Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age

In 'Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age,' Rosaria Butterfield tackles the cultural and ideological shifts that challenge traditional Christian beliefs. Butterfield, a former professor and LGBTQ+ advocate turned Christian author and speaker, brings a unique perspective to the discussion. She critiques modern societal norms, particularly around sexuality and gender, and emphasizes the importance of adhering to biblical truths. The book is a call to Christians to confront cultural lies, reclaim gospel-centered truth, and maintain doctrinal integrity. Readers will benefit from Butterfield's insights on navigating faith in a secular world, understanding the biblical perspective on identity, and fostering a supportive Christian community.

Key Ideas:

1. The Authority of Scripture: Butterfield underscores the importance of the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, which claims that the Bible, being inspired by God, is free from error. She argues that this belief is crucial for maintaining a sound Christian faith and resisting contemporary moral and spiritual relativism. 'The authority and inerrancy of Holy Scripture are the bedrock upon which true Christianity stands,' she asserts, emphasizing the need for unwavering adherence to biblical teachings.

2. Confronting Cultural Lies: Rosaria Butterfield argues that Christians must actively confront cultural lies that permeate society, rather than passively accepting them. She likens these lies to air pollution, subtly affecting our consciousness until it’s too late. Butterfield emphasizes the need for Christians to reclaim gospel-centered truth and address falsehoods in public discourse and within churches. She states, 'unconfronted lies work a little like air pollution: we breathe it in, and we never realize that we are ingesting it until it's too late.'

3. Redefinition of Personhood: Butterfield critiques the modern redefinition of personhood, particularly regarding LGBTQ+ identities, which she believes places sexual desires at the core of personal identity. She contrasts this with the biblical view that our identity is rooted in bearing the image of God. 'LGBTQ+ describes who someone is rather than how someone feels,' she argues, highlighting the shift from a biblical anthropology to one influenced by figures like Freud.

4. The Role of the Church in a Changing Society: Butterfield discusses the dangers of the church adopting secular vocabulary and ideals, which she believes leads to theological compromise. She illustrates this with the case of teacher Peter Vlaming, who was fired for not adhering to pronoun laws, reflecting how deeply normalized and enforced these ideologies have become. 'A word can be exchanged for synonyms, but a keyword is implemented with religious exactitude,' she notes, emphasizing the importance of maintaining biblical language and concepts.

5. Empathy vs. Sympathy: Butterfield makes a crucial distinction between empathy and sympathy, advocating for the latter in dealing with sin. She suggests that empathy, which involves deeply identifying with others' experiences, can lead to endorsing or tolerating sin. Instead, she posits that sympathy allows one to stand on objective truth and offer genuine help. 'Sympathy recognizes a problem that someone else has, and sympathy grieves and longs for a solution,' she explains.

6. Biblical Submission and Gender Roles: Butterfield emphasizes the importance of adhering to biblical gender roles and submission, which she views as protective and empowering rather than oppressive. She argues that true submission is tied to Christian faithfulness and provides historical examples like Jenny Geddes to illustrate this point. 'A godly woman’s best defense against a potentially abusive husband is church membership in a biblically faithful church where she is a member in good standing,' she asserts.

7. The Destructive Power of Envy: Butterfield discusses envy as a deeply destructive emotion that distorts human behavior and societal norms. She draws a controversial parallel between envy and transgenderism, suggesting that the desire to change one’s gender is rooted in envy. 'Transgenderism is the sin of envy with a host of enablers, some of them calling themselves Christian,' she claims, highlighting the severe consequences of societal endorsements of such identities.

Practical Tips:

1. Stand Firm in Biblical Truth: Regularly immerse yourself in Scripture to discern and counter the lies that permeate society. Active engagement with the Bible helps you recognize distortions of truth and strengthens your faith.

2. Engage with Courage: Participate in societal discourse with a humble yet firm stance on biblical truths. Instead of retreating, voice your beliefs and confront falsehoods respectfully but assertively.

3. Foster Genuine Community Support: Seek and offer support within your church community, ensuring it remains a safe space for repentance and growth rather than one that affirms sinful patterns.

4. Practice Modesty Actively: Engage in modest dress, speech, and conduct to safeguard your spiritual health and that of your community. Modesty is an active grace that combats scandal and temptation.

5. Manage Social Media Wisely: Use social media responsibly and avoid airing grievances publicly. Ensure your interactions online reflect Christian virtues of grace and reconciliation, as Butterfield advises against letting the Internet escalate conflicts.

Key Quotes:

• Proclaiming the truth, living in humble obedience to the word, and professing faith in Jesus Christ is what honors God.

• Lies do not coexist with truth but rather corrupt it.

• Changing the definition of personhood is ungodly and unloving. It has led to all manner of lost souls, broken families, and theological heresy.

• The world is always trying to replace Christianity with a spiritual counterfeit that is another religion entirely.

• Know and abide in God’s word so that the truth will set us free.

• God’s design for women determines our roles and our priorities.

• You repent because you—and everyone around you—made heroes out of mere men and then watched them morph into heretics.

• The creation ordinance not only describes how men and women are created distinctly and by God’s design; it defines what it means to be human.

• We all live in Babel now because people exchanged the truth for lies and have codified these lies into the law of the land.

• Whatever is not commanded in Scripture is prohibited in worship, for the purpose of guarding against idolatry.

• Over time, the triage method easily places all second-tier matters into third-tier.

• Intersectionality claims to create community, but the community it creates is fractured, victim-minded, angry, and inconsolable.

• The only way you can hate your sin without hating yourself is through union with Christ.

• True Christians believe God’s word over their feelings.

• Sympathy identifies an objective problem and seeks an objective solution.