The point I have been making is missional. This might not be apparent at first glance but it really is a simple one. Committed American Christians simply cannot afford to ignore the culture in which they live. We should be wise and faithful.

The Bible is not a collection of truths, though it certainly reveals truth. The Bible is not a guide for living, though it most assuredly helps you live wisely. The Bible is a story, a divine story told in human words and historical texts.

Robert D. Putnam’s best-selling book, Bowling Alone (2000), genuinely caught many people off guard. Putnam, a Harvard professor of political science, argued that loneliness was related to depression and that the incidence of depression was often related to age cohorts. This astounding observation has now been proven for over a decade. Here is how he expressed this reality: