Naked and Afraid: 40 Years After a Prophetic Book
Plus: the case for being Protestant and simplifying decision-making
In preparation for my forthcoming book on Christianity and patriotism, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and re-reading. One of the classics from the 20th century that I’ve picked up again is The Naked Public Square by the late Richard John Neuhaus. I didn’t have a copy in my library so I bought a used one off of Amazon and to my surprise, it was an original copy signed by the author. I will treasure this.
Neuhaus was writing in the wake of the Reagan revolution and was reacting to the media's overreaction to evangelicals' involvement in politics. I could go on a min-rant here about the persistent, yet ahistorical narrative that persists suggesting 1980 was the first time Christians got active in electoral politics, but alas, I will not.
Neuhaus’ book, it turns out, is so incredibly prescient today. He articulates the importance of religion, specifically, Christianity, to democracy. His thesis is that the public square cannot be “naked” or neutral. Some worldview will fill that vacuum. Of course, we Baptists will steadfastly resist an explicitly Christian state or a state church, but will, at the same time, argue for robust political and social engagement by Christians. But more on that in my forthcoming book.
All of this is to say my latest World column is on The Naked Public Square 40 years later. Here are a few key graphs:
Who can argue with Neuhaus’ thesis? Certainly not the American founders who, while wisely resisting a state church, knew their project could only work, in the words of John Adams, “for a religious and moral people.” When the Church recedes, when virtue becomes outdated, when freedom becomes expressive individualism, the government often moves in to help ameliorate the social cost. The state becomes a surrogate father to the fatherless, politics becomes an all-consuming religion, and our communities become less hospitable to human flourishing. As Chuck Colson often said, societies can choose between “the conscience or the constable.” In contemporary America, often the state enforces a new religion of sexual anarchy.
The Naked Public Square is still a good word for Christians struggling to understand their place in the life of our nation. Neuhaus’ prescription is not, as some suggest, to abandon democracy for an established state church, but for Christians to do as Jeremiah did, encouraging the exiles of Babylon to actively seek the welfare of this great country. We do this by stewarding our citizenship responsibly by speaking, voting, and, perhaps, running for public office. But we also work and pray for moral and spiritual renewal brought about by evangelism, discipleship, and revival.
You can read the rest here.
Speaking of books, World also asked me to review Gavin Ortlund’s new work, What It Means to be Protestant. I enjoyed this book immensely. It’s a fair, reasoned case for Protestantism that deals with our differences with Catholics in an ironic yet honest way. Here are a few key graphs from that review:
The second section makes a strong case for the Protestant doctrine of sola scriptura, explaining it as a recovery of the early Church’s view of the Bible as the supreme authority. It is here he winsomely reminds readers that sola scriptura is not a Biblicist approach that ignores tradition. Rather, it sees Church tradition as a guide to the Bible instead of an authority equal to it. He also pokes holes in the Roman Catholic view of apostolic succession, even drawing from Roman Catholic scholars.
You can read the rest here.
And as we head into the thick of school season, I thought I’d recommend a book I make all my kids read, a book I think every young Christian person should read. It’s Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung on decision-making and the will of God. It helps to clear away the fog and mysticism and general weirdness about being wise.
Lastly, I have a new episode of my podcast, this time an interview with the scholar John Kilner, whose book, Dignity and Destiny is perhaps the comprehensive look at the doctrine of the image of God from an evangelical scholar:
A few more housekeeping notes:
If you a church planning your Christmas programming, you might consider my book, The Characters of Christmas.
If you are so inclined, you might consider giving toward my daughter’s school trip.
Oh, and Collin Hansen’s wonderful biography of Tim Keller is on sale at Amazon for a great price. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.