Two Paths in Modern Christian Culture: A Short Commentary

So, I was recently asked about the direction that I see Christian culture going, what trends

I see happening, and what may be on the horizon. Well, today, I want to talk about that.

Hey guys, it's Keith, and in today's video, it's going to be a little bit different. I want to share my ideas regarding this question

I was asked, and then I want to ask you your thoughts. I want to say from the outset that I'm definitely not trying to create controversy.

There's enough of that as it is. But I want to see if you think there's any merit to the thoughts that I've been having.

The more I thought about this question, about the current Christian culture, the more my mind keeps going back to two men that I think have had a tremendous impact on Christian thinking in recent years, even if folks don't realize it.

These two figures have some similarities, but there's also some important differences. The two men are

Doug Wilson and N .T. Wright. Now, I'm not attempting to place a judgment on either man's work or ministry.

That's not the point of this video. This is about what I've noticed that each man seems to represent within the church today.

Doug Wilson has increasingly come to represent a rugged masculinity within Christianity. This is especially obvious with his

No Quarter November antics, where he continues to find more and more things to light on fire, which many people get a kick out of, and I admit

I'm one of them. He also represents a theology which is focused a lot on application. Not only believe, but do your theology.

This is called a theology out of your fingertips, and that resonates with a lot of people, especially young men.

N .T. Wright, on the other hand, represents in my mind a commitment to nuance, and his theology is a little bit more esoteric and cerebral.

In fact, sometimes it comes to the point that it can be hard to know where he lands on certain issues. I'm still not sure

I understand the new perspective on Paul, and what I find most interesting is not so much these two men or what they teach, but rather the types of people who

I would place into each one's camp, even if they're not officially connected. Typically in the

Wilson camp, you find young men who are interested in a more masculine and assertive brand of Christianity.

They want to lead their families well, sing psalms that sound like work songs and sea shanties, and be the frontline warriors in the midst of a growing culture war.

In the Wright camp, I see those who might be less interested in growing a beard and smoking a pipe to the glory of God, but still tend to be scholarly and creative.

Many of them also desire to serve Christ and to be good fathers and husbands, and they sing out on Sunday morning during worship, though they're more likely to be singing

Shane and Shane than a sea shanty. And again, I'm not disparaging either side.

There are things I agree and disagree about with both, but what I think is happening is that each end of this divide is being driven further and further apart.

As one side seems to find more and more things to consider rugged and masculine, the other side seems to be finding more and more ways to be nuanced.

Often the sides find themselves at odds with one another, either on doctrinal, social, or even political issues.

One of the things I often talk about in our church is the two ditches. These are the extreme ends of any controversial issue, which are often both wrong.

To be clear, I'm not saying that Wilson or Wright are ditches themselves. Though many would find great faults with each man, that's not what

I'm attempting to do today. I think that the ditch is beyond these men. But there is a ditch.

There's a ditch on the side of rugged masculinity where people stop being Christ -like and start being much more like the

Andrew Tate's of the world. And there's a ditch on the side of nuance where people stop being able to clearly define even the simplest of biblical truths and they end up with a

Harris -Waltz bumper sticker on the back of their new Chevy Volt. Again, I'm not proposing a solution.

I'm just trying to put my finger on the pulse of what's going on. Maybe I'm wrong in what I'm seeing.

I shared my idea with a friend, and he said that he once heard someone say that if you visit a PCA church, ask the pastor if he prefers

R .C. Sproul or Tim Keller, and you'll learn a lot about him. Well, I guess that's similar to the idea

I'm having here. I'm actually most interested in what you think. Let me know in the comments if you think there's anything reasonable to my analysis, or if you think

I'm out to lunch, and that's okay if you do. Either way, I appreciate you watching. As always, if you like the video,

I want to ask that you hit the thumbs up button. If you don't, hit the thumbs down button twice, and if you want to see more, hit the subscribe button and go and check out the channel.

And as always, if you have a question that you want to send to me directly, you can do so by going to my website, keithfoskey .com.