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of Christians being Exiles in our culture biblically speaking this is a motif it is
part of the way we're supposed to see ourselves in the world at all times right the way it gets used
in American culture in particular sometimes rubs me the wrong way it's like the whole
it's like the the uh you know and I I'm actually wrote one of the early articles about this the
you know older evangelicals tended to see America as Israel and younger Evangelical
sin to see America as Babylon yeah uh and I I still think that posture wise that's
been true but I my point a lot of people took that that comment and they thought
yes older Americans are wrong younger evangelicals are right we are in Babylon we should see
ourselves as sex I was I was wanting to say well we're not it's America was never Israel and
America even now isn't exactly Babylon you you we have we have more agency than Israel did when they
were shipped off to Babylon like we're not Indigo at this at this point yeah there is the pressure
to Bow before the idol the pinch of incense for Caesar and all right I'm not denying that there's
significant challenges for Religious Freedom in the Public Square but I I do feel like sometimes
when we use the Exile language in an American context it actually under sells some of the power
uh that we do have to Steward wisely for the good of not just the church but for for society and so
yes we should see ourselves as Exiles because Peter tells us to so but but that if that that was
true even in the America as Israel years for yeah for evangelicals as well so that's that's where it
I've got challenges yeah no that's a blessing and it's a blessing that we need to uh lean into for
the good of our neighbor for the common good of our neighbor for me I think what's what's
important to think about is um we're probably Exiles in ways that we don't anticipate right
so there are probably ways in which we see ours that we are accommodating to culture that are
invisible to us and that's where things get um not scary but uh we should be concerned
and alarmed so even someone who really identifies with being an exile who says we are in Babylon uh
just burn this place down there's nothing good here they are probably accommodating in ways
there's probably always all of us are probably accommodating in ways that we don't see and
I don't bring that up to make you know to make people paranoid but but to calmly and cautiously
and discerningly with wisdom in community ask ourselves what are some ways in which we are
adopting ideas that uh we should not be and so uh one of those that we have both written about is
expressive individualism right that that's it's easy to imbibe this idea that we create our own
identities that we sustain our own identities that we have this responsibility to it's just
that I choose to create an identity that's Christian um a certain kind of Evangelical right
um but what I'm not recognizing is that I get my identity actually from God
um and that's where my identity should be grounded so so we're not as different as we think we are
that's the trick yeah and sometimes I think the the Exile language can obscure
um can can be a cop-out where we say oh I know that I'm in a an exile and I'm living
in Babylon and I want to say maybe yeah you are an exile but you probably aren't living like one
um and it's probably in ways that are invisible to you so that I I guess this goes back to the the
thing we started with was um when Peter talks about us being Exiles or sojourners strangers
um that I that should be deeper than the cultural circumstances that we find
ourselves in yeah like that's a deeper I think identity it's not something we've
just now stumbled into or construct it's actually a way of being in the world that
is going to make us in all circumstances stand out at some level so the real question is are
are we standing out as we should or are we building our identities in the same way as
everyone else to where even though we think we're standing strong we're just as worldly as others