Posts Tagged ‘culture’

Christians in Politics

Monday, November 16th, 2009

This was the topic of discussion this past weekend as some of the people from Church discussed politics from a Christian worldview.

What exactly is politics and how should a Christian respond? This was definitely an interesting topic though quite broad in nature.

Recognizing God’s sovereignty and that all authority has been given from God, we recognize that in all situations, we need to be faithful to the place that God has called us to be. I think it is easy to get caught up in the larger political scene, but forget that God also called us to love our neighbors and be a blessing to those around us.

I think Jeremiah 29:7 where the exiles are told to seek the “peace and prosperity” of the city… there is real blessing when Christians are in the public sphere, but I think more in the way of being a blessing than pushing any one agenda. Whether we agree with civil government or not, Christians are called to be agents of love, salt and light in this dark world, and active in every way… so that some may be saved through the witness of Christians. We are the bringers of justice, of good news, of freedom to the captives… Christians have a larger responsibility in overcoming the power struggles of this world.

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Tips on Engaging Culture

Monday, November 17th, 2008

This is an interesting article from the Resurgence website. Jonathan Dodson gives tips on how to engage culture. You can find it at the following link.

They’re pretty straightforward, but they are helpful in reminding you that you are in the world, but not of the world. It is so easy for Christians to get entangled with the world’s affairs that we forget who we are in Christ and what that means in our lives.

1. Engage Culture Prayerfully
2. Engage Culture Carefully
3. Engage Culture biblically-theologically
4. Engage Culture redemptively
5. Engage Culture humbly
6. Engage Culture selectively.

When engaging culture prayerfully, we depend on the wisdom that comes from the Spirit who searches out all cultures, who can enable us to recognize and rejoice in what is true, beautiful, and good, and reject or redeem what is false, ugly, and immoral. As a result, engaging culture can become an act of communion with God. Relying on the wisdom of the Spirit will also mean careful investigation of cultural issues, being critical of our own biases while maintaining an open ear to the arguments of others. However, we’re not left to navigate the turbulent waters of our culture with only prayer and reason. God has given us his Word, a divine and authoritative Text from which we can glean wisdom and theological principles to engage culture.

When wrestling with issues, we must be careful to bring questions, not assumptions, from our culture to the Word, following a pattern of Text-Theology-Culture. This biblical-theological engagement with culture should always lead to redemptive action, restoring what is ugly and immoral from our position as accepted children of God, citizens of Zion. In turn, we can engage culture humbly and selectively, recognizing our limitations and rejoicing in our unique opportunities to engage the world around us.

Finally, try to practice these six ways of engaging culture not just as an individual but in community. To put a spin on Rufus Wainwright’s words: Only when the Church in this country becomes obsessed with glorifying God in all things will we critically and redemptively engage our culture on all kinds of subjects.

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Humble Orthodoxy

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

Humble Orthodoxy – Joshua Harris teaches on 2 Timothy2:14-26.  Are you reacting to the previous generation or God’s approval? Do you try to prove yourself right or desire to turn people to Christ.  What does it mean to be a generation approved by God? Handle the word of truth rightly…

2 Timothy2:14-26 – Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.  Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some.  Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.  If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

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Consumerism

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

What should we make of consumerism? Should we accommodate it as Paul accommodated some aspects of culture? We take for granted and no aspect of life is untouched by it. Shopping goods and services, specifically 3 characteristics –

1) Cultural phenomenon – framework of meaning. Consumerism is not just a behavior, it is an evaluative outlook of the world that is propped up and sustained by institutions. It is a worldview – unconscious worldview. It is an outlook. It is an ideology. They shop more than they use to because they are in the grip of the ideology that is transmitted to us unconsciously.

2) Desire to accrue status among one’s peers. Vebelen – most noted by sociologist, chief way to achieve status and leisure through conspicuous consumption. Connected to wealth by flaunting it as a culture. Juliet Schor – another sociologist – study done on rise and effect of consumerism. Number of social changes have caused middle income families to look upward to higher income families as a reference group. As a result, people have stopped using people in geographic neighborhood and looking at people at the next socio-economic bracket. These things sets off spending habits places a great stress on family and relationships at home.

3) Way in which products are not viewed for usefulness, but rather goods consumed in maintenance and cultivation of identity. Marx – goods in a capitalist society can be fetishized. Distanced tool from purpose, these products reveal particular place in our lives when production becomes less personal, empty receptacles we pour meaning into them. Commodities are shroud in a religious fog. Consumer goods are more than objects to what we wear and its usefulness. Goods are not valued for use, but they have meanings that send signals to others, define status, construct identities. Corporations spend lots of money creating value and meaning.

Five major concerns of negative effects of consumerism:
1) Creates an unsustainable lifestyle demolishes financial stability, family, etc. Competitiveness of spending: savings rate 8% in 1980s and 4% in early 1990s and 0% currently. Personal bankruptcy rates continue to set records. 200,000 people in 1980 and 1999 1.4 million people declared bankruptcy. It demolishes people’s financial stability. People are spending more and have to work more and less leisure activity.
2) Places severe financial pressure on all but extremely wealthy.
3) Social problems begin to arise when parents spend less and less time with children. Severe influence to mass media and negative ways.
4) The coarsening of pop culture. Lower standards to get people’s attention
5) Cost to environment and public health. Risky behavior, unhealthy lives to project a certain image.

Evangelical Christian Network: Environmental critique of consumerism. Within Christianity, there is a deep concern with money and how we use it.
Stewardship: we have to be wary of consumerism and poor stewardship. Spend it on the Kingdom of God, church, missions, mercy ministries. What does it mean to follow Jesus?
More troubling of these effects of consumerism – the ethos of consumerism affecting the Christian life and Christian belief. One of the features of consumerism is the cultural phenomenon. It advances a pattern of behavior. More deeply it advances an ideology and worldview. What makes consumerism work in this world is that it advances but not in an overt or conscious ways. It doesn’t have a belief or creed. Evangelicals can smell false doctrine, but the spirit of the age is so slight, it changes the way in we say and believe. The tunes have changed. Consumerism advances a narrative that advances a narrative that is deeply at odds with the narrative with the Gospel. What is the new consumerist story?

1) Consumerism tells us that meaning and satisfaction come through admiration and esteem of our peers. It tells us that if we have the right stuff, people will esteem us. People will view you differently.
2) Consumerism encourages us to see our life activities as preferences or lifestyles that are satisfying. Religion becomes part of our lifestyle. Lifestyle becomes an arbiter. Discrete lifestyle elements. Jobs, hobbies, and faith are on same level.
3) Consumerism is highly individualistic. It lets the individual as sovereign and detaches from communal activity and group activities. It encourages us to see ourselves as right and primary. Self becomes the center of person’s world.

The church and the world has been co-opted by consumerism.
First, it is a distinct worldview, be aware of the subtle yet powerful influence of consumerism.
Second, if consumerism is a cultural worldview, propagated by institutions. Christians need community and church to back non-consumerism worldview. Church must be important over life and light over individualism. Peace and shalom might be a deeper fulfillment over the shallow fulfillment offered by contemporary culture.
We are surrounded by a great need. All Americans except for the most impoverished are at the top 1% of the people that ever lived. The question of wealth and the poor cannot be sidestepped. To what extent can we ignore spending habits? Ethical side.

We need to be aware of the consumerist spirit of the age. Our worth does not come from things that we surround. We don’t need to replace the old with the new. We don’t deserve the trappings of American lifestyle. Biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation, God calls us back into revolution. Jesus promises to transform us to something we have yet to imagine. Inconceivable glories offered by God. We are far too easily pleased. C.S. Lewis.

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American Youth Culture

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

This is a list of characteristics made by sociologists about the state of America’s youth in relation to religion. This is a helpful resource for youth ministers and those involved in youth ministry. Some of the things they noted on the list is quite surprising. Though, just thinking about the youth these days, just shouldn’t surprise me. Religion at large as observed by sociology of religion.

1) U.S. youth are not irreligious or a-religious. They are religious.

Religion is a significant presence in many young adults. Most have not drop out of their religious congregations. They are regular participants. Many asserts faith is important in their lives and have influence on their moral views. But they have a hard time articulating their beliefs. Categories they have are influenced by culture.

2) Very few youth are not involved in a spiritual quest.

Most teenagers allow the right to others to pursue quest, but very few do it themselves.

3) Teenage religiosity is conventional.

They are not rebellious. They are quite content to follow in their parents footsteps. Most youth feel positive about religion. They talk about the positive and benefits to individual and society.
When it comes to teenagers and religion, they are happy to go along with the flow.

4) Youth are not religiously diverse.

The diversity represented by teens and adults right now is same as it was in prior generations. The vast majority identify themselves as Christians. Most of the non-christians are nominal, non-religious, mormons, Jewish. The world says Americans are vastly diverse in religion, but that is false, we are clearly Christian.

5) Religious vitality and strength

When it comes to religious vitality and strength, mormon teenagers appear to have healthy balance of faith and life, then comes conservative protestant youths, mainline protestant teens, catholic, jewish, then non-religious.

6) The greatest influence

The single most important social influence on spiritual and religious lives is the parents. Stereotype, we think youth pastor, mentors, culture, grandparents, etc were influential, but it was the parents. This should influence how we do church.

Note: You might be the most dynamic influential pastor in the world, but the parents are still the key.

The strongest predictor of a child’s spiritual life will mirror what their parents spiritual life looks like.

7) Second greatest influence:

Supply side dynamic youth – the greater number of religious programs, relationships, activities, challenges, opportunities- the more vested they will be to remain in religious. When religious communities are not invested in youth, the youth are most likely not going to be invested in their faith. Churches will get back what they invest.

What should we do? Pleasantly overwhelm them.

8) Deep religious practice being mimicked. Parrot effect. Unreflective nature – apathy begets apathy.

Subjective consciousness level, youth understanding is very weak regarding faith. Most U.S. youth have a very difficult time explaining what they believe, what it means, and its implications. They reflect their parents. If their parents are biblical unreflectiven, that would be mimicked as well. For them religion is important but not a priority. Value but not invested.

When preaching or teaching. Repeat things over and over again. People do not listen. Boil everything down to a sentence. And repeat this sentence. Illustrate. Illustrate. Illustrate. Find something to get their attention.

Do you want to be a seminary professor or love people? Right exogesis but boring, or getting people attention with illustration with good theology? Jesus preached using parables, after parables. Make the text as alive as possible.

9) The religion of America reflected in the youth: MTD – Moralistic, Therapeutic, Deism.

This is the mainstream religious faith of the youth are individualistic, consumer, capitalistic society. Deistic – distant god with minimal involvement, but be moral. Moralism – be good to be happy. Therapeutic – focuses on one’s own subjective happiness. MTD is the religion of the day

10) Cultural and social forces shape their lives

Their lives are shaped by cultural and social forces of therapeutic individualism, mass consumerism, digital communication revolution, scientism, structural disconnect with world of adults, and the only connection with adults are adult problems like divorce,

11) Outcome: Religion makes a positive difference.

Despite religion is weak in subjective consciousness, most teens can hardly articulate coherent, unfocus background in social life, many cultural forces that try to undermine.

Observation that sizable and significant differences in a variety of life outcomes of religious teens in the U.S. Highly religious teens are doing more than non/less-religious teens. Religious life leads to better more constructive life contrary to the secular.
Conclusion

As adults, we need to look at children not as aliens. We need to look at the generation gaps as superficial differences. Contemporary youth have bought into the mainstream social system. They are well socialized to enjoy the consumerist benefits of U.S. society. Most problems and issues children face are directly linked to adult world problems. They cherish their relationships with the adult-world ties. They don’t need to be segmented out. Religious congregations have a unique role to strengthen ties between adults and teenagers. All need to be involved. Embracing youth. Your investments are not immediate, payoffs are not immediate.

Sources:

- Wade Clark – Group spiritual marketplace,

- Withnells – America religious diversity

- Christian Smith – Soul searching.

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Christ and Culture

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

Quick overview of Richard Neibuhr, theologian of the Cold-War, German reformed neo-orthodox. Culture is derived from the language of gardening – the taste that rule the culture, elite, pop-culture, etc.

Neo-orthodoxy tries to capture reformation back from the liberal orthodoxy (Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man). We need to return to the God of scripture. Neo-orthodoxy (must be brought back to the reformation, uphold God’s transcendence, man’s sinfulness, personal experience, revelation is God revealing himself in Christ, and must be approached with faith).

Culture is fluid, so Christians should take temperature of where it is headed. Niebuhr teaches five options as how Christ interacts with Culture:

1. Christ against culture
What does Jerusalem have to do with Athens? – Tertullian
Antagonistic towards culture
Sectarianism – Tertullian, Kierkegaard, Anabaptists

2. Christ of culture
Jesus gets absorbed in the culture, Classical liberalism (fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man)
Accommodation of Christ to culture
Gnostics, Sadduccees, Liberation theology

3. Christ above culture – synthesis
Instead of antagonism, or accommodation, this one is synthesis.
Fundamental issue is the Christ and the world, but between God and humans,
World is not cursed, not in opposition to God. Leans towards #2
Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, faith and reason, relationship between faith and philosophy
Leads towards social conservatism and Christ of culture

4. Christ and Culture in PARADOX
Instead of synthesis, dualism – two spheres that don’t relate
Rejects Christ above culture to synthesis, rules out the transformation of culture,
City of God and City of Man, dualism
Reinholt, Luther, Apostle Paul

5. Christ the transformer of culture
Now but not yet. Do not suffer under the illusion that this world will transform to paradise but are eager to see God’s hand in advancement of science, arts, medicine, etc.
Don’t stand on the sidelines and watch, they want to be God’s agents of reform around him. Redemption extends to culture not just individuals. God is king and sovereign over culture
John, Calvin, Wesley, Augustine
Christians transforms culture, but culture transforms Christians as well.

Response

Resident Aliens – Hauerwas – #5 collapsing to #2 constantine social strategy, while we are aliens transform this land
Alien – Volf – The church doesn’t prop up the government, keeps the integrity of the church in faith, morality. Paradox: one’s best in changing the world, when one’s not of the world.
Kuyperian approach – Neo-Calvinists, rediscover Calvin in Dutch theology – Antithesis #5, #4, #1 – antagonism between Christian and non-Christian – common grace, God gave man common grace to live lives… momentary synchronistic

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