With no explanation, label the following with either "hyperpartisan" or "not_hyperpartisan".
I was listening to a Christian radio show awhile back before I was scheduled to go on, and one of the guests before me was talking about the organization he formed to fight back against powerful liberals in the United States and the ideologies they are spending billions of dollars to advance. This man kept talking about how liberalism is a “threat” to Christianity, and how any number of liberal political ideologies are going to somehow damage the faith, though he wasn’t very specific as to how. Similarly, I was watching a video the other day in which the Christian missionary called Islam “the greatest threat to Christianity today.” Really? A threat to what? Make Christianity untrue? So many American Christians, evangelicals in particular, are paralyzed by fear. We talk about how political liberalism or Islam are “threats” to Christianity and make compelling cases for why our brothers and sisters in Christ should devote time, money and other resources to protect Christianity against these threats. Christianity is not threatened by modern political liberalism, any strand of Islam (violent or non-violent) or any other worldview on the entire planet. I tweeted last week: “If you view other religions or worldviews as ‘threats’ to Christianity, I kind of wonder if you know how the story ends.” The idea that something could be a “threat” to Christianity implies that, somehow, Christianity could be put on a sort of “endangered religions” list, or that Christians could become extinct altogether. This is a lie fueled by hearts that have made an idol of power and influence. Christianity, defined by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the implications of that gospel, offers the world what other worldviews cannot. So, Christians who want the best for their communities and the world are right to work for Christianity’s spread around the world. But, particularly among conservative evangelicals in 21st-century America, there seems to be a feeling that Christianity is at risk of extinction. This is not the case. Is Christianity at risk of losing its powerful influence over America? Yes it is (most say it already has). Is Christianity at risk of becoming less and less socially acceptable in America and bordering on being considered “hate”? Yes it is. For some, these two truths are terrifying and are indicative of the impending demise of Christianity. Do not believe this lie. It is right to be concerned for the millions of Christians around the world who are being threatened. This is a reality about which we should be praying regularly. But “threatened Christians” do not make a “threatened Christianity.” Christianity’s existence and well-being is not dependent on how widespread it is accepted in America or the world. Christianity is dependent on the finished work of Christ. Period. This means nothing is a “threat” to Christianity. Plenty of forces—worldviews, political ideologies and more—threaten Christianity’s dominance in America. For some, Christianity’s dominance in America and the Western world is what legitimizes it. It is these people who believe Christianity is threatened. Because it’s true—Christian dominance in America and the West is being overshadowed by other worldviews. Praise God that the Christian faith is not dependent on its 21st-century cultural dominance, but by the dominion of its eternal, glorious God. When you claim that ISIS or the Democrats or whomever else is threatening Christianity, you spit in the face of the God who conquered sin and death because you’re afraid he can’t conquer competing worldviews. Christianity doesn’t have to be the most popular worldview in America to be the right one. Sometimes I think American evangelicals push for the widespread acceptance of Christianity because they want to be “right” more than they want the world to flourish in the grace of God. No terrorist attack, peaceful mosque or Supreme Court justice can knock down the house whose cornerstone is Christ. But it will demolish the house whose cornerstone is cultural favor. Romans 8:35 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” Or liberals, or ISIS, or Supreme Court Justices, or car bombs? The foundation of our faith is seated on the throne because his work is finished. He’s not concerned. Why should we be? This article originally appeared here.
hyperpartisan.