The battle lines have been drawn . . . Many Christians have fallen into the trap of proclaiming “Peace! Peace!” where there is no peace. Hiding their eyes from the pressing issues of the day, they believe that resistance in the prevailing culture is useless. At the same time, other Christians have been too quick to declare war, mistaking battlefield casualties as enemies rather than victims.[1]
So reads the heading and first paragraph of the cover summary of Peter Kreeft’s book, How To Win the Culture War. Kreeft, longtime professor of philosophy at Boston College, wrote his 120-page book as “a rousing call to arms,” urging believers to actively participate in the war in which we are engaged. He emphasized five action steps.
First, we must recognize we are at war. To say this is to echo Paul who wrote, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh” (2 Cor 10.3).
Second, we must understand the nature of the war. It is, first, a war of ideas, as Paul went on to elaborate:
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor 10.4-5).
But, while a formidable challenge to be taken seriously, Paul did not see the “arguments” to which he alluded as the fundamental problem. Elsewhere, he said we must contend with the crafty, deceitful “schemes”[2] of the devil, enacted by “the rulers,… the authorities,… the cosmic powers over this present darkness,… the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6.11-12). Though disarmed by and subjected to Christ (Col 2.15; 1 Pet 3.22), the threat they pose remains.
Third, we must identify and resist the enemy’s strategies and tactics (upon which Kreeft elaborated).[3]
Fourth, we must remain confident we are on the winning side. Kreeft pointed to three reasons for bold assurance:
- Truth is stronger than falsehood, light stronger than darkness.
- Love is stronger than hate, and we fight because we love God and man while our enemy does not.
- Jesus is Lord, the Christ who is King, and therefore the one who has armed us with what Kreeft terms the “world’s most unconquerable weapon”—his blood.
Fifth, we must know what is needed to win the war. While some may find Kreeft’s identification self-evident, we should focus on it because it is easy to take for granted: what’s needed is an army of saints, Jesus-disciples, who will never surrender.
What is the fundamental qualification to participate in this army? Unreserved commitment to God’s will. More specifically, Kreeft observed, “the answer is a matter of public record. God has told us, in ten words. His commandments.”[4]
But merely knowing what is needed is not enough. We must do what we know. Yes, we need to take stock of our situation, its causes, and the better course to be followed. But it’s possible to be so concerned with analysis that we never actually do what we need to do. To follow that course is to concede the field to the enemy.
Is the task daunting? Most assuredly. But before we allow that reality to overwhelm us, let’s recall the kind of culture the first disciples encountered, their comparatively insignificant place in it, and the historical reality that they did permeate and change it. With that memory in mind, we will, perhaps, be more encouraged by a statement Kreeft made elsewhere:
Times of crisis like ours are not evening times, times for going to bed, but morning times, times to rise up and grab our weapons. The battle cry has sounded. The fateful day of decision has dawned. The joy of good battle should be upon us.[5]
David Anguish