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Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Home Bible Reflection Os Guinness – In the World but not of the World

Os Guinness – In the World but not of the World

Posted on July 10, 2015 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment


RenaissanceWhen the church goes to either of two extremes, and is so ‘in the world’ that it is of the world and worldly, or so ‘not of the world’ that it is otherworldly and might as well be out of the world altogether, it is powerless and utterly irrelevant. But when the church, through its faithfulness and its discernment of the times, lives truly ‘in’ but ‘not of’ the world, and is therefore the City of God engaging the City of Man, it touches off the secret of its culture-shaping power. For the intellectual and social tension of being ‘in’ but ‘not of’ the world provides the engagement-with-critical-distance that is the source of the church’s culture-shaping power.

Os Guinness in Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times

This is a tough balance to maintain, but an important one. We need to be diligent in figuring out what parts of the culture are validated by Scripture and what parts of culture are challenged by Scripture.

Perhaps we can raise up a generation of church leaders that will do a much better job of this than we have.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

I have the opportunity to go to Istanbul, Turkey this summer to minister to Syrian refugees. If you would like more details about this trip, please use this link Mark McIntyre - Istanbul, Turkey Please note that this trip is fully funded, but I would appreciate your continued prayer. The trip will take place June 27 - July 6, 2025.

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