Pyrrhic Victories: Winning the Culture Wars

(PEER-ik) A victory that is accompanied by enormous losses and leaves the winners in as desperate shape as if they had lost. In 281 B.C., King Pyrrhus of Epirus landed on the southern Italian shore with 20 elephants and 25,000-30,000 men to defend his fellow Greek speakers (in Tarentum of Magna Graecia) against Roman domination. After defeating the Romans, he told those who wished to congratulate him, “One more such victory and Pyrrhus is undone.” While Pyrrhus won the battle, he lost half his men (and ultimately, the war).

I came across this article today at the Baptist Press web site. It seems that the SBC is refuting a National Public Radio report surmising that people are being encouraged to “vote Republican” by the Southern Baptist iVoteValues.com voter registration campaign.

Have any of you heard of this campaign? I must admit that this SBC campaign to "get out the vote" is news to me.

Now the SBC is correct that they do not "directly" endorse any political party. NPR is correct in that the SBC "indirectly" endorses a political party. Which party do you believe the SBC indirectly endorses? I wouldn't know, I'm a stranger here myself.

The iVoteValues web site has a link to Dr. James Kennedy's Center for Reclaiming America. Here we find the values that we as Southern Baptist American Christians are fighting for this November:

Abortion *
Abstinence
America's Christian Heritage
Anti-Christian Bigotry
Assisted Suicide *
Creation vs. Evolution
The Cultural Mandate
Gambling *
Marriage and Family
Hate Crimes
Homosexuality *
Judicial Tyranny
The Media
Pornography *
Tolerance

The "values" with an * beside them are the only issues that I feel we need to be actively engaged in fighting politically. But, as in the case of homosexuality, I also feel we need to approach the problems differently than we have.

I am not going to critique or exegete any of these positions; I have neither the time nor the desire. If you do want my humble opinions, feel free to ask. I will always respond.

Now the reason that I bring all this to your attention is partially due to this article. It reads in part, "Hundreds of people gathered outside the [Los Angeles County] Board of Supervisors' meeting room Tuesday to protest its plans to negotiate with the American Civil Liberties Union and remove a cross from the county seal."

First, let us say that conservatives win the day and the cross remains on the county seal (though doubtful). What will conservatives have accomplished? Will many lost souls be led to a personal relationship in Christ? Will Orange County "see the light" and repent? Really, what will Christian conservatives have so greatly accomplished after exhausting they're resources on court cases and ad campaigns rather than focusing money and time and effort on reaching the lost souls headed for eternal punishment? Hmm?

Second, let us say that the ACLU is successful and the cross is ordered down from the county seal. What then should the County Board do? Well, they should ignore the ACLU. Completely ignore them. If a judge orders the removal of the seal, ignore him. If the police order the removal of the seal, ignore them. If the authorities take down the seal be force, put the seal back up. If the police put you in jail, wait till the sentence is over and then put the seal back up. Keep on doing this until you die.

Now, when I suggested this mode of political action to others who were concerned about the seal issue they appeared shocked. How could I suggest breaking the law? I responded with a hypothetical question: "Let us say that a foreign country, by law, prevents Christians from witnessing. Do we ignore, i.e. break, the law?" The answer, of course, is yes. Why? We get our law from God, not man. When it comes to the essentials, like being able to practice our faith, we would rather die than surrender.

Now, is the issue of the county seal worth going to jail over? If yes, then go for it. If no, then why not? I would say that the seal issue is not important and will not have any effect over the spiritual climate of this country. I do not believe that the county seal with a cross ever had an impact over Los Angeles. For that matter, I do not think that a statue of the Ten Commandments in a court house in Alabama is going to bring anyone to Christ.

How could any of these symbols do that? Have we become cultural Catholics concerned with maintaining our icons? It is not the symbols that our important; rather, it is the meaning behind the symbols on which we should focus. These meanings, these truths, are things that the ACLU cannot take down because they are not of this world, never have been. The Kingdom of God is not of this world and neither are its people. Our job as people of the Kingdom is to bring people into the Kingdom and into fellowship with God. The Church is the agent of God's Kingdom and our mission is not to win culture wars but to win souls.

I think we as conservative Christians have made the same mistakes that the liberal Christians made before us. The liberal Christians, influenced to some degree by the social gospel and liberation theology, began to believe that they could reach souls for Christ by improving the economic and social conditions of these individuals. They began seeing the Kingdom of God as something material or of this earth. After many decades of this belief, the religious left became soley focused on socio-economic issues and secular politics; the personal salvation of individuals lost all importance to their focus on the culture. You see, they got it backwards. They wanted to change individuals by changing the culture.

Now what of us conservatives? We have fallen into the same trap. We have begun to focus less on the salvation of individuals and more on the salvation of our culture. We have begun to believe that we can change individuals for Christ by turning our culture for Christ. Like the liberals, we have gotten it backwards. We change the culture by changing the individuals in the culture. We change the individuals by witnessing to them in word and deed and presenting them with the Gospel.

Now I am not saying that we should turn a blind eye to the problems of this country. What I am saying is that we are currently going about it the wrong way. Also, I am not saying we should not be politically active; I am saying that we need to severely limit those issues with which we attach our name to and change our political methods.

Those values that Dr. Kennedy said were important ... Where was poverty on that list? Where was drug abuse? Where was alcholism, AIDS, physical and sexual abuse, and the adoption of oprhans? Why are all the issues that we deem important to advertise current political issues? Why are all these Republican Party issues? Hmm?

Why was Evolution on that list?

Why not "An Unsaved World"?

Can we legislate sin away?

If you travel through the great cities of Europe you will see grande cathedrals, Christian monuments, marvelous religous statues and paintings, and two millennia of Christian icons and artifacts still standing as they always have. Guess what? The Christian influence in those cities died long ago but the icons remained. Yes, the symbols still stand though the meaning is forgotten. The institutions still remain though their function has shifted.

I hope we do win the culture wars. At least then we will have no excuse why we lost the people of the culture.