For many years I have benefitted from the writings of many thinkers who could be called “transformationalist.” Transformationalists believe, among other things, that Christians are charged with engaging culture in a transformative way, to transform the world and its institutions in a distinctly Christian direction. I have prayerfully interacted with their literature and, though I have learned much, I have grown in the conviction that transformationalists miss several key Biblical themes and lack sufficient Biblical warrant for their position (see my review of Wilson’s Empires of Dirt and my post on the cultural mandate). On the other hand, I have also interacted with those of the Reformed 2 Kingdoms persuasion. I am convinced that they are also missing several aspects of the Biblical teaching (See my review of VanDrunen’s Living in God’s Two Kingdoms, my review of The City of God and the Goal of Creation, and my post on cultural antithesis).
I am convinced that the question of how Christians ought to orient themselves towards culture, specifically Western culture, is of the utmost importance for the flourishing of the Church in our day. In The Gift of Purpose, the latest volume in my series “God’s Gifts for the Christian Life,” I have sought to address a few of the issues I perceive in each of these positions and to articulate a different approach towards Western Culture. In the Gift of Purpose, I argue that Biblical doctrines of ecclesiology, soteriology, and eschatology shape all our decision making, especially as we think about our interactions with Western culture. The Gift of Purpose is now available for pre-order and will be released on December 18. To read more about the project and purchase a copy, go to this page.
