Sentimentalism gives us a view of self that is far too high while providing a view of Scripture that is far too low. It replaces the holiness of God with the hollowness of self. It removes men from their roles and replaces them with women who advocate rights. It minimizes sin. It maximizes partiality, and it deconstructs all of the boundaries initiated by God in Scripture.   

One of my least favorite things in the world is my semi-annual dental appointment. It has little to do with the dentist and everything to do with the scraping of my teeth and the drilling required to remove, who knows what. Even before my scheduled dental appointment approaches, my nerves are on edge. The only thing that makes the process bearable, apart from the friendliness of my dentist, is the anesthetic used to dull the pain. Have you ever wondered what this process was like before anesthesia?

On October 16, 1846, William T. G. Morton would be the first dentist to use an anesthetic during surgery successfully.[1] Before this time, dentists would use earplugs to dull the sound of the piercing screams of their patients. However, many don’t realize that anesthesia doesn’t remove the pain; it simply blocks the nerves that transmit the pain to the pain centers in your central nervous system. So, the pain is still there; you just don’t feel it until the anesthetic is entirely removed from your bloodstream.

Before the invasion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) into the bloodstream of culture, heavy doses of anesthetics were applied so that the pain of CRT could become innocuous. Likewise, in the church, the increasing titration of sentimentalism was required to pave the way for accepting CRT and other damaging ideas. Therefore, long before CRT, evangelicalism has been experiencing the dulling impact of sentimentality. Sentimentalism opened the door to the seeker-sensitive and emerging church movements and encouraged the embrace of cultural relevance, pop-culture pragmatism, and social justice into churches.

The Problem of Sentimentalism

So, what’s wrong with sentimentalism? Don’t we all need to feel? Of course, we do. But there’s a difference between being sentimental (having a warm thought about someone or something) and allowing sentimentalism to drive your every decision. The problem with sentimentalism is that it begins when rational thinking is abandoned in favor of one’s feelings. Unfortunately, our current class warfare of oppressed vs. oppressor groups exacerbates this problem.

In 2020 as city blocks burned, cultural sentimentalism was on full display. Sentimentalists ignored the business owner whose business had burned to the ground. Instead, the violent perpetrator’s actions were seen as “giving voice to the voiceless.” Likewise, the opportunity for female athletes was marginalized as biological male athletes entering any sport as a transwoman were applauded for their bravery. A culture awash in feelings has promoted irrational thought above observable reality.

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