CCP117: On the Loosening of Evangelicalism

Aug 2, 2024

Brad East, a thoughtful observer of changing social norms within the church, joins the conversation to unpack significant shifts in evangelicalism over the last 25 years. He addresses evolving attitudes towards drinking, tattoos, and gambling, highlighting the growing acceptance of behaviors once deemed taboo. The discussion dives into the complexities surrounding marijuana's acceptance and the need for deeper spiritual connections over mere appearances. This dialogue challenges listeners to consider what modern Christian living truly entails amidst cultural changes.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Evolving Cultural Attitudes in Christianity

02:05 • 5min

The Shifting Perspectives on Marijuana within Christianity

06:39 • 2min

Evolving Norms in Evangelical Communities

08:42 • 12min

The Shift in Evangelical Christianity

20:53 • 13min

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent article in Christianity Today titled “The Loosening of Evangelicalism” written by Brad East. As the title implies, he gives his observations on the loosening of social norms within the church that has taken place for the last 25 years or so, particularly when it comes to changes in attitudes regarding alcohol, tattoos, dancing, gambling and mothers working outside of the home. So what, if any, are the implications of this shift when it comes to the church and how we are engaging with today's culture?

Episode Links

Interestingly, Dr. White gave a series at Mecklenburg Community Church several years ago that addressed many of the topics East mentioned in his article. The series was called “Is it okay for a Christian to…” and filled in the blanks with everything from gambling to watching R-rated movies to getting tattoos to smoking marijuana. You can find that series on Church & Culture HERE. And for an outline of the four-stage matrix Dr. White mentioned to determine whether something is prohibited or acceptable, we'd encourage you to read the Church & Culture blog entry HERE.

The Church & Culture Podcast has tackled some of the topics raised by East's article in the past. One area where culture has made a huge shift is in its embrace of marijuana. This was the topic of podcast discussion CCP74: On Smoking Marijuana and Drinking Wine that you can go back and listen to if you missed it. You can also check out CCP95: On Gambling, CCP79: On Cremation, CCP55: On Tattoos and Cosmetic Surgery and CCP22: On Yoga.

Finally, Dr. White discussed the importance of the church not capitulating to culture. Specifically, he mentioned recent decisions made by the United Methodist Church that have most definitely not led to growth of those churches. He mentioned a book written by sociologist Dean Kelley called Why Conservative Churches Are Growing, which you can find HERE.

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