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by Marvin Olasky Crossway, 2003 160 pp.; $12.99, paper |
In a widely noticed op-ed piece last March, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof admitted that "nearly all of us in the news business are completely out of touch with a group that includes 46 percent of Americans": self-described evangelical or born-again Christians, according to Gallup.1 Never mind that the definition of "evangelical" used to generate this figure is pretty loose. Kristof's frank acknowledgment of bias was as stunning as it was welcome. And while he made it very clear that he isn't calling for uncritical acceptance—"I tend to disagree with evangelicals on almost everything," he writes, "and I see no problem with aggressively pointing out the dismal consequences" of their increasing influence—Kristof deplored the "sneering tone" that many of his colleagues routinely adopt when dealing with all things evangelical.
Kristof concludes that it's time to lower the temperature. "One of the deepest divides in America today is the gulf of mutual suspicion that separates evangelicals from secular society," he writes. "Both sides need to reach out, drop the contempt," and treat each other with respect.
Are evangelicals ready to reciprocate? A positive answer comes from what might appear to be an unlikely source: Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief of World magazine, the feisty Christian conservative weekly, and the author of a standard journalism text in Christian schools.2 In his new book, Standing for Christ in a Modern Babylon, Olasky gives advice to narrow the gap and allow Christians to speak constructively, even redemptively, to members of the media. Written after the September 11 terrorist attacks but before the Iraq war and recent journalistic laments such as Kristof's, the book raises issues that American Christians need to consider.
Olasky says that efforts to transform America into a Christian nation are doomed. He likens our position to that of Daniel, a Jewish leader called to be faithful in the pagan courts of Babylon. He says we Christians should settle down and live holy lives in the country's "liberty theme park," in which pleasure and freedom are seen as the highest goods. Needless to say, Olasky isn't prescribing quietism. Just as Kristof emphasized the need for thorough and forthright criticism of evangelical policies, so Olasky calls for Christians to "stand up resolutely against press attacks and to see them as opportunities to communicate the truth about false religions and about Christianity." He rightly points out the confusion of some in the mainstream press, who have equated biblical Christianity with radical Islam.
Still, Olasky displays his mellow side in this book. Despite World's hardline conservative stance on current issues, he acknowledges a wide range of contemporary issues for which Christians cannot claim theological certainty. Olasky also counsels taking half a loaf when necessary. For example, he suggests dropping efforts to pass a constitutional amendment barring abortion in favor of efforts to support adoption and marriage, which he says could halve the abortion rate. He helpfully says we need to focus on the practical problems with homosexuality and divorce and not simply condemn them as sinful. He also rightly points out how ugly Christians—who profess to follow the Prince of Peace—look in the eyes of journalists when they respond with outrage to every provocation.
"Today biblical Christians should see fellow citizens in America not as enemies but as needy people," Olasky writes. He says Christians should not assume press attacks arise from malice. Sometimes, he says, they reflect simple ignorance, and Christians need to constructively engage journalists to remove that ignorance. Olasky says secular journalists don't understand the extent of Christianity in the world, the historical relationship of Christians and American government, and the laudable cultural and philanthropic activities of many Christians, and we need to lovingly and patiently tell them. True enough.
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