Cultural Hegemony or Justice?

Shortly before Christmas, Matthew Kaemingk of Fuller Seminary's "Institute for Theology and Northwest Culture" (Does Fuller have separate institutes for cultures from other quadrants?) posted a piece titled "Christianity's 'War on Christmas'." I was pleased to see a couple of references to Dutch theologian Klaas Schilder. Schilder was a younger contemporary of Abraham Kuyper whose views about Christianity and culture had set in motion the one-kingdom "transformationalist" perspective that has come to dominate most contemporary conservative Reformed (and generally Evangelical) social thought. The entrenched status quo that dominated the denomination founded by Kuyper wasn't prepared for further change, however, so Schilder was given the left foot of disfellowship from the church while in hiding from the Nazis during the occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. It was this act and actions like it that helped precipitate the collapse of Kuyperian religious orthodoxy and political thought in the Netherlands.

But I digress. Kaemingk uses Schilder to tee up his James Davison Hunter-esque version of two-kingdom theology. By focusing only on Christ's humiliation, Kaemingk urges his readers to believe that "Christianity’s political posture at Christmas, and beyond, should reflect the reality that we follow a naked God of vulnerability, humility, and hospitality. This is the only way that Christianity’s 'war on Christmas' will find its much-needed end." Kaemingk appears to leave Christ in the grave and certainly gives no regard to the significance of the Ascension and the meaning of Jesus' words to the effect that all authority had been given to him. (Mt. 28.18)

Kaemingk's truncated Christology should not, however, lead anyone to long for a return to the Culture Wars of the late 20th century. A full-orbed Christology, one that takes seriously Christ's claims of authority, should lead Christians to be active for justice (check here and here for some of my musings on the topic of justice). And justice must be understood Christologically as well. Finally, pursuit of justice takes more than "vulnerability, humility, and hospitality."

Let me conclude by quoting Ken Myers (of the Mars Hill Audio Journal) in his Advent 2013 letter:

I applaud enthusiastically the introduction of the idea of the common good into the life of Christian witness. But I think we should be committed to if even when we discover that it doesn't help evangelism or the public impression of theologically conservative Christians. If we are too preoccupied with superficial winsomeness--with being more winsome that I think Jesus was--we will be tempted to secularize and shrink our theory and practice concerning the common good.

I'm glad Kaemingk wants Christians to be humble. Far too often Christians come across as simply another interest group pleading for the special privileges they think they enjoyed during some Golden Age in America's past. And I certainly believe that (white, upper middle class) Christians in America should repent of their recent fixation on libertarian political theory and neo-classical economic thought. Yet, I would urge Kaemingk to think more deeply about all the implications of Christ's work and not simply those he believes will be more congenial to a deeply secularized "Northwest Culture."

Christianity’s political posture at Christmas, and beyond, should reflect the reality that we follow a naked God of vulnerability, humility, and hospitality. This is the only way that Christianity’s “war on Christmas” will find its much-needed end. Maranatha. - See more at: http://www.capitalcommentary.org/christmas/christianity%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cwar-christmas%E2%80%9D#sthash.SneMgTSa.dpuf

Christianity’s political posture at Christmas, and beyond, should reflect the reality that we follow a naked God of vulnerability, humility, and hospita - See more at: http://www.capitalcommentary.org/christmas/christianity%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cwar-christmas%E2%80%9D#sthash.SneMgTSa.dpuf

Christianity’s political posture at Christmas, and beyond, should reflect the reality that we follow a naked God of vulnerability, humility, and hospita - See more at: http://www.capitalcommentary.org/christmas/christianity%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cwar-christmas%E2%80%9D#sthash.SneMgTSa.dpuf