Culture Shift

Culture Shift: The Battle for the Moral Heart of America by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. offers cogent insight into the cultural war within America and the world at-large. He highlights the major edicts of secularism and offers arenas wherein the battle is raging – the law, public education, science, philosophy, and religion. The short chapters are filled with detailed research that transforms this book into a swift read; yet it deserves prolonged attention and reflection.

In discussing this topic, Mohler portrays a rather novel thesis for his discourse. His mentality permeates the entire treatise and is built upon Matthew 22:36-40. On page 26, he says: “we are motivated by love for other human beings, believing that health and welfare and happiness and commonweal [sic] are dependent on society’s being ordered in such a way that the Creator’s intentions for human relationships are honored and upheld.” This rationale perfectly explains why Christians should actively work within the world while not living like the world. Our love for God trumps everything else, yet that love for God drives us to live like no one else.

I agree with Mohler that public schools present ideological problems for Christian parents seeking to rear children from a Biblical worldview. He provides ample evidence of the cultural shift; however, I take exception to the conclusion of chapter 8. His solution, as stated on page 60, is for Christians “to develop an exit strategy from the public schools,” but this idea conflicts with his thesis on page 2. There, Mohler extrapolates that loving God and our neighbor “gives us a clear mandate for the right kind of cultural engagement.” The exit strategy hypothesis performs the exact opposite by exalting cultural disengagement on the part of Christians.

I am a Christian that proudly serves within the public school system. Yes, public education has significant flaws; however, the opportunities to showcase the love of God abound. Since we are commanded to be salt and light in this world, withdrawal prevents fulfillment of the directives in Matthew 5. Instead, Christian parents should remain highly involved in the education of their children by offering a Biblically-based education. Their children with then have the opportunity to live those lessons in the world, which will bring God the glory.

Despite the criticism of that point, Mohler’s book passionately proclaims the need for every Christian to present the world with “the undiluted truth of Christianity” (page 124). While I encourage you to get a copy and deeply consider its contents, I strongly urge you to dig deeper into the Bible to evaluate your life against God’s standards of truth.

Please rate this review:


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. For additional details, please visit http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 25: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”