Cultivating Christlike Virtue in a Virtue-Signaling Age by DUSTIN CROWE for The Gospel Coalition
In You Are What You Love, James K. A. Smith critiques American evangelicalism for equating knowledge with spiritual maturity. What we think is often prized above all, leading to “bobblehead Christianity.” Like the guy at the gym with big biceps and tiny calves, though, when we have inflated heads and shriveled hearts, our spiritual training needs correction.
As debates rage on in American churches related to COVID-19, church openings, racial injustices, politics, and the government’s power, one symptom of our reverence for rationality but collapse of character shows up in how we engage these issues. We need to examine Scripture on every subject, and we shouldn’t settle for thin thinking. We must cultivate virtue alongside our opinions and convictions.
For example, if we want to respond faithfully to the unjust treatment of minorities or immigrants, in addition to thinking about it through a biblical-theological lens, how might we benefit from considering Jesus’s life? Together, these approaches provide nuanced ways of understanding how biblical truth and wisdom are lived out. A study of Scripture reveals the need to advocate for mistreated image-bearers, but Jesus actually shows us what this looks like in tangible, compassionate acts to the powerless.
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Jesus teaches us not only what is right and true, but also how to display the beauty of the truth in our words, posture, and deeds. He models how to live righteously and love compassionately alongside how to think deeply.
I have no desire to remove the life of the mind from our Christian faith. But similar to how a spine out of whack damages other muscles, rationality at the expense of character is damaging to the church. Thankfully, we don’t have to choose between good theology and godly virtue. Jesus offers us both.
