What Nonconformity Does NOT Mean

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Recently I argued here that Christians, especially evangelical Christians, ought to discerningly, using biblical insights and wisdom, practice nonconformity with the pagan/secular culture around them and that this principle of biblical nonconformity is falling away from even evangelical church life and life in evangelical institutions.

Here I want to address an error often made by Christians who think about nonconformity to culture—the error of thinking that implies anti-intellectualism and/or separation from the culture.

I grew up in a Christian subculture that did fall into those errors—along with perhaps the majority of conservative evangelicals in the 1950s and before. For example, in high school I became interested in philosophy and began attempting to read it, especially existentialist philosophy. I was firmly told to stop it. In my home we, the children, were not allowed to own or read comic books (e.g., “Archie and Jughead”) and reading secular fiction was frowned on. No secular music, except occasionally classical music, was allowed. We were not allowed to listen to “rock ‘n roll” music or even just popular music of the 1960s. When the “Grand Ol’ Opry” came to town our pastor forbade church people to attend. Etc., etc., etc.

Nonconformity does not mean eschewing everything in pagan/secular culture. As theologian Rich Mouw has pointed out many times and in many places, all truth is God’s truth and all things bright and beautiful belong to God and should be enjoyed. My church and home believed that in part, but practiced it very inconsistently. For the most part, anything labeled “worldly” was frowned upon and rejected. Dancing, attending plays and movies, reading novels, even watching television—all were frowned on.

When I enrolled in the Ph.D program of a secular university, to study religious studies and theology, I knew many of my family members and church acquaintances and friends were praying for me—not that God would protect my mind but that I would see the light and drop out of that Godless and useless endeavor. I often wondered what they thought when my first teaching position was at a large, evangelical, even charismatic university! I detected confusion among them.

Too many American Christians, especially conservative ones, wrongly assume that nonconformity means abandoning the life of the mind—beyond reading scripture and books written by “trusted Christian authors.” Evangelical historian Mark Noll’s book “The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind” has just been republished with a new “Afterward.” The original book and this new publication with the added Afterward decry the widespread evangelical abandonment of the life of the mind, of evangelical engagement with culture and of creativity in the arts and sciences, etc. Noll mentions many exceptions, but he is right that overall and in general evangelicals in America have not been productive of new research or even knowledgeable about the world (physical or cultural).

Nonconformity has ONLY to do with NOT “going along with” every new trend in pagan/secular culture but sitting back and thinking discerningly about pagan/secular culture and deciding within our communities where and when and how we evangelical Christian should respond to its habits, customs, traditions, etc.

The Apostle Paul clearly knew Greek philosophy and poetry and went among the intelligentsia of Athens to discuss God with them. He impressed at least some of them with his ability to quote from pagan authors. Clearly Paul practiced nonconformity to the dominant culture as I have argued for it here, but he did not take it to an extreme such as many conservative evangelicals in America do (e.g., anti-intellectualism, “holy ignorance,” etc.).

Christian pastors ought to address cultural issues from their pulpits and lecterns and guide their congregations in discernment. For example, what ought we, evangelical Christians, to think about recreational marijuana use as it is soon to become legal? (I refer to efforts in congress to withdraw federal laws against it.) Is there a difference between recreational use of such a mood-altering drug and medical use of it? I think there is. Too many conservative Christians simply cannot handle such seemingly subtle distinctions without help.

What about bio-medical ethics as it rushes forward toward gene editing and other revolutionary transformations within science? Where should Christians draw the line(s)? What about gun ownership for more than hunting? Should Christians buy and own arsenals of automatic weapons (as some neighbors of mine once had)? What about buying expensive clothing just for the name brand? What about social media and its uses?

In all my years among American evangelicals I have never heard sermons or pastoral talks about these matters. They get discussed in college, university and seminary ethics classes, sometimes, but it seems to me the lay people are left to their own devices about them.

The church’s job is not to forbid young Christians from attending college or university, but it is to prepare them to be discerning about what they will hear and study there.

I could go on, but I think this is enough to warn against a common misinterpretation of Christian nonconformity. The devil is always in the details, of course, so what I am urging here is not so much specific rules of nonconformity but thoughtful, biblically-informed, intelligent conversations about it that are open to learning from beyond Christian boundaries while at the same time drawing lines that protect against mindless, thoughtless accommodations to pagan/secular culture.