Is it time for Christians to give up on the culture? Is the culture war over? I got a fresh perspective on these questions when I heard Tim Wildmon of the American Family Association speak to the issue of Christian involvement in the political and cultural arenas.

He had a great quote from Patrick Buchanan. I went home to find the quote in the column, and was surprised to find out that Pat Buchanan wrote it 16 years ago. At the time, he was asking what the culture war was all about. Here is his answer:

“Ultimately, our culture war is about one question: Is God dead, or is God king? For centuries, this issue has been crucial. If God is dead, as Nietzsche wrote, everything is permissible, and eventually, one will logically reach the conclusion of Paris’ student radicals of 1968: The only thing that is forbidden is to forbid.”

He went on to add, “But if God is king, men have a duty to try, as best they can, to conform their lives to his will and shape society in accordance with his law. Defection and indifferentism are not options open to us. We are commanded to fight.”

Sometimes Christians don’t have much of a choice and must merely put their heads down and accept whatever comes their way. And if a government edict contradicts Scripture, they can agree with the disciples who said, “We must obey God rather than men.”

We aren’t in that situation here in America. Robert Knight reminds us that “Christians were warned by Jesus that they would be at odds with the world, situations can vary immensely. Taking leave as outsiders might have made sense in an authoritarian regime like ancient Rome, but America was created as a self-governing republic where ‘we the people’ are Caesar.”

We have the privilege of living in a country where we can still make a difference. We also have a responsibility to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. It’s not time to retreat from the culture. It’s time to be difference makers in our world.