I’ve been following some RSS news feeds that I used to follow several years ago, just to get a bird’s-eye view of stories making headlines, and some of the comments those headlines generate. And lately I’ve noticed what seems like an up-tick in hostility towards religious faith in general, and traditional Christian beliefs in particular.

Now, to be clear, the things of God haven’t been culturally popular for at least several decades. So in one sense, this isn’t a new phenomenon. Some of the current situation could simply be due to the dynamics of social media in 2019, which leads some people to feel more emboldened in terms of snark, dismissiveness, and straight up animosity. And I’ll also admit that some of my reaction could be due to the fact that I’m taking the things of faith somewhat more seriously than I have at times in the past, so I might be noticing it more than usual.

I was originally going to title this post “Faith In the Context of a Faithless World”, but I don’t think that’s accurate. Nearly everyone has religious-like faith in something, even if it’s not traditional religion or historic Christianity – faith in science, in the utopian ideals of central planning and population control (which always fail to take into account such pesky realities as original sin and human will), or in some custom-designed deity that conveniently approves of everything that they approve of. But it does seem that the more traditional forms of faith are more regularly the objects of public scorn.

Clearly, the days when a sort of nominal Judeo-Christianity loosely governed cultural mores and behavior have passed. And in some ways that’s a good thing. “Cultural Christianity” is, and always has been, a shallow, vapid veneer that we could put on without really applying the teachings of Jesus in our hearts and in our lives. It was a sham. The last vestiges of that veneer can still be most clearly seen in the realm of politics – on both the left and the right – where folks cherry-pick certain things from the Bible to prop up their political golden calves. I suspect that some of those folks may even be utterly convinced that their particular golden calf is a true representation of God, that their cause is uniquely righteous, and that, in the words of the late singer-songwriter Mark Heard, “God has approved of their mob”. But even in that regard, this sort of “cultural Christianity” has been reduced to a purely political cudgel, and an increasingly ineffective one at that, since an increasing percentage of people reject the idea of Biblical authority anyway (including many in the church).

What this does portend, I believe, is a new reality in which those who adhere to orthodox Christian (or Jewish) teaching will be cultural pariahs, and regarded with increasing contempt. But for those who’ve read – and who believe – scripture, this should not come as a surprise.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” – Jesus, in John 15:18-19

“Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” – Jesus, in Mark 13:13

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” – Jesus, in Matthew 5:10-12

The trick will be to remain loving in the face of such trials. That’ll be difficult if we rely on our own resources, but through the Holy Spirit it can and will be a powerful witness to the love and truth of God.

So be of good cheer! We have an amazing opportunity to be beacons of God’s love and truth in the midst of a whole lot of confusion, anger, and despair.

But buckle up! It’s gonna be a wild ride!