{"id":1855,"date":"2025-02-03T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2025\/02\/03\/beware-the-vibe-shift\/"},"modified":"2025-02-03T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T17:00:00","slug":"beware-the-vibe-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/beware-the-vibe-shift\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware the Vibe Shift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Evangelicals have much to celebrate lately. Bible sales are up 22 percent, fueled by first-time buyers<\/a>. Pro-life activists are being pardoned<\/a>. A US government website facilitating abortion resources went offline<\/a>. Women have regained protected class <\/a>status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Religious conviction among young men has witnessed a dramatic upswing<\/a>. An evangelical scholar<\/a> appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience<\/a>\u2014considered the world\u2019s most popular podcast\u2014to discuss evidence for the Resurrection and the trustworthiness of the Scriptures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Richard Dawkins, famed atheist and author of The God Delusion<\/em>, now identifies as a cultural Christian<\/a> and views Christianity as a force for good in the West. Renowned psychologist Jordan Peterson has been exploring the claims of Christianity and now advocates for the study of the Bible<\/a> and openly admits Jesus might be God<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems that Christianity is in vogue for the first time in a long time. While this cultural openness to God hasn’t yet translated to Christian conversion for the names mentioned, the field appears unmistakably ripe for harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cvibe shift<\/a>\u201d is something pastors need to pay attention to, as we want to be like the men of Issachar who \u201cunderstood the signs of the times\u201d (1 Chron. 12:32, NLT). Every movement of culture creates both opportunities and liabilities. The opportunities should be celebrated and seized, with Christians engaging on podcasts<\/a>, contributing to long-form discussions, addressing textual criticism, promoting positive visions for biblical masculinity<\/a>, and speaking clearly and courageously around LGBTQ issues. We can highlight how Western culture is a beneficiary of Christianity\u2019s influence, as seen in works like Tom Holland\u2019s Dominion<\/em><\/a> or Glen Scrivener\u2019s The Air We Breathe<\/em><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than seizing this moment, some Christians\u2014perhaps with genuine pastoral concern\u2014 have unwittingly fallen into the habit of raining on parades, responding to celebration with caveats and what-abouts. \u201cHappy Birthday!\u201d says one believer. \u201cBut what about the people for whom it isn\u2019t their birthday?\u201d responds another, while a third chimes in with a solemn reminder about grief and the potential triggers of birthday celebrations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our eagerness to \u201cweep with those who weep\u201d we sometimes forget to \u201crejoice with those who rejoice\u201d (Rom. 12:15). Like an over-spiritualized political correctness, this posture withdraws and can become cynical about people who are less sensitive. In the name of speaking truth to power, some can be too slow to celebrate genuine goodness when they see it, blind to the blessings they once prayed for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, there are liabilities that must be considered. The equal and opposite error to toxic negativity is toxic positivity. This danger appears in what Martin Luther called a being a \u201ctheologian of glory\u201d and what H. Richard Niebuhr termed the \u201cChrist of culture.\u201d My concern is that evangelicals who are too enthused by the vibe shift will find themselves adopting the very positions they\u2019ve typically and rightfully opposed, those of the papists in Luther\u2019s day and the mainline liberal Protestants Niebuhr critiqued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luther articulated a distinction between “theologians of glory” and “theologians of the cross” in 1518. His words<\/a> remain instructive today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

That person does not deserve to be called a theologian who looks upon the invisible things of God as though they were clearly perceptible in those things which have actually happened. He deserves to be called a theologian, however, who comprehends the visible and manifest things of God seen through suffering and the cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That wisdom which sees the invisible things of God in works as perceived by man is completely puffed up, blinded and hardened\u2026 Yet that wisdom is not of itself evil, nor is the law to be evaded; but without the theology of the cross man misuses the best in the worst manner.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The theologian of glory (the Papistry he\u2019s criticizing) measures success and victory as the world does: through numbers, wealth, and visible outcomes. This mindset suggests that growth implies that the means are divinely blessed. Our church is growing; therefore we are to be imitated. Rome\u2019s power is evidence that God is on their side. Might proves right. It\u2019s nothing more than another form of prosperity gospel\u2014winners win, losers lose. But should we assume that Aslan is on the move because the cultural winter seems to thaw?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This temptation to baptize favorable shifts of culture as movements of God is also one of the hallmarks of theological liberalism. In his 1951 work Christ and Culture<\/em><\/a>, H. Richard Niebuhr outlined three primary ways that Christians have engaged with culture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n