Wintery Knight, 9/24
Many Christians admire celebrities, athletes, entertainers, and other famous people. But the Christians who impress me are the ones who use their minds to explain Christianity to non-Christians, get into trouble for it, and stand by their beliefs. Three of the ones who come to mind for me are William Dembski, Guillermo Gonzalez and Richard Sternberg. And the first two have posted new stuff.
Frank Turek posted a new podcast about this Substack from William Dembski, where he talks about his thoughts after reading Meg Basham’s new book.
Here is his main point, illustrated with many Bible verses:
My point in this post is not to name evangelical elites who have compromised themselves or the secular philanthropies who have tempted them into compromise. You can get the details in Basham’s book. But here’s an example that Basham gives that’s emblematic of the temptations faced by elite evangelicals. It’s the the case of an elite evangelical being invited to dinner at the Obama White House. I knew this individual 20 years ago early in his career. He has since had a meteoric rise in elite evangelical circles. In the introduction to a recent book that he wrote, he inserts a paragraph that seems out of place about his dinner at the Obama White House (confirming Basham’s account). No doubt, it must be personally gratifying to be invited to the White House. But ego aside, is that really something for an evangelical to be proud of given that the Obama presidency was so opposed to core evangelical beliefs and practices?
I think he’s talking about Russell Moore, who met with Obama. I have an extremely, extremely low opinion of Russell Moore. I don’t think he’s an authentic Christian at all. I think he pretended to be a Christian when he was young, to impress the Christians around him. And then when he fell in with a secular left crowd, he adapted his views so that they would praise him, too. He never put in the work to know whether Christianity is true. People who don’t know whether Christianity is true tend to just USE Christian language to decorate what is essentially a narcissistic enterprise. And of course he doesn’t work at showing non-Christians that it is true, with evidence. That would run counter to his real goal of feeling good, and getting people to like him.
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Let me put this point more starkly. The Scriptures teach repeatedly that we should guard against recognition, accolades, and advancement from those hostile to the faith and that in fact we are on much safer ground when those hostile to the faith persecute rather than praise us. This is not to say that we should purposely make ourselves so annoying or distasteful that we receive the reproach of unbelievers (as when Christians act as hypocrites). But it is to say that by quietly and consistently living out our faith, we will naturally attract opposition (consider the ongoing saga of the Denver baker Jack Phillips).
The New Testament makes this point so consistently, as illustrated in the following verses, that it is hard to dismiss it simply as proof texting:
Matthew 5:10–12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 10:22
“You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Luke 6:22–23
“Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.”
John 15:18–20
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”
Acts 5:40–41
“They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”
2 Timothy 3:12
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
1 Peter 2:20b–21
“If you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
Luke 6:26
“Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”
John 5:44
“How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
John 12:42b–43
“Because of the Pharisees, [many] would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.”
Galatians 1:10
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
James 4:4
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
So the prime lesson I take from Basham’s book, and one I would like readers of this post to take with them also, is that we do well not to sell our Christian birthright for a mess of liberal or progressive pottage. We should be better than that and our Christian faith demands better than that.
If you’re not familiar with what the Baptists elites did to Dembski at Baylor University, he talks about it in that column.
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What kinds of Christians should we look up to?