Others think we must bow to evolution or bow out of [academia]…I don’t think that’s inevitable… For such a time as this we must learn to trust God to change hearts without our having to back away from the Bible.

One of the Bible’s great statements about courage comes in chapter 5 of Esther. The Jewish queen of Persia has told Uncle Mordecai that she can’t go before the king: If she does, she’ll probably die.

Mordecai responds with admonition—you won’t escape by hiding—and then a line that has sent chills down my spine: “Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

For such a time as this.

In every generation moments of truth arise. Esther, early Christian martyrs, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and many more throughout the centuries have faced life-or-death decisions.

In this land of liberty our task is easier: We have reputational decisions. Should I speak up for biblical truth and have people think I’m a—horrors—fundamentalist, or should I hedge?

Today’s three great cultural flashpoints are abortion, same-sex marriage, and evolution. We can hedge on them and justify our hedging: Playing it cool here will help me gain for Christ people who would otherwise walk away.

I’m not knocking such considerations. Nor am I assuming that anyone who tries to meld eternal truth and contemporary trends lacks courage: Some do so on evangelistic principle, others because they believe what they’re saying is true. But attempts to unify antitheses generally defy logic.

Marvin Olasky is Editor in Chief of World Magazine and Provost of The King’s College in New York City. Read More: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16811