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For many Christians, this week\u2019s inauguration brought a sense of relief.<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s radically progressive platform was stopped from further becoming reality (for now), and Trump immediately started implementing measures to reverse some of the most devastating ideologies and policies of the prior administration (DEI, government censorship, a nearly open border, and gender ideology to name a few).<\/p>\n
Given the extreme polarization we\u2019ve seen in recent years over these issues and over Trump himself, one might have expected the culture war to be at its height post-election and post-inauguration. But, to many people\u2019s surprise\u2014including my own\u2014we\u2019re instead seeing what is being called a \u201cvibe shift.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the hip way of saying, \u201cIt\u2019s getting kind of<\/em> okay now to not be all in <\/em>on the most radical progressive ideas and actually publicly admit that you\u2019re relieved\u2014and even happy\u2014about a new direction for the government. Some stuff needed to be fixed, and it\u2019s okay to admit as much now.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, in his remarks, Trump promised to bring about a \u201crevolution of common sense.\u201d Politically, this is a rather brilliant way of describing his desired reforms. It takes the conversation out of the emotionally charged sphere of progressive and conservative labels and signals to people that wherever you are on that spectrum, we should be able to come together on \u201ccommon sense\u201d\u2014like reasonably protecting our borders. He\u2019s basically saying, \u201cDon\u2019t feel ashamed of supporting the new direction, this is just common sense <\/em>stuff. We can all get on board.\u201d<\/p>\n Given that I have a new book coming out in two weeks called When Culture Hates You: Persevering for the Common Good as Christians in a Hostile Public Square<\/em><\/a>, I wanted to address the significance of this \u201cvibe shift\u201d for Christians. In other words, Doesn\u2019t it seem like things are turning around? Like we\u2019ve reached a tipping point where culture is now swinging back to a friendlier disposition toward Christianity? Do we still need to be concerned that culture hates Christians?<\/em><\/p>\n To understand the answer to these questions, we need to understand what Jesus said about why <\/em>the world would hate His followers.<\/p>\n In John 15:18-21, Jesus tells His disciples,<\/p>\n \u201cIf the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This is a very important passage because Jesus clearly gives an explanation here of why <\/em>His followers would be hated. Very specifically, He says if the disciples were of the world<\/em>, the world would have loved them as its own, but because they weren\u2019t <\/em>of the world, the world would hate them. Jesus similarly connected this explanation when He prayed, \u201cI have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world\u201d (John 17:14).<\/p>\n So, what does it mean to be \u201cof the world\u201d?<\/p>\n In Scripture, to be of the world means to be under the governing rule of Satan; people are either children of Satan or children of God. Those who are of the world, under Satan\u2019s influence, desire to go their own way rather than God\u2019s way (Ephesians 2:1-3).<\/p>\n Those who remain of the world are slaves to sin<\/em> because they remain in rebellion to their Creator. In following their own passions and desires, they do the will of Satan. Those who give their lives to Jesus, however, receive a new nature and are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). They become children of God (John 1:12) and are now slaves to<\/em> righteousness<\/em> (Romans 6:16-18).<\/p>\nWhat Jesus Said about Cultural Hate<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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