Principles for Navigating Culture Wars
Intersection of Faith And Politics – Part 6
Jesus never picked sides in the culture wars. Here’s how His example of grace, truth, and pragmatism guides Christians today.
Culture wars are disputes over values, norms, and the moral direction of a society. Jesus faced these conflicts firsthand and left us examples for navigating them. I began with compassion as the first part of a three-pronged model for navigating culture wars. Compassion, Jesus taught, is a practical expression of faith—one that God values more than rituals.
In Part 5, I wrote:
“When people speak or behave in ways that are insensitive to human suffering and pain, it’s often because they are merely religious—because their faith is superficial and mechanical. Anyone who truly knows God understands that mercy, kindness, and compassion matter more than rituals.”
Jesus requires us to be compassionate in all situations, even when moral issues are at stake.
This is the final installment in the series. But before we dive into it, let’s quickly recap the journey so far:
Part 1: I made the case that God Is Not a Republican.
Part 2: I argued, in the same vein, that God Is Not a Democrat.
Part 3: I examined the dangers The Rise of Political Pastors poses to the church.
Part 4: I challenged you to engage in self-examination in Are You American First and Christian Second?
Part 5: I unpacked Jesus and Culture Wars: Lessons for Today.
In this post, I’ll explore the remaining two principles—impartiality and pragmatism—and how Jesus modeled them for us.
2. Jesus Was Impartial
When Jesus was asked whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar—a political landmine—He replied:
“…give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
— Matthew 22:21
Jesus maintained strategic neutrality and refused to be trapped. This wasn’t a moral violation like adultery, so instead of condemning or endorsing the tax, He wisely sidestepped the snare altogether.
In John 4, Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman. When she raised the debate over the proper place of worship, Jesus first told her:
“You [Samaritans] worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is of the Jews.” — v.22
He was clear: the Samaritans were worshiping falsely. But He didn’t stop there. He added:
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” — v.23–24
In a human sense, Jesus was a Jew, not a Samaritan—yet He did not side with the Jews. Instead, He proclaimed the truth, because both sides were wrong. Neither Jerusalem for the Jews nor Mount Gerizim for the Samaritans was the true place of worship.
That is what impartiality looks like.
Even the religious establishment recognized this about Him, despite their hostility toward some of His teachings:
“Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.”
— Luke 20:21
There’s some flattery here, but they weren’t wrong. They recognized His impartiality. This must be our posture in the culture war if we’re going to be effective disciples and faithful proclaimers of the gospel.
We see this principle even in geopolitics through the concept of neutrality—when a nation chooses not to align with any bloc. While true neutrality is often fragile or performative, the appearance of it still makes a nation less likely to be drawn into conflict and more likely to function as a trusted intermediary. I use this analogy only as a metaphor because Jesus’ impartiality is anchored in righteousness and divine truth.
This is where the church and Christians should stand. Unfortunately, many do not. Impartiality doesn’t mean refusing to speak the truth; it means speaking the truth regardless of who is affected. Our mission is to proclaim Christ, His truth, and the kingdom of God—not to become entangled in culture wars.
3. Jesus Took a Pragmatic Approach
Pragmatism is the corrective to unbending idealism. In John 4, Jesus crossed a deep cultural divide by asking a Samaritan woman for water. She was also a serial divorcee—five husbands (v.18).
One of the major cultural tensions of the time was that Jews did not associate with Samaritans. Even His disciples were surprised to see Him talking with her (v.27). Jesus was thirsty. While that wasn’t the only reason He engaged her, she was a source of water—and more importantly, a candidate for God’s kingdom. This is something we often lose sight of in the heat of ideological fervor.
Notice that Jesus talked with her, not at her. There was no talking down, no moral grandstanding, no judgment. He didn’t reject her because of her moral failures, and He didn’t even introduce the subject himself—it emerged naturally in the conversation.
Jesus freely associated with people the religious leadership, and much of Jewish society, considered morally unworthy, yet they were precisely the kinds of people who were candidates for God’s kingdom. Think of Zacchaeus the tax collector in Luke 19, or Matthew, another tax collector who went on to write one of the Gospels.
Jesus crossed cultural and moral divides to reach people. Today, we see what happens when ideological rigidity replaces human connection: I recently saw a woman publicly disown her own father—who raised her and poured love into her life—simply because he held political beliefs she disagreed with.
The Pharisees frequently accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath, another culture war flashpoint. Instead of rejoicing over what He was doing—healing the sick, restoring broken bodies, bringing joy and wholeness—their sole concern was Sabbath observance.
In Mark 3:1–6, a man with a shriveled hand became the target of their ideological fixation. They missed the miracle and the joy of a restored life. To them, it was merely an opportunity to accuse Jesus.
Yet Jesus did not condemn them outright. He challenged their conscience by asking what they would do if their own sheep fell into a well on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:11). He forced them to confront their own inconsistency.
When you encounter someone advocating policies or pushing ideas that seem, on the surface, cold, insensitive, or inhumane, you are often dealing with someone trapped in rigid, legalistic thinking. Their approach reflects the coldness of a puritanical ideology.
As I keep saying, we humans are prone to binary thinking—reducing everything to all good or all bad. God does not think that way.
Following Jesus Means Following His Example
Jesus acted these ways to leave us examples to follow. If you consider yourself a true disciple of Jesus, then you are expected to do as Jesus did. As He said:
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master…”
— Matthew 10:24–25
If you think you can act differently from how Jesus acted and still call yourself His disciple, then you are not one. You may deceive yourself by claiming that you are, but you are not. Period. Party loyalty or adherence to political dogma must never take precedence over following Him.
Jesus did not take sides in the culture wars. He often went against the grain, charting a different path—such as when He refused to condemn the woman caught in adultery.
Scripture clearly condemns certain sins—adultery, murder, fornication, and others—and we must condemn them too. Yet there are social issues where God’s will is not spelled out explicitly. In these areas, we are guided instead by principles: to act with grace, apply common sense, and exercise humanity.
As true Christians, the world is not always going to like us for our moral convictions. But if we consistently practice compassion, impartiality, and pragmatism, they might just respect us.