Culture: Good, Bad, or Ugly?

The theme of the conference I went to last week was glorification (check back a couple posts to see what I'm talking about), but one of the most recurrent motifs that I heard throughout the large group meetings and in each of my seminars was the fact that we need to see things as they are meant to be seen. In our sanctification, we need to see our sin for the rebellion that it really is, and as our sense of our sin grows, our sense of grace will grow with it until we see grace as it is meant to be seen. In our glorification, we are to see all of creation as yearning for its renewal, not its destruction. And in pop culture... well, that's what the rest of this post is about.

One of the seminars that I went to was about pop culture. It really just sought to answer the question "How should a Christian engage culture?" I think this is a very relevant question, and one that every Christian must wrestle with at one point or another. The first day we just talked about the most common ways that Christians usually engage with culture. They're pretty straightforward.

The first is absolute and total rejection. Bunker mentality. Bob Jones university comes to mind, as well as gated communities, black sharpie sensors, and honestly, boredom. It is the position that culture has nothing good to offer, and therefore, must be avoided at all costs. Often, it even goes so far as to shun or judge others that do associate with culture. A great example of this attitude is found in Luke 7:36-50, especially in verse 39. Jesus is dining with a highly respected religious leader, and while there, a woman who is a sinner (probably a prostitute) comes in to wash Jesus' feet with her hair. Simon not only is upset about the sinful woman being in his house, he begins to judge Jesus for letting her wash His feet. Furthermore, it is my conviction that this approach leads inexorably to self-righteousness. (Admittedly, it's difficult for me not to be self-righteous because I think that I think the right things, and am therefore a better Christian than others. Or something like that.)

A more common approach, or at least one that we're all more familiar with, is assimilation. Ark mentality, as this great article calls it. It recognizes that culture has things to offer, but is still wary of the influence it can have. So, it copies it. Instead of John Grisham and Michael Crichton, they have Frank Peretti. Instead of Weezer, Reliant K. Instead of Punk'd, Prank 3:16. Instead of Ninja Turtles (are they still around?), Bibleman. You get the picture. A copy of genre, musical style, whatever, so that Christians can safely enjoy all the products of pop culture. What's so bad about that? Three things come to mind for me.

First, if we're to love other people (Christians and non-Christians), we must have some ground to relate to them on. This pretty effectively kills that chance. Second, most of the time the copies are unsatisfying compared to the original. It's like looking at a picture of the Mona Lisa instead of the masterpiece itself (I haven't actually seen the Mona Lisa, I'm just guessing). The music lacks heart, or Christian elements seem forced in. The message seems to come across, ultimately, as "Come be a Christian! We party just as hard as anyone else! But for Jesus!" And I'm sorry, that just sounds corny. Finally, the biggest problem I see with this approach is that it takes self-denial out of the 'Christian job description' completely. Jesus plainly states that "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)" How are we to do that if all of our desires can be safely indulged?

The last strategy that Christians fall into is immersion. It sets no boundaries. Like assimilation, it recognizes that culture does have good things to give us, but unlike it, it doesn't seek to filter it. And again, self-denial is removed from the equation. Another problem with this method is that the Christian life begins to be completely separated from the secular. The two worlds cannot be justified. Drunkenness is incompatible with temperance and self-control. As much as I don't like to admit it, there are songs out there that I don't need to listen to because they don't build anyone up. This is a problem because Christ seeks to restore and renew us. To make us whole.

So how are we supposed to see things? How is a Christian supposed to rightly interact with pop culture? I think it involves seeing ourselves and the world as they were meant to be seen. Without Christ, we're on the same page before God as our non-Christian neighbors. Without Christ, the world has no hope of redemption. That means that there is nothing on this world that is perfectly good. The problem of sin is pervasive, and the hope for restoration is universal. Creation yearns to be restored.

With that in mind, I think it is possible and beneficial to engage culture (again, keeping an eye out for those things that are not beneficial or uplifting). We learn things about others, and about ourselves. We see elements of truth in the Qu'ran, the Bhagavad Gita, Harry Potter, Star Wars, music, movies, literature, everything! Not perfect Truth, but certainly not useless. For example, I've been listening to Radiohead's Creep pretty much on repeat as I've been writing this. And truthfully, I think it's a more honest, more heartfelt expression of our human predicament than any pop Christian song I've heard. "I wish I was special." "I'm a creep." "What am I doing here? I don't belong here." This song gives credit to Augustine's confession to God that "Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee."

Thankfully, God has not just given us culture. Through Christ, He gives us Himself. We can learn about our neighbors, we can enjoy different expressions of truth that we see all over the world, but ultimately we must return to the Word to nourish and refresh us. We must seek communion with Christ who can satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. And if we really love those around us, culture can be a meeting ground, a medium through which to invite them to do the same.