Latest project: The Sky Is Not Falling: Living Fearlessly in These Turbulent Times (Worthy Publishing, Sept. 6).

Many today have lost faith in government. How do you think Christians should conduct themselves in this volatile time? Many people today are exasperated by government, frustrated because it doesn’t seem to be functioning. But as Christians we don’t give up on the system because government is one of the three institutions which God specifically ordains: marriage, government and the church. Government’s function is to preserve order and do justice. When it exceeds its biblical warrant, then it’s fair game for us to oppose it. But we cannot be respectful of those who govern us and give up on the institution at the same time. Remember, the only thing worse than bad government is anarchy.

How do you defend the culture wars when many think Christians shouldn’t be involved? I can’t think of a single issue that Christians have introduced into what is called the culture wars, whether it’s the deconstruction of marriage or the erosion of religious liberties or the encroachment upon the sanctity and dignity of human life; every attack has been made by secular liberalism. Christians are merely defending, as we are commanded to do, a biblical view of justice in society. When it comes to life and marriage, these are specific biblical mandates. We have no option but to defend those. As for religious liberty, it is in our DNA as Christians. We are made to be free in God’s image, with a free will. Freedom is part of human nature, so obviously we must defend it. No one can responsibly blame us for the culture wars. 

One of your chapters is titled “The Key to a Unified Society.” What is that key? No society can exist without some coherent influence, the cult that makes culture possible. Historically in the West that has been Judeo-Christian revelation. If you read carefully our Founding Fathers, you will see that they embraced some presuppositions out of the Enlightenment, and many out of biblical revelation. But even the Enlightenment principles, like the rights of man, found their original grounding in Scripture. The belief system that produced the greatest and most human civilization in human history is the Bible. Rodney Stark’s great works in this area are very instructive. There’s hardly a single illustration of some great advance created in western civilization that was not rooted in Scripture. Our Founding Fathers well understood that. 

What is the main idea you want readers to take away from this book? With God there is always hope. We may see signs of moral decay throughout our culture as we do, we may see politicians locked in partisan struggles and government gridlocked. We may have a dire economic future before us. But in the end, our single responsibility is out of gratitude to God for what He has done in our lives. We do our duty as good citizens. Despair is always a sin because it denies the sovereignty of God. So what I hope readers will take away is, “Keep doing exactly what God has called us to do. Be faithful.” In the end we are measured, as Mother Teresa reminded us, not by success, but by faithfulness.

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