Our Cultural Revolution

The Spiritual Roots of Today’s culture wars Cultural Revolution Mountain View Christian Church 5 June 2024 Scripture for Our Times Joshua 1:1-9 Genesis 1:28 Acts 5:2732 Psalm 2 Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 28:18-20 Ephesian s 6:10-20 What is a Cultural Revolution? 1. Difference between a revolution and change 1. Changes can be massive, but not revolutionary 1. Inventions 2. Human achievements 3. Movements 2. Revolutions are more than change and may produce very little change 1. 2. 3. 4. They reject the past Revolutions seek to overhaul all institutions They assume a better brighter day after destruction They claim to reject power and hierarchies in the name of a greater good. We are in a Cultural Revolution, not a period of great change • Great Change: • The invention of the printing press. • Scientific discoveries. • Freedom and personal liberties. • Cultural Revolution • The past is reinterpreted and then removed. • Every past event is reinterpreted. • The destruction or takeover of every institution: family, law, education, science, the State, commerce, religion, philosophy, labour—each of these must be useful to the revolution or destroyed. Revolution 1. Destroys the ruling class. 2. Destroys anyone who is connected to an “unapproved” class. 3. Claims to take nothing from past, i.e., invalidates the past. Compare the Chinese Cultural Revolution • 1966-1976 • Innumerable lives lost and ruined. • A ruined economy. • An entrenchment of Socialism. • Student-led/Mob-led • Destruction of the “Four-Olds”: Old Ideas, Old Customs, Old Habits, Old Culture Today’s Cultural Revolution Flashpoints (aka Cultural Marxism) • Equity over equality • Finance • Housing/immigration • Law and justice • Climate change • Social Justice • Multiculturalism/diversity • LGBTQ movement • Racism • Art and music; media • Abortion/euthanasia • Islamic immigration • Personal Liberty • Health Mandates • Decolonization • Digital dictatorship • Morality • The State as god: dispenser of all things good, arbitrator of truth, source of human rights The Real Plan • Import Islam en masse to destabilize Christianity. • Promise freedom and justice by • Destroy real diversity and enforce conformity. • Defund police and replace it. • Destroy patriarchy and replace it. • Destroy hierarchy and replace it. • Final goal: an all-powerful ONE, which is the State. Christianity is the Real Threat • God is God and man is not God. • All that exists is one. God is a creation of the universe. • Creation: Man is created in the image of God and as a created being is in obligation to Him. • Revolution: man is an evolved animal and has no uniqueness. He may be eliminated as desired by the State. • The Fall: Man sinned against God and sins against others. • Revolution: man can be changed, or even bred, to be good. Sin is decided by society. Christianity is the Real Threat • Redemption: Man can be redeemed only by the sacrifice of Christ. • Revolution: Humans must be sacrificed for the greater good. • History: History is linear and has an ultimate end. • Revolution: History is an eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth of the universe. • The old will always be found to be bad and must be replaced. • Goodness is determined by God and laid out in Scripture • Revolution: goodness is determined by society and enforced by power. Uncomfortable Comparisons Chinese Cultural Revolution 1. Ended in a military dictatorship 2. Resulted in millions of deaths 3. Demands more than obedience, but absolute agreement with the cause. 4. Ruined lives 5. Destroyed history 6. Red Guard gangs carry out State ideology. 7. Attacked Christianity Current Cultural Revolution 1. Is leading to a digital dictatorship. 2. Has resulted in even more deaths than the Chinese revolution. 3. Demands total agreement with the current cause. 4. Ruins lives 5. Cancels history 6. Antifa carries out State ideology. 7. Attacks Christianity. Some Dissimilarities Chinese Cultural Revolution 1. Dependent upon Statecontrolled print and radio. 2. The State eliminated contradicting ideas. 3. Short-lived: 10 years, but only after 17 years of Communist control. 4. Change was slow. Modern Cultural Revolution 1. Attempts to control all media but the internet has (so far) made this impossible. 2. The internet has multiplied so much false information that distractions can overwhelm. 3. Slower in coming (1960s) 55 years in the making. 4. Change is much faster. A plan of action 1. Remember the Christ is Lord, Christ is King. This cannot be changed. There is nothing outside of His sovereign control. Do not panic. 2. Remember that you are Christ’s. your first allegiance is to Him. Political and national commitments are only valuable insofar as they serve Christ and His kingdom. 3. Know tha\t nothing happens that is not for God’s glory and for the growth of His people. 4. Critically evaluate everything. Note that we are surrounded by lies. 5. Look at every solution to a problem and ask, “Is this God’s way?” A plan of Action 6. Be suspicious of solutions offered by the same people who created the problems. 7. Be aware of God’s Law in all areas of life, including politics and finances. 8. Reject R2K theology, pietism, Dispensationalism, and any other theology that would teach that Christ’s lordship is limited. 9. Do the things that God has given you to do. Be prepared to step in when the world fails. 10.Understand that the world operates from an entirely different way of thinking—the differences are foundational, not trivial More to do 1. Choose your heroes, information sources, and experts critically and carefully. 2. Know your Bible history. How does God deal with rebellion and how does He care for His people when persecuted? 3. Think long-term. 4. Beware of fads that distract you from your mission. 5. Build strong fellowships. 6. Limit fellowship with those who submit to the culture. 7. Know that revolutions are total events, not bits and pieces even though it may come to us that way. How is this a Spiritual Problem? All religions, including the ones that deny that they are religious. A Test • What is the final authority in any system? • Who holds that authority?