Evangelicals Need a Constructive Vision

The problem is that negative visions sell in an attention economy because they arrest our attention more easily than positive visions. The saturnine aspect of fallen souls takes chthonic mirth in knowing what it’s against. Making war marshalls a malevolent joy, especially when you believe your cause is just. And let’s be honest: Evangelicalism is in a lamentable state. There is much to justly war about. Perhaps that’s why the sort of people who write about evangelicalism, culture, and evangelicalism’s place in culture find negative visions so appealing. It is necessary and satisfying work, after all. But above all, negative visions are simple. As Jerram taught me, critique is easier to make compelling than charity. This explains why the books consistently generating the most conversation—both from fans and detractors—follow a similar format: a book length dismantling of a problem followed by a single chapter or epilogue offering a positive vision forward. When was the last time you read a book (on evangelicalism and culture) that spent one or two chapters on a problem, and then the remainder offering a constructive alternative?