To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World

by James Davison Hunter

This legacy of ambivalence, however, has done nothing to lessen the eagerness of Christians to fulfill this mandate in our own time, nor should it. To be sure, Christian believers of all traditions can be found calling each other to engage the world and to change it for the better. Consider the number and range: The Presbyterian Church USA aims at “renewing the church to transform the world,”3 The Episcopal Church declares that a “revolution” (of justice and peace) “is precisely what God’s work, God’s mission, is all about.”4 The mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America calls for “transforming the structures of society, working for justice, and preserving the earth.”5 And the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops declares that influencing the political world is important because “Our faith demands it. Our teaching calls us to it. Our nation needs it and others depend on it. We can make a difference.”6