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or on a farming commune in the wilderness or else choose one of his Christendom models of
engaging culture. All of the responsible choices in the Niebuhrian typology involve giving up on
following Jesus in any kind of literal or straight-forward sense and being "realistic" about the
ways of the world and the compromises necessary to work within the "system." Even though
most actual social change has come about because of the influence of highly anti-cultural groups
who have been more concerned about faithfulness than influence, Niebuhr advises us to eschew
such radicality in favor of making peace with the world and settling for some sort of vague and
undefined "influence" on the culture. For a half-century Evangelicals have put into practice
Niebuhr's program. But as Christendom crumbles and fades away, the future of Christian
witness undoubtedly lies in the hands of those who are less concerned about what the world
thinks of them than with what Jesus thinks of them. The future belongs to those counter-cultural
Christians who band together in small groups to live out the Gospel mandates in a way that calls
into question the world's "business as usual approach" merely by their very existence.