I’ll come back to the tweet for further critique in a bit, but for now let me summarize the main thrust:

Christians should be not be engaged in a culture war, attempting to win back the culture.

I think that is a fair representation of what this brother is saying.

Before we engage that any further, we should consider a few things, such as a definition of culture, and a quick survey of views on the Christian’s ralationship to culture.

In Ashford and Bartholomew’s brilliant book, we read:

This is a really helpful understanding of “culture.” What becomes clear that every human in involved in culture, not just the unbeliever. Therefore, it is not, “us v. the culture,” as posited in the tweet being critiqued. The issue is, which culture(s) will have influence, dominance, and power.

This idea that all humanity is involved in creating "culture” is thoroughly biblical. In Genesis, God issues what is often referred to as the "cultural mandate:”

And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.” - Genesis 1:27-28

Several points need to be drawn out here. First, Adam and Eve are instructed using kingly language: “subdue” and “dominion.” You can do the word studies on your own time.

Second, when God says “fill” the earth, He is not just talking about people. He is talking about culture. Adam and Eve are to, for sure, replicate. But its not just a replication of themselves. They are to replicate and expand the Garden. They are to fill the earth according to the template that God has given them.

He has given them rivers filled with precious mineral and jewels, from which to build canals and irrigation off of:

Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. - Genesis 2:10

and God demonstrated which trees were objectively beautiful, and which ones were good for food :

And out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that is desirable in appearance and good for food,” Genesis 2:9

Adam and Even now have the divine template to work off of.

The next time the Bible uses the word translated as “fill” in 1:28, is in Genesis 6:11. At this point mankind has indeed filled the earth:

Now the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. Genesis 6:11

This post has gotten long enough, so I’ll wrap it up here with a quote from D. A. Carson, on common Christian responses to culture. See if you can place the tweet quoted, and the Bavinck quote at the top of the post, within this spectrum.

In the next post I will fill in more biblical details regarding the cultural mandate, and return to examine the quoted tweet in a bit more detail.

Part two has now been published, you can read it here.

You can catch my entire 40-part sermon series on God and Government on the following playlist: