Worldliness

The Fundamentals of Sanctification and Cultural Fundamentalism - Don Johnson

“What I am asking is if the concept of ‘separation from the world’ … has meaning anymore—among doctrinally conservative, spiritually evangelical Protestant Christians. Are there really no boundaries of behavior? If so, why do I almost never hear about them?” - Roger Olson

“What are Christians to do with practices, symbols, parties, and customs we find in a culture? Here are three options when it comes to how we treat and respond to something in the culture.” - Geiger

“Terms like ‘seeker’ and ‘emergent’ and ‘missional’ and ‘relevant’ and ‘contemporary’ have all at various times found their way into the evangelical lexicon….they all grapple with a perennial matter namely: How does the church relate to the culture?” - Ken Brown

“… David Well’s famous definition: worldliness is whatever makes righteousness look strange and sin look normal. Here’s the reality facing every Christian in the West: the money, power, and prestige of the mainstream media, big time sports, big business, big tech, and almost all the institutions of education and entertainment are invested in making sin look normal.

“In general, with many exceptions, of course (and I am not including here real fundamentalist churches), American evangelical churches have allowed biblical and traditional virtues, values and rules to fall away. Individualism has become the norm; each church member’s lifestyle and conduct is solely between him/her and God.” - Roger Olson

“According to a new survey by Pew Research, half of self-identified Christians in America say casual sex is sometimes or always acceptable. The survey defined casual sex as sex between consenting adults who are not in a committed romantic relationship.” - TGC

“To what extent do we, American Christians especially, allow our Christianity to be shaped and re-shaped by contemporary American culture? Are we supposed to stand out rather than (just) fit in? To what extent?

One result: “I don’t know that… that God is actually going to show up in this gathering. So I’ve got to make something happen. I’ve got to make people feel something. I’ve got to make them feel moved. I’ve got to make them feel engaged.” - TGC

“A new report released Tuesday by the Cultural Research Center (CRC) of Arizona Christian University has a troubling conclusion…. Unlike the Protestant Reformation, whose goal was to return to the foundational teachings of the Bible, this modern movement is one where Americans are redefining biblical beliefs according to secular values.”- C.Leaders