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A wife and mother shares her testimony and reminds the Western church of the immense value of Cultural Christianity.

In recent years the Western world has witnessed a fast fade of what we might call ‘Cultural Christianity’. Less people are attending church, the Christian moral consensus has been set aside in many nations, and it is now common for everyday people to view Christianity as not just irrelevant but even dangerous.

Secularists welcome this shift. Sadly, many Christians are, at best, apathetic about it. At worst, believers even celebrate the loss of Cultural Christianity as potentially beneficial for the gospel.

According to this line of logic, authentic faith will shine brighter in the absence of counterfeits, and the church will be purified as a result of increasing hostility.

Maybe.

But what if more is lost than gained by the fade of Cultural Christianity?

‘Because of Cultural Christianity, I heard the Gospel’

Becca Daws describes herself as a ‘homeschool mama of 4’ and is the wife of Josh Daws, host of The Great Awokening Podcast. In a recent thread on Twitter, Becca made a powerful case for Cultural Christianity.

Notably, she did not argue that Cultural Christianity is good merely for Christians, but for whole societies and specifically, for the spread of the gospel.

“I am the product of Cultural Christianity,” she begins. Her short testimonial continues:

My parents were nominal Christians at best. Because of cultural pressure, they did not abort me but got married instead.

Because of pressure from Cultural Christianity, my parents took me to church and Awana, which became a haven for me from the absolute nightmare my life was becoming at home.

Because of Cultural Christianity, I heard the Gospel at my local church and came to a saving faith in Jesus. In contrast to my own, I saw what a healthy family seeking the Lord looked like and wanted to have that type of family when I grew up.

By God’s grace, I have a healthy family who is being taught about and seeking the Lord.

Now I have loved ones following the same patterns of dysfunction, but because there is no cultural pressure to attend church, they and their families are not hearing the Gospel regularly as I did as a child.

We can’t rewind the past, but it’s important to recognize what we’ve lost and try to fill that gap by bringing the Gospel to the lost.

Pray That We Can Live Peaceful and Quiet Lives

Were it not for Cultural Christianity, Becca argues, she would have been just another secular statistic. Instead, she had the opportunity to attend church, hear the gospel and see the Christian life modelled well by God’s people — and now, she is raising her own family to know the Lord.

By contrast, she has loved ones today who will miss the same opportunities she had because of the loss of a Christian consensus and the rise of secularism in Western nations like the United States.

Becca’s story is a reminder to Christians not to be hasty in cheering on the decline of Cultural Christianity, as secularists are apt to do.

The apostle Paul himself offered similar counsel. Though he addressed his letters to Christians facing persecution, Paul did not elevate persecution as the ideal context for the spread of the gospel. On the contrary, in 1 Timothy 2:1-4 he wrote:

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Saviour, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

Image via Unsplash.