A Response to Evangelical Calls for Public Withdrawal

A Response to Evangelical Calls for Public Withdrawal: The disaffection of some younger believers toward political action seems animated by two factors: the reality that more has not been accomplished, despite decades of evangelical political activism, and the perception that evangelical social conservatives are an angry and bumptious lot characterized more by enflamed rhetoric than compassion or effectiveness. . . .

Paul enjoins us to not grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13 ) for a reason: It is hard to persist in doing good when the results of our labor seem modest. Battles are wearing, and trenches are discomfiting. The overconfidence of some conservative Christians in politics as the means by which to "change the world" was misplaced.

But abandonment is a poor substitute for uninformed striving. Enthusiasm for an immodest aim produces frustration, or even bitterness, since that aim can never be reached. Withdrawal is a welcome alternative, surely, in the short term: It is always easier to rest than fight.

Related:

• If You’re Selling Scorn for Conservative Christians, the Market is Hot
• What if the "culture war" never happened
• Irrepressible Culture Wars, Past and Present -- Many young evangelicals today shun conflict, a posture at odds with evangelical history
• The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right, plus an interview with the author
• The Other Religious Right
• Scorn Profits the Blogger, but Costs the Kingdom
• Diagnosing Christian Right Derangement Syndrome

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