Part of our core mission? Exposing the Left's blatant hypocrisy. Help us continue the fight and support the 2024 Year-End Campaign now.

July 12, 2015

Evangelicals Should Return to Core Beliefs

“If the Supreme Court … has made things less comfortable for believers, we must ask ourselves why we were so comfortable to begin with.”

In the matter of the “culture wars,” evangelical Christians are asking, “what do we do now?” The question is being raised in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down state laws reserving marriage for heterosexual couples.

The “culture wars,” while well-intentioned, were a mistake from the beginning. Evangelical Christians, whose Leader said, “My Kingdom is not of this world,” thought they could organize people of like mind and like faith and create a voting bloc to elect people who would impose something resembling that other kingdom on people who do not see themselves as members of that kingdom. Given the number of politicians who seem to have difficulty imposing a moral code of any sort on themselves, such a strategy was doomed from the start. Why didn’t they learn from previous “moral improvement” movements that if one wants to change culture, one must first change individuals? For evangelical Christians that can only be done by the transformation of the heart, soul and mind, something that is beyond the power of secular — or even religious — politicians.

Conservative Christians wanted to be liked and respected by the world. Republican politicians saw them as a reliable voting bloc and were happy to have them in the party, but party leaders and elected officials did little to advance their agenda. Leaders gave them lip service, saying what Christians wanted to hear and in some cases even quoted a Bible verse, but in reality most party leaders were embarrassed, even offended, by people many regarded as throwbacks, if not to the Dark Ages, then to the rural South.

Fundraisers and TV evangelists were happy to promote this “kingdom of the world” mentality because it brought them the illusion of influence, money and a place at the table. Few minds were changed, and culture became more deformed than reformed. The country grows increasingly secular in part because conservative evangelicals gave the impression that being born again means instant adoption into the Republican Party.

As a longtime fan of Broadway musicals and plays, I believe that the original cast is always better than the touring company. Evangelicals should return to the “original cast,” whose members include Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James and Timothy. Consider their lives and tactics as they faced a hostile political and religious environment that brought persecution, even death. These men — and their followers — had little interest in an earthly kingdom. Instead, they focused on that other kingdom, and billions of lives have been transformed in the centuries that followed. Those transformed lives have, in many cases, transformed cultures.

A recent letter to the editor posted on TwinCities.com got it right:

“If the Supreme Court, in its June 26 ruling to redefine the meaning of marriage, has made things less comfortable for believers, we must ask ourselves why we were so comfortable to begin with.

"The Apostle Peter pleaded with the church, ‘Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.’ Those who have resisted the acceptance of sin have done well in living out Peter’s admonition, but acceptance of our standing as outsiders remains a point of struggle.

"Christians, as aliens and strangers in this world, should not be surprised when a world separated from God lives out its faith. It is, however, our duty to act in unity with God by sacrificing our time and risking friendships, academic performance and professional standing — all idols in this world — to display the unrivaled confidence and hope we have in Christ.

"We cannot change a fallen world, but we can be God’s instrument in saving people from it. Eternally speaking, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.” —Jack Wheeler, Hudson, Wis.“

Lest someone misinterpret what Mr. Wheeler and I are saying, this isn’t about surrender; it is about enlisting in a different "army,” using more powerful nonpolitical weapons. Google “Beatitudes” and see what I mean. Practice them and observe the impact they have on the culture.


Originally posted Tuesday, July 7.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.