Certainly not boycotts and petitions. These political strategies may have the short-term effect of “cleansing the outside of the cup,” but they are powerless to change the heart, from whence issues the evil according to Jesus. Furthermore, political action can even be counterproductive, reinforcing the secular view that Christian faith is “irrelevant” and “unworthy of examination.”
Nor does the answer lie in a retreat to so-called “traditional American values.” Some look back with nostalgia on the decade of the 50’s, yearning for a return to national innocence and bliss. But mounting evidence of childhood abuse and other serious family dysfunctions among the yuppies suggests that a darker scenario was unfolding under the placid surface: a lot of Ozzie Nelson types must have doffed their cardigans to molest their daughters and what many fathers apparently knew best was suppressed rage and devouring denial.
What we need is a fresh work of God, a “new song,” radical revival from the roots up and the inside out. And I believe we also need a Christian renaissance in the arts to drive God’s truth home to the hungry heart of secular man. J.A.C. Redfords
Nor does the answer lie in a retreat to so-called “traditional American values.” Some look back with nostalgia on the decade of the 50’s, yearning for a return to national innocence and bliss. But mounting evidence of childhood abuse and other serious family dysfunctions among the yuppies suggests that a darker scenario was unfolding under the placid surface: a lot of Ozzie Nelson types must have doffed their cardigans to molest their daughters and what many fathers apparently knew best was suppressed rage and devouring denial.
What we need is a fresh work of God, a “new song,” radical revival from the roots up and the inside out. And I believe we also need a Christian renaissance in the arts to drive God’s truth home to the hungry heart of secular man. J.A.C. Redfords
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