Throughout most of the 20th century American Christians essentially forfeited the culture war through a lethal combination of blissful ignorance, apathy, lethargy, cowardice, misplaced priorities, and the myriad distractions of life. As a result, the consequences are apparent today as we witness the erosion of Christian influence in virtually every area of contemporary life from law and politics to business, education, the media, public civility, private morality, the arts and entertainment, and lifestyles in general.
Regardless of the outcome of the next election, Christians will find that the tide of secularism and cultural liberalism will continue to swamp our society, erode our moral and ethical standards, and pollute our social institutions. As Bob Dylan sang in the Sixties, “The times they are a-changin’,” but the kind of changes that politicians are promising for the future should give Christians and other social conservatives more cause for concern than celebration.
