Didn’t I Grow Up in the Negative World?
by Trevin Wax, The Gospel Coalition:
Is it true our society has made a decisive transition with regard to Christianity? Have we left behind a cultural world that was largely positive toward Christianity and entered a cultural world that is profoundly negative toward Christianity? And if so, should we allow this cultural shift to be the lens through which we view the relationship between ourselves, as committed Christians, and the surrounding culture?
This move from positive to negative is explored by Aaron Renn in his widely read essay for First Things, which I first engaged in my previous column, the third in my series on the rise of the neo–Religious Right. The first two columns in the series cover its history and lineage and the tendency to split conviction from civility.
By way of reminder, Renn’s taxonomy goes like this: American culture was largely positive toward Christianity until 1994, then was neutral toward Christianity for two decades, but since 2014 it has turned negative toward Christianity. I noted that Tim Keller points to that same time for a cultural shift, as does Australian leader Stephen McAlpine.
Aaron Renn’s taxonomy works well as a conversation starter because (1) it’s hard to deny the rapid cultural shift of the past 10 years and (2) Renn’s framing implies a prescriptive element. It suggests that previous ways of engaging the culture are now outdated, perhaps suitable for previous eras but no longer relevant.
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