Episode 430: The Limitations of Faithful Presence

How should we understand the Christian's relationship to culture?

Two answers to that question - those given by H. Richard Niebuhr (1951) and James Davison Hunter (2010) - have been widely regarded as the most compelling. However, in a recent article, Professor Brad East offers a gentle critique of Niebuhr and Hunter and puts forward a proposal of his own. East suggests four modes of engagement with culture: resistance, repentance, reception, and reform. These modes, says East, are typically all at work simultaneously, and they apply in every possible historical and political context.In this episode, we discuss East's essay, evaluating the limitations of faithful presence and identifying those moments when the church’s witness needs to be marked by holiness and difference.

Brad East’s article: https://mereorthodoxy.com/once-more-church-and-culture/