It piqued my
interest because under normal circumstances the Metaxas project would be
something Mohler would appreciate. His understanding of history has led him to
be what I would describe as a card-carrying member of the Churchill cult. He
defends nuclear weapons and their use, praises the US military every chance he
gets and he promotes American Nationalism and what I would call
Christo-American syncretism. Like many other Nationalistic Baptists I know he more
or less detests Europe and criticizes its culture and model every chance he
gets. All geopolitical questions are viewed through specifically American
viewpoints. According to Mohler these perspectives are all just manifestations
of the Biblical worldview.
He's someone
I intensely disagree with and I believe his influence is overall quite harmful.
His daily briefings on the news are riddled with distortion and error and yet
many look to him as something of a sage. Recently I was at a grocery store and
was pleased (in a sense) to find one of his books in the bargain bin. It
provided his Biblical commentary on the secularization of American culture. His
whole framing of the question is just an exercise in question begging and has
little to do with Scripture. He's a champion of Christendom to be sure. I
almost forgot myself and grew so irritated by some of his statements in the
book I almost threw it down the aisle. I had to just set it down and walk away.
I do find it quite upsetting when Christian leaders promote and defend evil. I
wish more Christians were bothered by it but that's not the case.
Now after
all that to listen to this podcast and realize that Mohler, yes even Mohler is
turning on Metaxas. Well that says something. It says that Metaxas' work is of
such poor quality that even a Christo-American propagandist like Mohler can't
endorse it without feeling like his integrity has been compromised.
Metaxas was
writing for a particular American context and shaped the history to fit it. He
either is ignorant of the theological milieu that shaped Bonhoeffer or he
deliberately distorted it to fit his narrative.
This is not
something unique. This type of exercise permeates Evangelical circles. They are
caught in an echo chamber and have closed their minds and hardened their
hearts. The politicization of knowledge means that all of history and its interpretations
have to be shaped to fit an agenda and packaged in a way that makes it
accessible and able to be utilized. Historical interpretation has fallen prey
to good old political pragmatism. Dominionist theology has epistemological and
ethical implications and they're not good. It sows seed in the heart that bears
a rotten fruit.
Mohler is
certainly one of them and yet apparently Metaxas crossed the line. Even
Mohler's deformed ethic was compromised by the scholarship of Metaxas.
In the end
it doesn't matter, Metaxas' star is ascendant. His Bonhoeffer biography and
other works have made him rich and he's getting his own radio show. He says
what itching ears want to hear and that's a sure guarantee for success and
financial reward.
