Duty is ours, consequences are God's

i) It may feel like we're losing the culture wars. Perhaps we are. Even if that's the case, remember the epigram attributed to Stonewall Jackson: "Duty is ours, consequences are God's."

That's good advice for Christian culture warriors. 

ii) That said, the future is unpredictable. That's because the winners die. Every three generations or so, the human race undergoes a complete turnover. Every few generation you have a whole new cast of characters. So the past is no guide to the future. 

In that respect, no one ever wins or loses the "war." We only win or lose battles. The war is out of our hands. For the cause outlives both sides of the battle. Both winners and losers die. Others take their place. That's why, for better or worse, nothing is etched in stone. The status quo is inherently unstable. 

iii) In addition, unbelievers are sore winners. If you keep abusing your power, you can provoke a backlash. If you abuse your power too often, you lose your power. Even military dictators can be toppled. 

iv) Keep in mind, too, that in the culture wars, the liberals lost many battles before they began to win. Liberals win because they never give up. They keep agitating until they win a precedent. Doesn't matter how many times they lose. They only need to win once to get a foothold. Once they get a foothold, they build on that.

And two can play that game. That strategy is available to conservatives as well. 

v) The liberal power base is the media, judiciary, and academia. These are all quite vulnerable. The liberal establishment no longer have a lock on the media. Newspapers and network news are moribund. Cable TV, talk radio, and the Internet have created tremendous ideological competition.

For many people, a college degree is no longer cost effective. That will weaken academia. Liberal economic policies which destroy wealth creation will also result in cuts to state universities. 

And, of course, you now have online eduction. That, too, weakens the academic establishment. 

That leaves the judiciary. But the judiciary is always up for grabs.