Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. - 1Peter 3:13-17 (ESV)
A few weeks back, Dr. Michael Brown announced that he was abandoning the "Ask Dr. Brown" portion of his ministry so he could attack the NAR culture wars full time. In his estimation, teaching believers how to understand God's word is simply not as important as try to change the behavior of non-believers through the carnal political process. While he may not characterize it in those terms, that is the reality of the insanity he now represents and embraces. So, when yesterday he had a radio show entitled that there can be no neutrality in the culture wars, I knew I had to listen and of course it was chock full of NAR errors, which is so ironic because Dr. Brown insists that the NAR does not exist. So let us reason once more through the above link. I will comment specifically in order, individual points that are simply wrong.
"We are called to be the moral conscience of the world and have so for 2000 years." - Dr. Michael Brown
This is the problem when you have a certain carnal opinion, and you try to leverage the bible to provide confirmation bias. There are absolutely zero scriptures supporting the notion that God has assigned us to be the moral conscience of the world. None. It is only the staggering arrogance of sinful man that assumes they have arrived and can now provide moral clarity for people who still think the things of God are utter foolishness. Look throughout history and see what has happened when sinful man thought they could be the voice of moral clarity, as Dr. Brown calls himself. That is what gave is the Crusades, where we saw 1.7 million people die. Or how about the Spanish Inquisition and the targeting of the Jewish people? Pious people used the bible to justify slavery. The Salem Witch Trials were deemed at the time to be a holy undertaking. The bible was used to justify the various wars we have undertaken against Communist countries and drove the Red Scare here at home. Even more recently the criminals who attacked our Capital on January 6, 2021, killed cops, destroyed property, defecated in the Well of the Senate and then stopped to pray, giving thanks to Jesus for their success. So, we have not been called to be the moral conscience of the world for the past 2000 years. The problem is we thought we were.
"First some spiritual truths. We are to be in the world but not of the world. We know why we are here." - Dr. Michael Brown
Here is the crux of the problem with NAR dominionism. If this statement was only related to believers understanding the nature of sin in their own lives, I would say fine. The problem is that all of the solutions Dr. Brown would employ in his culture wars are carnal in nature. Passing legislation is carnal. Appointing activist judges is carnal. Demanding Christians vote blindly for one party, as if they were more righteous, is entirely carnal. The best argument Brown and the NAR can make is the lesser of two evils argument but then you end up advocating and defending evil. Good luck explaining that when you stand before Christ. Let me provide an excellent historical example. The Temperance Movement was very pious. The believed that drinking should not only be prohibited in the lives of Christians, but that God established that it also should not be allowed in the lives of everyone. They eventually achieved their desired goal of outlawing alcohol in American society through legislation. The result was the explosion of organized crime as people who want to sin, will always sin. Passing laws to try and change moral behavior does not work due to the sinful nature of all men, including Christians. So, it may sound pious to say we are not to be of the world, but all of the solutions Dr. Brown would employ, including the blind voting for Republicans, is entirely of the world. It also ignores what God has provided for any and all problems - the gospel. That is what Dr. Brown should be focused on. Spreading the gospel so that the Holy Spirit might draw more people to salvation, which is an entirely supernatural act of God. Temperance may have indeed stopped million of people from drinking, but it saved not a single person.
1
1
1
