Musk, Christianity and the Survival of the West, By James Reed

Elon Musk is not the type one would normally associate with Christianity, being very much in the materialist transhuman line of work, with brain implants and all that. But, in an interview with psychologist Jordan Petersen, Musk said that Christianity was essential for the survival of the West. Musk defined this in terms of "cultural Christianity" the values of Christianity without necessarily believing in doctrines such as the actual divinity of Jesus. For Musk, Jesus was a great wise man.

No doubt the "wise man" argument could be applied to a philosopher such as Socrates, but could one really have Socrates as a model for the West, and would one die for Socratic truth? If cultural Christianity is to have any rational coherence, it must be because it has a philosophical and theological foundation, and is not just a set of good principles. That requires believing in the truth of the Chrisitan message and doctrine. That is where mere cultural Christianity falls short, but it is a good first step.

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"Musk believes religion, Christianity in particular, is essential for the survival of the West.

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, revealed this week that he identifies as a "cultural Christian."

Speaking with Jordan Peterson in an interview that aired on Monday, Musk acknowledged that while he is "not a particularly religious person," he is drawn to the teachings of Jesus.

'The anguish that Musk and others like him have over the pathological ideologies of this culture will not be extinguished by mere tradition ... but by surrender to the risen Christ.'

"I do believe that the teachings of Jesus are good and wise and that there's tremendous wisdom in turning the other cheek," Musk said.

"This notion of forgiveness is important," he added. "I think it's essential because if you don't forgive, I forget who said it, but 'an eye for an eye makes everyone blind.'

"So I'm a big believer in the principles of Christianity," Musk explained. "I think they're very good."

Musk, born in South Africa, was baptized in his youth and raised in the Anglican Church. Despite growing up in a religious environment, which included attending a Jewish preschool, Musk told Peterson he experienced a "crisis of faith" in his childhood.

Still, Musk suggested that he believes religion — and faith more broadly — is good for society, arguing that societies endanger themselves when they throw away religion. The ideas Musk shared in his conversation with Peterson align with previous public statements, including his endorsement that the West is "screwed" without Christianity.

But how should Christians respond to Musk's comments?

It's true that Jesus of Nazareth taught that his followers must totally surrender to him and follow his teachings. It's the way to the kingdom of heaven and eternal life, he taught. There is no middle ground.

However, there is a silver lining in Musk's remarks and his repeated public flirtations with the faith of his childhood, according to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Andrew Walker.

"We should view this as an opportunity for cultural apologetics. Musk is increasingly borrowing from the moral capital of Christianity in recent public stances, and it would be right and good to connect those stances to the coherence of the Christian worldview. We should be thankful for the civilizational force that Christianity has had on our culture (so count me as a fan of 'cultural Christianity')," Walker explained.

"Still, we should press for something further: Conversionary Christianity," he advised.

"The anguish that Musk and others like him have over the pathological ideologies of this culture will not be extinguished by mere tradition — important and valuable as that is — but by surrender to the risen Christ," Walker said."