Good Work and the Culture War
Intro
This is Time's Corner, a weekly newsletter by Christian Leithart. I’m the editor of Good Work magazine and the creator of Psalm Tap, a yearly colloquium for church musicians. By day, I teach, and by night, I edit this newsletter.
Last week was Spring Break for me, hence the lack of an epistle. Today, I bring you a preview of the next issue of Good Work, the theme of which is Bread.
Good Work and the Culture War
Ironically, Christians get into tussles over the phrase “culture war.” For some, it brings to mind picket lines and Rush Limbaugh, and they’re afraid that if they take sides, they’ll have to side with folks like Rush. For others, not describing what’s going on as a “war” is like tearing down the walls of Troy and waving in the horse. If you don’t take sides, they say, you’re sidin’ with Biden, the president who called transgenderism “the civil rights issue of our time.”
In every war there is an objective and an enemy. Christians who dislike the language of “culture war” usually dislike it not because they love public celebrations of sinful sexuality, but because they don’t want to treat their unbelieving neighbors as enemies. And they’re right not to. Our unbelieving neighbors are not our enemies. Our enemy is Satan (1 Peter 5:8). Those who are lost in sin are those we’re supposed to rescue. We tell them about Christ that they might be saved.
What about our objective? For Christians who like the phrase “culture war,” the objective is to “take back culture.” But culture isn’t something you take back, like a contested field between two armies. To use a description from David Bruce Hegeman, culture is “the concrete expression of a society’s religious and philosophical commitments” (see his book Plowing in Hope). In other words, philosophy and religion are the trunk and roots, and culture is the fruit. You can’t “take back” the fruit that a tree bears (James 3:12). People believe, and they express what they believe in concrete ways. To change culture, we must change the hearts of the people who create it.
Saving souls, changing hearts, loving your enemies—these don’t sound very warlike. Is “culture war” really the best way to describe the Christian life? Couldn’t we use a less violent phrase, have a less violent attitude? Let’s be like J. R. R. Tolkien’s jolly pacifist Tom Bombadil, tending our own gardens, helping our own little growing things thrive.
At the Council of Elrond, when the same suggestion is made, Gandalf replies that, though Tom is beyond the power of Sauron, he will not last if the Dark Lord is not defeated. In one of his letters, Tolkien explains:
[Tom’s carefree pacifism] is an excellent thing to have represented, but that there are in fact things with which it cannot cope; and upon which its existence nonetheless depends. Ultimately only the victory of the West will allow Bombadil to continue, or even to survive. Nothing would be left for him in the world of Sauron.
Tom represents one way of life (the idyllic, restful one), while Gandalf and Aragorn represent another (the active, combative one). Both are necessary to secure victory. The only way to get the "Bombadil Option" is by winning the war. You don't get to choose between fighting and rest. In a world of wickedness, peace only comes by means of the sword.
We must fight against unjust laws and destructive teaching. We must use every weapon we have to counter the assaults of those who serve the Devil. Unbelievers need to know that if they repent and kiss the Son, they will be forgiven, but if they continue to rebel, they will be crushed beneath His feet.
What so many Christians miss about the culture war, however, is that our sharpest weapons are spiritual ones: worship, prayer, love, and acts of mercy. In Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Aragorn and Bombadil are separate. In real life, they are the same. Worship is our warfare. Making peace is how we win. Through humility, we conquer armies. Faithful and steady service to God, generation after generation, even in the humblest circumstances, is like a ballista fired at the gates of Hell. In spiritual warfare, pouring your sweat on the dirt is as valiant an act as spilling your blood upon it.
There is a culture war, and here’s the strategy: The gospel spreads, sinners repent, God forgives, and changed men and women express their newfound freedom by doing work pleasing to God. We call that good work “culture,” and it’s worth fighting for.
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Dispatch from Broken Bow
A Saturday morning in Spring. My one-year-old son and I sit on the front steps and chat while we watch birds and squirrels riot through leaves still wet from the night’s rain. He can’t talk yet, but it doesn’t matter. We understand each other perfectly.
Links
Occasionally I entertain the fancy of designing my own house. Such a mood struck me this past week (while I was pressure-washing, in fact), and I read Simon Sarris’s newsletter series of how he and his wife designed and built theirs, which in turn reminded me of this wonderful little book by Jonathan Bean.
Upcoming
The second issue of Good Work will be mailed to subscribers in April. Sign up to get your copy. It's free.
My church has been doing a series of talks on various fun topics for the past few months. The last one is called “You Should Be Reading Flannery O'Connor.” Time: April 30 at 4pm. Location: here. Price: Free ninety-nine.
The fourth annual Psalm Tap will take place in Birmingham on July 19th. Registration opens soon. In the meantime, you can watch recordings of previous years’ talks here.
Up To
Reading: The Swiss Family Robinson aloud to the 6yo. I’ve only ever read abridged versions and seen the movie, so I had no idea the story is narrated by the father. He’s a bit insufferable, an “I told you so” type, but he treats every challenge his boys face as an opportunity to teach them something. It’s almost like a homeschooling fantasy (complete with treehouse).
Watching: Nope (2022). If you watch it, you should definitely read my friend Z. K. Parker’s take on the movie.
Eating: We had some friends over last week and bought Salvatore's pizza. Later we found out we had eaten Salvatore's one year ago to the day. It must be a Spring Break thing.
Thursday Question
Rather than ask a question today, I want to make you an offer. My friend George gave a talk last weekend about the impact a hand-written letter can have, so I’ve decided to give it a go. If you give me your mailing address, I’ll send you a hand-written letter sometime in the next six months.
About
I’m Christian Leithart, a writer and teacher living in Birmingham, Alabama. I’m not active on social media, but you can read my blog here. Use the button below to share this issue of Time’s Corner, if you so desire. Thanks much for reading.