Does a renewed interest in a ‘Christian past’ automatically lead to an openness to the gospel? Does undoing ‘woke’ paradigms necessarily mean that there is a genuine interest in the values of Jesus? In the current cultural shift, the challenge for Christians in Europe is to continue to be uncomfortable for those in power.
Photo: [link]George Bakos[/link], Unsplash, CC0.
The Gospels, read from beginning to end, make it clear that Jesus was direct in announcing that “the Kingdom of God had come near.” He was forceful in denouncing evil, merciful when no one expected it, and always sought connection with the Father.
Faced with the good news of the kingdom of heaven, no one in the society of the time could feel truly comfortable or justified. Jesus made those who rejected God, those who believed they represented a true religion, and those who opted for the middle ground equally uncomfortable.
This posture of Jesus remains a challenge for Christians in Europe today. Especially in changing times.
We have lived through 20 years of a strong secularist and postmodern progressive push (generally summed up under the label ‘wokeism’) in all levels of culture.
During this time, the most influential artists have promoted transgressive ideas (in terms of gender, for example), social movements have demanded more rights (unrestricted abortion), and parliaments have revised bioethical laws to overcome basic agreements on human dignity (medically assisted suicide). We have seen this throughout Western Europe, from north to south.
Here in the Mediterranean, in countries such as Spain, Italy and Portugal, this acceleration has been particularly visible, with the pendulum swinging rapidly from ultra-conservative Catholic cultures linked to pre-democratic systems to exaggerated efforts to emerge as “spearheads of modernity” to the rest of the planet.
The Christians who try to derive our ethical system from the Word of God, have been swimming against the tide. We have tried to explain didactically (with more or less success) why we oppose decisions that have been brought in in the name of progress and the well-being of people but which have in fact proved to be anti-human. Our ideas have remained in the minority, our efforts have had little media impact, and we were fearful of being ‘cancelled’ in this our post-Christian and post-truth Europe.
Now the wind has changed direction once again. Conservative leaders have arrived to power in many countries (with Trump as the global icon). Artists are rediscovering the Christian symbols and the stories they tell. Social movements are advocating for the protection of the most vulnerable from harmful ideologies that have proven to be a failure. Influencers of all kinds speak publicly about their conversion to the Christian faith.
What now? The challenge for Christians in Europe is probably to stay uncomfortable. Is a renewed interest in a ‘Christian past’ automatically an openness to the gospel? Does wanting to undo the ‘woke’ paradigms necessarily mean that there is a genuine interest in the values of Jesus? Does a desire to confront secularism imply necessarily more freedom of thought?
If those in power have changed course, perhaps it is time for Jesus’ followers to take a renewed look at whether we are staying on the course set by our compass. Because the gospel is always uncomfortable for the ‘status quo’.
Jesus always offers a narrower path. The apostles understood this when speaking truth to both Caesar and the Jewish leaders of the time.
Today’s cultural changes may be attractive to Christians who have fought against the harmful ideologies of recent years (which may be losing power, but whose fruits will continue to be evident for a long time to come).
No man-made cultural change will ever meet the standards of the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ will always have something to say to power. We are challenged to discern well what it means to have a prophetic voice in this new cultural moment.
Joel Forster, director of Evangelical Focus, journalist in Spain.
This article is to be published in Finnish by the magazine Uusi Tie.
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