Horton on Kingdom and Culture

There are few topics that are more interesting or vital than a proper understanding of how Christ relates to culture. At the same time, there are few subjects that are more controversial or have as wide a range of thought within the pale of orthodoxy than does our understanding of how we as Christians should relate to and interact with the world around us. Thankfully, in such a controversial and often confusing discussion, there are certain thinkers who can bring much needed clarity and scriptural insight. One such person is one of the foremost evangelical authorities on issues related to Christ and culture, Michael Horton. As an author, radio host, and professor, Dr. Horton educates Christian laymen and women on "what they believe and why they believe it." I believe that he does more to bring a balanced and scriptural view regarding our roles as dual citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdoms of this world than any other current Christian author. I recently stumbled across an excellent article that he has written for Christianity Today entitled, How the Kingdom Comes that deals with this very subject. Here's a sample:

The kingdom at present is hidden under suffering and the Cross, conquering through Word and sacrament, yet one day it will be consummated as a kingdom of glory and power. First the Cross, weakness, and suffering; then glory, power, and the announcement that the kingdoms of this world have been made the kingdom of Christ (Rev. 11:15; see also Heb. 2:5-18).

This article, which was printed in the January edition of Christianity Today, was the first in a series dealing with the issue of the role of Evangelicalism in the 21st century. In it, Dr. Horton discusses how we can be truly "conterculteral," offering hope through the word and the sacrament, without creating a Christian subculture in which we mimic what we see the rest of the culture doing and label our particular appropriation of it "Christian." Dr. Horton brings much neededclarityy to this subject, not to mention the fact that he quotes CNN's Anderson Cooper. How cool is that?!