of sexual anarchy. These misplaced apprehensions are widespread and dangerous.


The culture war is lost unless people begin to trust Christians more than secularists, atheists, communists, and radical liberals. To gain this social trust, I propose that Christians everywhere submit themselves to the Christian Credibility Creed. In addition to the other creeds of Christianity:


I believe that dressing up and talking like Paul Revere does not make me a modern day patriot or member of the second Black Regiment. A postmodern revolution will look different than past revolutions.


I believe that always looking for miracles and material signs of God’s favor makes me a jack ass.


I believe that inserting God-talk cliches into everyday conversations with (or overheard by) non-believers hurts the work of the Holy Spirit.


I believe that anyone making an above average income “in the ministry” is a devil.


I believe that Christianity should be the chosen religion of every person on the planet, but not the official religion of the United States.


I believe that the obsessive, unhappy, mainline pastors are just as bad as the obsessive, overly-happy, evangelical pastors.


I believe that Christian music, art, and movies that do not compete technically with the mainstream fare are an affront to the Creative Director of the Universe.


I believe that I should know Scripture, theology, and Christian philosophy better than atheist propagandists.


I believe that the hurting, lonely and lost need Christians to leave their mega churches and small forts to rescue them, not use them as feel-good, sight-seeing opportunities.


I believe that “speaking the Truth in love” requires fewer words not more.


I believe that what I really believe is really real and I act accordingly (thanks to Focus on the Family’s Truth Project for that one).


I imagine that if Christian leaders got behind this effort instead of their efforts to reform everyone else, the culture war would take an overnight turn in favor of the Truth. I dare us all to try it.


Part Two: “What Christian Credibility Looks Like” coming soon.

Suicide Campaigns
By Seth Elliott

The Devil’s lie always means suicide. Satan knows he can’t usually kill people himself, but he has the power to speak things into the human psyche that result in the physical death of individuals, communities, states, provinces, villages, and nations. He sets people on a course that feels good at the outset, but has a dear price soon thereafter. His promises always sound new and intriguing, sexy almost. But, they are the same lies he has always told.
“If you, the mortal, will seek self actualization over obedience to the old codger, I will reward you.”
“With what?” you ask.
“All your heart’s desires of course.”
“How?”
“Don’t you believe change is possible? Where’s your hope, where’s your faith, come on, get happy. Together, we can!”

Interestingly, some of our presidential candidates are using the same pitch. If only we will discard the baggage of delayed gratification, of self responsibility, of self-reliance, and unpleasant realities, we will be rewarded with peace and prosperity. Unfortunately, this is a simple, one dimensional lie. They are selling something they can’t deliver. They pitch their ideas as solutions, but they are just polished ways of saying, “hey, our enemies said if we just do X, Y, and Z they leave us in peace and then we can have prosperity.” Yeah, all you have to do is what your enemy says. This is very dangerous, and yet, the sheople get tired, they don’t like pressure or pain. Americans are ready to give up. Tragically for them, two out of three of our presidential candidates can deliver the needed reprieve. So, take in the moment of artificial sunlight they pipe into the battlefield. Enjoy the cessation of violence. You can even curse those who would not deliver the imitation crab meat sooner. But, rest assured, your slaughter at the hands of those who won’t compromise their worldviews, who shun creature comforts for the greater good, and have the nerve to extinguish their enemies is imminent.
Active Disciple's as "Cultural Attaches"

by Seth Elliott

Dick Staub’s most recent blog highlighted the often-charmed life of the cultural attaché. It didn’t escape my attention that this job description was perfectly in line with the day to day experience of the IHS active disciples. Reading the daily newssites, blogs, mags, and rags and interpreting them through the filter of the Christian worldview is what we do. I have long thought that more pastors should bring an active disciple on staff as an advisor. Who wouldn’t benefit from a person specifically tasked to scan the massive, daily pileups along the information superhighway looking for the bits and bytes that are most relevant to the church? As a pastor considers sermon topics, Bible study material, curriculum purchases, long term planning, choir selections, and whatever else they think about on a daily basis, it seems that having a cultural attaché to bounce things off of might help keep things relevant, applicable, and forward-thinking.
Francis Schaeffer said that, “Each generation of the church, in each setting has the responsibility of communicating the gospel in understandable terms, considering the language and thought-forms of that setting.” In order to communicate to the culture around us, the church needs people who understand it intimately and have the spiritual maturity and training to interpret it. So, call us cultural attachés or cultural intelligence analysts, but this is precisely who we are.

Oprah in Xerxes' Tent
By Seth Elliott - 4/4/08

If you have seen Zack Snyder’s movie, 300, you are familiar with the “diversity” on display in King Xerxes traveling command post. If you are not, a quick description of the god-king’s crib might be helpful before reading further. Xerxes is portrayed as a towering figure, sporting gold and jewels from head to toe. He is a narcissist and an unapologetic hedonist. He majestically reclines in the shadows of his tent where he is surrounded by every manner of hyper-sexuality. Hot midgets, hot belly dancers, hot lesbian lovers, and one quadriplegic S & M slave make up the entertainment for the bronzed ruler who declares that he is kind enough to embrace anyone without discriminating – how twenty-first century of him. There is only one thing he asks. Even if you are unable to stand due to disability, as one man seeking employment in Xerxes army found, you are in luck. Xerxes doesn’t ask anyone to stand, “only that they kneel.”


As new age guru Oprah happily presided over the “miraculous” baby announcement of a transgendered man, I couldn’t help but think of her more as a psycho-sexual ringmaster worthy of King Xerxes’ praise than a philanthropic talk-show host. When I saw the headline of the story, I was anticipating a real miracle. As a follower of Jesus, I am familiar with real miracles, and am only mildly surprised when they happen. I was disappointed to learn that “what we have here is a failure to communicate”. The “miracle” is nothing more than a sanitized return to Frankenstein’s lab, a biological chop shop, if you will. Technology, not evolution or nature, has allowed humans to transcend the obvious in order to ratify and manifest their fantasies. The spin factor here is stunning. The language that the media uses to describe its new circus performer, and meal ticket, is far from accurate and far from the truth. Okay, who’s not surprised?


The truth is this. Oprah is erasing the very diversity she claims to celebrate. When a man who was formally a woman declares that being pregnant doesn’t make him feel less masculine, we have lost all definition of gender. I have to admit, when camping, I once had to use my wife’s deodorant. I felt feminine. The flowery, baby-powder scent is very attractive, just not on me. Fortunately, it was strong enough for a man. If we accept Oprah’s logic, my feelings of femininity were misplaced. If not biology, if not pregnancy, if not using girl deodorant, what is left that would distinguish a man from a woman? The postmodern answer is that gender, like everything, is ‘individually determined’. We are left with no room to question this former woman. If the naked emperor says he is wearing the finest clothes, well, you better applaud his fashion sense.

The truth is this. Oprah unwittingly insults feminists. Apparently, there is not much to being a woman other than choice. This power to choose implies a value judgment. “I am woman, hear me… wait, forget that. I am man, pay me more.” This woman chose to be a man. She decided to change teams, for reasons I am sure he would describe as unbearably compelling, but still. With the increasing biological customization available, feminists should be trembling at the prospect that far too many women would switch sides to more fully compete in a man’s world. Then again, the feminist ideal that a girl can “have it all” may have arrived. You can be a woman, turn into a man, bear children, avoid the hassle of breast feeding, and if you ever change your mind, cue the studio applause. Thank God for the fact that most young women are not the feminists their mothers and grandmothers were.


The truth is this. Oprah is just the clown in the center of the ring this week (okay fine, last week, too). As we speak, in places like Oregon, laws are set to take effect that make the emperor’s stealth fashion line available to anyone. Body modification is not required. A person’s gender is determined solely by their declaration of whether they are a boy or a girl. For example, on ladies night at the club, I get in free regardless of the fact I am a male by every oppressive label formally known as “science” and “reason”. Empirical standards have been trumped by personal “revelation”; how charismatically spiritual of the secular elitist camp.


The truth is this. Oprah and the unhinged, activist lawmakers that embrace her worldview, threaten the integrity of race. It is an extension of the ignorant assault on true diversity. By erasing any objective standard of distinction, the Harpo’s in our culture create a society where nobody is special or unique. Their efforts to erase boundaries are becoming more successful. They will find an ironic tragedy as their “successes” accumulate. It will not be long before a white person declares that he is black simply because he says so. If a business owner cannot, by law, question the veracity of an obviously male patron who says he is a woman, there is no reason to think that a “transracial” person would not be required to be similarly embraced. How ya’ like me now?”


The truth is this. God’s creation is full of empirically verifiable and strikingly obvious diversity. Women are unique and wonderfully different than men. Each race is beautiful. The rainbow of the liberal extremists is all one color. There is no red. There is no blue. There is no violet. The leftist cultural engineers of our time feed the fires of envy and strife by telling the color orange that he has something to lose if he cannot be green (yes, with envy). Fortunately, in the tents of America’s god-kings and goddesses, you can be whatever you think you want to be. Leonidas for president, anyone?

Who Will Answer Dobson's Call?

By Seth Elliott

"The old guard is wondering if 'the younger generation will heed the call' while the young Turks have other things on their minds besides abortion and same-sex marriage."

So begins a recent article by Bill Berkowitz writing for Media Transparency. I am not going to summarize the article, so check it out for yourself. I believe that the next generation of Christian culture warriors is out there (uh, IHS for one). The notion that we have other things on our mind is not entirely accurate. The apparent lack of zeal amongst the next generation stems not so much a lack of regard for the unborn, the institution of marriage, or the fate of the dying, but rather a mild revulsion to the alarmist mass-mailings, the pulpit pounding and yelling, and the over-emphasis on political influence. It's tactics not policy that we are finding a bit tough to put in our tool box for the battles ahead. Issues like Darfur, AIDS, and the environment can co-exist with more controversial domestic social issues; however, kill vibe can never co-exist with cool vibe.

Let me say as a postmodern evangelist and culture warrior, I line up 100% behind many heavy hitters of the past era - on issues. I, and some other young Turks, do have the big issues on our radar. We do not pull punches, but we have friends on all sides of the cutlure war and we have fun, too. At IHS, we have some ideas on how to stay true to the teachings of Scripture, to influence the culture (and, yes, politics), and to not turn off the culture at large in the process. We know first hand that the balance of teaching a no-compromise "truth in love" (Eph. 4: 15) is possible in the classrooms, offices, and coffee shops that consitute the majority of postmodern battlegrounds. We have trained many to "gently instruct our opponents" (2 Tim. 2: 24-25), using humor, kindness, and intelligence instead of cliches.

The Era of the Right may be over, but if the old masters, who we learned from, are willing to try some new tricks, the exciting era of the paradoxical, postmodern, Christian culture warrior is just beginning.