Being Countercultural
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (NKJV) Romans 12:2
Christians, at every point in history, have always been expected to be countercultural. We see this throughout the scriptures, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Our verse for today indeed highlights this very conflict – ‘not to be conformed to the world’. But what does that even mean? For most Christians, it’s the little no-nos. Don’t do this, don’t do that! Christians have always had to wrestle with cultural issues. A case in point was the trick question about taxation put to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ (Matthew 22:17). Some of these cultural issues are clear. For others, they are nowhere near plain. And that is because life is complex. Christians, nowadays, are faced with far more of these complex issues. Our response today may likely set a trajectory for the future of conversation around these issues. Or even, I hesitate to add, the very future of Christianity and its survival. We appear to be at the tipping point of western Christianity which has been brought into sharp reality by the recent cultural wars. My own recent engagements with a young lady who describes herself as a progressive Christian reinforces this point. It does appear that Christians, nowadays, are at best confused about these cultural wars and the classical Christian doctrines; and at worst poised for some form of reinterpretation of Christian doctrines to sync with cultural issues.
How can Christians be countercultural? In a better part of history, Christians have responded by sometimes fleeing cities to live in monasteries or creating colonies that will forge a physical separation. This approach perhaps will feel like a dead-end in our days. Even what appears more perplexing, scriptures do not always provide direct prescriptive directions on all cultural issues for the obvious reason that our current culture appears dramatically different from a millennium or so ago.
So where does that leave us? Again, here we can gain wisdom and insight from our main text – transformation through renewal of the mind… (Romans 12:2). This is a subtext to intentionally, but seriously, embodying our Christian Faith. In practice, this will mean waking up from our current moralistic therapeutic deism snooze and putting on the biblical faith. It will also mean spending much time studying our bible and in prayers. May the Lord strengthen our faith in this modern world!