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When we observe growing hostility to the Christian faith, it’s easy to begin questioning our own beliefs. Are we really as extreme and fringe as the media makes us out to be? However, it’s not conservative Christianity that has changed; it’s the culture around it. We need to be ready for the fallout.

I recently read an ABC article — maybe “pre-election hit piece” is a better way to describe it — on a “religious right” effort to “control” the Victorian Liberal Party. Never mind the inconvenient reality that all political factions in all parties seek to “control” the party of which they are a part.

This case was different: it involved religion.

The Andrew Thorburn Resignation and the Failure of Christian Winsomeness

In light of the recent Andrew Thorburn saga (and other instances I will mention in this article), Christians should probably reassess our standing in the wider Australian context. How can we best engage with an increasingly hostile culture?

Many Christians over the past few decades have chosen the “winsome” path — attempting to present Christianity in its most palatable light and emphasising areas of vague agreement with the world while seeking to avoid both discussing controversial issues and compromising on fundamental Biblical truths.

 

In a recent article in The American Conservative, influential author and Christian intellectual Rod Dreher argues that Thorburn’s sacking demonstrates the “futility of Christian winsomeness”. Agreeing with an article by Dr Simon Kennedy in Mere Orthodoxy, Dreher argues that Christians are now experiencing a “Negative World”—namely, “a cultural milieu in which it is damaging to be a traditional Christian”.

The ABC article that I mentioned before superbly illustrates both Kennedy and Dreher’s points about Western elite culture’s changing attitudes towards Christianity.

As I read the article, I was struck by the extent to which Australia’s “mainstream” elite has resorted to marginalisation, and even demonisation, of conservative forms of Christianity. The ABC obviously considers the actions of those Christians accused of seeking “control” of the Liberal Party to be newsworthy. That is despite the fact that they were simply participating in the democratic process like numerous other Australians across the political spectrum.

Why is this considered newsworthy? Well, they were Christians — conservative Christians, or as Fiona Patten is quoted saying, “very conservative” Christians (my emphasis). Ms Patten accuses conservative Christians of not being “reflective” of progressive Victorian society and making up only “a very small percentage” of the population.

Incidentally, this is coming from a politician who founded the Sex Party (later renamed the Reason Party) and received a whopping 1.37% (Legislative Council) and 0.36% (Legislative Assembly) of the vote at the last Victorian election.

Religious Illiteracy, Absolute Truth Claims and Secular Pluralism

As Australian culture — particularly in the media, universities and politics — shifts towards a more aggressively secular consensus, conservative forms of religion become increasingly alien to the public conversation. Simultaneously, Australian culture has become increasingly less tolerant of those faiths that make any exclusive claim to the truth.

With the exception of certain very liberal versions, Christianity is one of those faiths.

Put simply, Australia’s mainstream media, academia and political elites can no longer comprehend a religious belief that makes absolute truth claims. They pay lip service to religious “pluralism” while insisting that secularism is the only worldview with a claim to actual knowledge.

“Fundamentalist” (i.e., conservative) Christianity threatens this orthodoxy because it refuses to confine its truth claims to the “private” domain of “personal worship”.

Instead, it willingly exposes them to public debate and passionately defends them in the public square — whether that be through political lobbying, voting according to their values, or even — shock and horror — joining a political party.

Conservative Christianity insists, with Abraham Kuyper, that:

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

That sentiment scares today’s elites.

It clearly scares the ABC. This is not the first time they have lashed out at Pentecostal Christianity.

Back in September, I responded to an ABC hit piece that caricatured Pentecostal Christianity as some fringe right-wing theocratic cult (without actually saying it). It capitalised on widespread Australian ignorance about and fear of Pentecostalism (stemming perhaps from its association with Scott Morrison).

Making use of unconfirmed accusations, the report seemed to insinuate that new “hardline” and “far right” Pentecostal Liberals had a malicious agenda to branch stack and “infiltrate” the party.

You can read my full piece here.

The Clash Between Conservative Christianity and Australian Elites

In a similar vein, during Scott Morrison’s time as PM, Philip C. Almond, an emeritus professor at the University of Queensland, published a piece entitled “Five aspects of Pentecostalism that shed light on Scott Morrison’s politics”.

The piece posed as a careful exposé of Pentecostalism’s influence on Australian politics. In reality, it made very little sense and demonstrated (at best) an appalling ignorance concerning historic Christianity.

As a religious studies expert, you would have thought Prof Almond would have known better.

I encourage you to check out the full article here — I think you’ll find it quite amusing, particularly if you’re not a Pentecostal (you’ll realise that, according to Almond’s criteria, you actually are one).

In his article, Almond seems to claim (or at least strongly imply) that belief in “Miracles”, “Divine providence”, “Pietism” and “Exclusivism” are unique characteristics of Pentecostal churches. This is despite the fact that most of the things he listed as “aspects of Pentecostalism” have been mainstream Christian beliefs for millennia — they are certainly not unique to Pentecostalism.

This is not to say that Pentecostalism isn’t a unique expression of Christianity — it’s just to say that it is not unique in many of the ways Almond implies it is.

If you want any more examples of the “Negative World” in which Australian Christians find themselves, look no further than the baffling case of Bernie Finn, an outspoken pro-life activist and former member of the Liberal Party.

In the fallout from the overturning of Roe v Wade, Bernie Finn expressed his desire to see abortion banned in Australia as well. Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy promptly had Finn expelled from the Liberal Party.

For merely stating that he wanted to see abortion (the legalised murder of unborn children) outlawed in Australia, Bernie Finn was kicked out of Victoria’s supposedly “liberal” party.

That’s tolerance for you.

Watch my full interview with Bernie Finn here.

 

The amusing conclusion to the saga is that Bernie Finn was quickly replaced in the Liberal Party by the equally staunch pro-lifer Moira Deeming, while he moved over to support the work of the Democratic Labour Party in Victoria.

Conclusion: Australia’s New “Negative World”

Stories like Andrew Thorburn’s and Bernie Finn’s should remind us that Australia is no longer a neutral place for Christians to live. As Dreher says, it is now “damaging” — from a cultural perspective — to be a traditional Christian.

Articles like Almond’s reveal the extent to which conservative forms of Christianity are now misunderstood or blatantly misconstrued, even by supposed experts.

Likewise, the frantic media coverage of legitimate political engagement by Christians shows us that there is an irrational fear of conservative Christianity by at least some within our elite class.

We are now cultural outsiders.

No, we are not yet truly persecuted; it could be far worse. We are not victims, and we should not act like we are. Nevertheless, Christians should think carefully about how we engage with this new “Negative World”.

I’ll finish by quoting from Rod Dreher’s stern warning to the Church:

“The woke elites in Australia drove this man out of his job in a single day, because he attends a church where a decade ago, the pastor criticized homosexuality and abortion. That’s all it took. To his very great credit, Andrew Thorburn chose to stand by his faith, and resign his position.

Are you prepared to do the same? Will your children be? Will you have a strong community standing by you to pick you up after the culture throws you out of the window onto the street? Can you say where the line is, beyond which you cannot be pushed, for the sake of the Gospel?

If not, you’re going to get flattened at best, and will apostatize at worst. If you’re not preparing yourself, your family, and your community for this test now, you’re going to fail it badly when they come for you. And they will come for you.”

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Photo by Danne.