Recently on X, Dan Darling tweeted an interesting observation about an oddity of our time: “It is fascinating to see exvangelicals decry a Christian ethic at the same time many atheists are seeing its necessity. Like two ships passing in the night.” 

He’s right. There are two contradictory phenomena happening right now, at least on social media. On one hand, a collection of former evangelical pastors and influencers are denouncing basic Christian teaching and morality as harmful. On the other hand, a group of non-believers—such as Tom Holland, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Jordan Peterson, even Richard Dawkins—are rediscovering and proclaiming the importance of Christian teaching and morality, even if they don’t personally believe it. 

The key takeaway for Christians is we need to take our cues from Christ, not the constantly changing popular opinions of a culture adrift. Of course, many will consider that somewhere between odd and evil, but “staying weird” may very well be our best bet.