Subscribe to Posts
the culture war metaphor examined
Our brains manage meaning by the use of metaphor, comparing one thing to another so as to illuminate the other. Jesus did the same with his parables: revealing the unknown kingdom by the known mustard seed, sower, pearl of great price, daft woman who lost a coin, grieving father. We are ruled by the metaphors we embrace. Jesus said, “If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross daily, and follow me.” Carrying a cross, a beam of wood used to execute criminals, is the metaphor he chose to illuminate what it means to be his disciple. To be his disciple is to accept this metaphor. It is time for us to critically examine a metaphor offered to us in recent years to illuminate what it means for Christians to engage the surrounding culture: the metaphor of war, and it’s application by the Religious Right, that to be a faithful disciple of Jesus is to be a culture warrior.