The Culture War is Over: We Lost!
February 11, 2008
S. Michael Craven

I have come to face this possibility along with its implications, most recently while reading the new book by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons entitled unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity … and Why it Matters. In the book, Jud Wilhite, a pastor in Las Vegas says just that, “In Las Vegas, where I live, the culture war is over. We lost. Let me repeat: WE LOST. Now our calling is to love and accept people one-on-one, caring for them where they are. Our role is subversive as we carry the light and love of Jesus into the casinos, clubs, and streets of our city.” (Kinnaman & Lyons, unChristian, Baker Books, 2007, p. 62)

A recent conversation on the subject of cloning with my good friend, a philosophy professor, further underscores the moral and cultural defeat of the Church in the West. My friend, who must remain anonymous due to the risk of exposure as a Christian, which would likely cost him tenure, also teaches medical ethics at a major medical school. He points out, radical new frontiers are being explored and old moral and ethical boundaries are being challenged and/or obliterated almost daily within the field of medical science. He argues that modern science is rapidly moving beyond therapy and treatment to “enhancement” and the alteration of human nature itself. He adds that scientific progress into the morally ambiguous areas of human cloning, nanobiotechnology, and neurosciences has achieved such a level that any hope of stopping it at this point is nearly futile. the rest image