Dateline: June 8th in the year of our Lord 2022
You may have seen the "Miseducation of America" on FOX Nation, or a new book I coauthored with Pete Hegseth of FOX news: "Battle for the American Mind" due out on June 14th. Classical Christian education has long been about the work of transforming education in America and the world. But, we've been a well kept secret. In 2020, I was approached by FOX News host Pete Hegseth who had questions about what we were up to. The more he learned, the more he wanted to tell the story.
As has happened so many times in the 2000 year history of the church, cobelligerents, as Francis Schaeffer called them, have been used by God to further His work. Paul famously engaged the Athenian court at the Areopagus. Constantine, emperor of Rome, called one of the first church councils at Nicaea. Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor, called upon Alcuin to build monasteries and schools in present day Germany. Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, protected and expanded the ministry of Martin Luther. Billy Graham famously engaged leaders from America and even the Soviet Union, and public figures like Johnny Cash. Most, if not all of these connections between secular organizations or leaders and Christianity did not endorse the worldly powers, but rather were used to extend the reach of Truth and the Gospel.
In this context, the work I have done with FOX is simply a continuation of this tradition. Neither I nor the organization I represent (the ACCS) make any claims about these organizations or people. Rather, we engage with those who happen to have power or influence, in hopes of reaching those who have ears to hear. In other cases, I've given interviews to the New York Times and to other media outlets who are not as friendly to our message. We offer up a message and pray that the Lord will use secular and faithful people alike to spread His message.
At FOX, and at Harper Collins (publisher of Battle…), I believe we have found cobelligerents. I know that both of these organizations are not in our camp. For example, FOX recently did a piece favorable to transitioning kids , and Harper famously canceled Christian authors. Disreputable claims can be made of those historical figures I mentioned in the second paragraph. FOX and Harper's political profile is off-putting to some. But insofar as they convey our message to a broad audience otherwise unreached, I am grateful for their platform.
In the fall of 2019, I cooperated with Louis Markos on a cover piece for Christianity Today; a publisher that was not quite as friendly to work with as FOX, as they titled the piece “The Rise of the Bible-Teaching, Plato-Loving, Homeschool Elitists.” Of course, the piece was neither about Homeschool or Elitists. Beside the unflattering title, CT took a few other jabs at honorable Christians. Perhaps because CT is not painted with the same negativity among reigning cultural elites as FOX news, I heard no concerns about my work as the representative of the ACCS with CT– a publication claiming to be Christian and which has been more friendly to CRT and LGBT issues than Christians should be comfortable with.
Some fear that FOX is too close to politics. But, Christianity is political. Politics, broadly defined is "the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status." (wikipedia) Christianity speaks to how decisions should be made for communities. It speaks to proper forms of power among individuals. It speaks volumes to the distribution of resources and status. Lyndon B. Johnson and the progressives before him set in the American zeitgeist the idea that Christianity has no place in politics. Christians believed and adopted the rhetoric from these foes– and they were truly foes. In our age, where the formal politics of America have become stark, with the Democrat party's alignment with so much evil, and a mixed bag in the Republican party, Christians should engage. Not because we believe Christianity is subservient to politics, and not because we look to politics for solutions, but rather because Christ came to bring the hope of a new Kingdom-- a political structure that transcends man's. This is a hope desperately needed today. Without Christianity, nations are doomed to live in darkness.
To answer the headline, FOX and Harper are neither allies nor are they foe. The people at those organizations may be helpful, or they may be antagonists. They are most certainly sinners, as are we all.
In the words of Daniel Strange, “We must be careful though that we do not become a stumbling block for other Christians, and that our co-belligerence does not communicate to a watching world the possibility of neutrality and the dilution of the exclusivity of Christ and the gospel.”
In both situations-- my book and the documentary-- I was given editorial control of the message. I stand behind my work with both organizations and welcome critique. The messengers were not perfect. But then, who is worthy to do God’s work, but for grace? The messengers, myself included, are merely that– those who help reach an audience.
I am grateful to have worked with both FOX and Harper. Both organizations, so far, have worked in our best interests and have behaved with integrity. I wish CT or the New York Times had been as friendly. The message in both works, I pray, is faithful to the whole Gospel of Christ.