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Stockholm Syndrome Christianity:

Why America’s Christian leaders are failing – and what we can do about it

by John G. West
2025 / 348 pages

While it is common to blame atheists and agnostics for the current wave of secularism, author John G. West convincingly points out that Christian leaders are to their shame playing a key role in the demise of Christian influence in today’s society.

The “Stockholm Syndrome” his book title refers to is “the psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor” (Merriam-Webster). West notes that most Christians are immersed or captive in a culture that is hostile to biblical Christianity. After being immersed in such an environment for years, it becomes easier for Christians to identify with the thinking of those who reject historic Christian norms and principles and eventually to actually adopt as one’s view that which one first rejected. A recent example of this development is how the former Reformed Churches (Liberated) in the Netherlands, which used to belong to the International Conference of Reformed Churches, have over the last few years abandoned biblical norms and have most recently even welcomed those who practice a homosexual lifestyle to the Lord’s Supper, and opened all the ecclesiastical offices to them. The leaders of these Dutch churches have succumbed to Stockholm Syndrome and adopted the views of those with whom they had first disagreed because they were against Scripture. But now the biblical norms are explained away and the views of those hostile to Christianity have been adopted.

Evolution is acid

There is too much good material in this book to reflect on in a brief review. So let me simply mention two points to give a flavor of this publication. In the first place, West shows how this syndrome is at work in all areas of life, including one’s views on sex, race, and liberty, but a pervasive underlying factor is the acceptance of the theory of the evolutionary beginning of creation and the worldview that results from it. When reality is seen through the lens of evolution the consequences are enormous and destructive for a Christian worldview. The biblical doctrine of creation is critical and abandoning it has disastrous results. Accepting current evolutionary theory of the earth and humanity’s beginning means, to mention but two consequences, that there was no fall into sin and so no need for redemption and that moral standards are ultimately not from heaven but from nature. The morals have evolved over time as determined by the need to survive. There are no absolute moral standards. It is therefore hugely tragic that prominent Christians like scientist Francis Collins and the late theologian Tim Keller did everything in their power to promote the acceptance of evolution among Christians through BioLogos, an organization that promotes evolution in Christian circles, and through other means. West details how these men have facilitated and contributed to the acceptance of unbiblical notions among Christians and the devastating consequences that followed.

Approval of the (academic) world

A second area that West underlines is the need for Christian leaders and scholars to resist the temptation of seeking the acceptance of secular scholars and authorities. This urge to please can lead to compromising biblical truth. West takes the well-known evangelical historian Mark Nolls as an example of the pitfalls involved. Nolls famously published The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1994) in which he berated evangelicals of shoddy scholarship and anti-intellectualism. West notes however that,

“some of the particulars of Noll’s indictment were troubling. Take his identification of ‘biblicism’ (which he defined as ‘reliance on the Bible as ultimate religious authority’) as one of the obstacles to evangelical scholarship. Noll seemed to suggest that the only way ‘the life of the mind may have a chance’ among evangelicals was if they restricted the Bible’s authority to ‘pointing us to the Savior and… orienting our entire existence to the service of God.’”

West goes on to note that “that may sound good, but it actually leaves out quite a lot. What about the Bible’s accounts of God’s actions in history, starting with the Old Testament,” including “his creation of the world and mankind and the particulars of the moral law?” (Nolls, like Tim Keller and Francis Collins, supports the work of BioLogos). He observes that “perhaps the biggest problem with Noll’s book was that it fed a lust for secular approval among many evangelical intellectuals.”

Conclusion

West’s book is fittingly dedicated to Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984) who indicted evangelicals for seeking to accommodate their Christian faith to the thought forms and teachings of secular culture. In his The Great Evangelical Disaster, Schaeffer warned that “Accommodation leads to accommodation – which leads to accommodation.” Not accommodation, but confrontation to unbiblical views is what is needed.

This is a most timely wakeup call and a must-read simply because West hits an issue that is vitally important for Christians, especially leaders. May his call to biblical faithfulness be heeded.

Cornelis Van Dam is emeritus Professor of Old Testament at the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary and author, among others, of “In the Beginning: Listening to Genesis 1 and 2.”

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Adult non-fiction, Book Reviews, Science - Creation/Evolution

In the Beginning: Listening to Genesis 1 and 2 

by Cornelis Van Dam 2021 / 371 pages Dr. C. Van Dam begins his latest book by explicitly laying out his presuppositions.  He’s upfront about his non-negotiable assumptions and biases.  As I review his book, it’s appropriate that I share mine too.  I share his presuppositions about Scripture as the trustworthy Word of God, but I also bring a personal bias to the table.  Back in the day, Van Dam was my Old Testament professor at the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary.  I had an affectionate nickname for him in view of his ability to put the smack-down on unbelieving or shoddy scholarship:  “Wham-Bam-Van-Dam.”  This was always said with the greatest admiration for Dr. Van Dam.  As a seminary professor, he was nothing if not thorough and careful. Far more than a commentary This new book exhibits that same kind of comprehensive and precise approach to the two opening chapters of Scripture.  Van Dam leaves no stone unturned.  In the Beginning is an exhaustive treatment not only of the meaning of these two chapters, but also the various challenges that have been raised in Old Testament scholarship regarding them.  What you’re looking at here is not just a commentary on Genesis 1-2, but far more. Over the last decade or so John Walton has become well-known for his views on the early chapters of Genesis.  Walton argues that we often misunderstand Genesis 1-2 because we don’t take into account the ancient Near Eastern context of these chapters.  Once we do that, says Walton, then we can see that Genesis 1-2 was never meant to be taken literally as history.  The history can then be filled in with what science teaches us, including what science says about human origins.  In chapter 2 of In the Beginning, Van Dam discusses Walton’s views at length and explains how and where they fail to do justice to the character of Scripture as the Word of God.  In my view this is the most important chapter of the book. A sampling To whet your appetite further, let me share a selection of questions that Dr. Van Dam answers elsewhere in the book: Can new scientific data be regarded as general revelation given by God? What is the relationship of Scripture to science?  Is Scripture a scientific textbook? Can geology give us a history of creation? Was Herman Dooyeweerd faithful to Scripture in his view of origins? How are we to evaluate Meredith Kline’s Framework Hypothesis? Did the ancient Israelites believe that heaven was a solid vault above us? Why is there no mention of evening and morning with the seventh day in Genesis 1? What does Scripture mean when it says that God created through his Son? Can the breath of life in Genesis 2:7 be equated with the Holy Spirit? Was there animal death before the fall into sin? Why did God create everything with an appearance of age?  Was he being deceptive in so doing? Those are just a few of the questions answered.  There are far more.  What I appreciate about Van Dam’s answers is that he bases them on what Scripture says.  He doesn’t want to go beyond Scripture and so he’ll sometimes say, “Scripture doesn’t say more than this – this is as far as we can go.” A point of disagreement If I would venture some respectful disagreement, it would be in the final chapter where the author briefly discusses whether there’s a need for new confessional formulations to address the challenges of evolution.  In 2014-15, I was involved with an effort to add some clarification to article 14 of the Belgic Confession in the Canadian Reformed Church.  That effort was ultimately unsuccessful.  I don’t regret having made the effort, nor do I think it unnecessary to this day. Van Dam argues that Scripture is clear and our “confessions faithfully reflect that testimony.” However, that fails to account for those who have argued that the Three Forms of Unity provide the latitude needed to hold to forms of theistic macro-evolution.  Their arguments have persuaded some.  This wiggle-room ought to be addressed, especially if there is openness to theistic macro-evolution in your churches. Van Dam also posits that: “A difficulty with preparing a new formulation asserting the historicity of Genesis 1 and 2 is the temptation to go beyond what Scripture says, in other words, to provide specifics about that which Scripture gives no additional detail.” The proposal to add clarification to BC 14 was to state what Scripture states:  that Adam was created from dust (Gen. 2:7) and Eve from Adam’s side (Gen. 2:21-22).  As a consequence:  “They were created as the first two humans and the biological ancestors of all other humans.  There were no pre-Adamites, whether human or hominid.”  If one thinks that this infringes upon the freedom of exegesis, then one is willing to grant the latitude for theistic evolutionary accounts of human (and other) origins. Conclusion That criticism notwithstanding, In the Beginning was a delight to read – personally it brought me back to many of the OT lectures I enjoyed from Dr. Van Dam in my seminary years.  While enjoyable, it could be tough-going at times for some.  It’s not highly technical, but in places Van Dam does go academic.  It’s not a book you’d necessarily be giving out as gifts to those doing profession of faith.  It would, however, be a great gift for someone doing post-secondary studies, whether in the sciences or in the humanities.  And it’s definitely a recommended read for those who’ve completed such studies. Dr. Bredenhof first posted this review to CreationWithoutCompromise.com, a blog “promoting the biblical understanding of origins” and it is reprinted here with his permission. For an even more in-depth review, check out Martin Williams' "Genesis: No Room for Theistic Evolution" at Creation.com....