Frame, Christianity and Culture: What is Culture?

John Frame is one of my favorite living theologians. I was excited to find out that he had lectured on Christ and Culture at the Pensacola Theological Institute, and that the lecture’s manuscript has been published on the internet. For those of you who don’t know, the Pensacola Theological Institute is an annual conference that highlights an important speaker on a theological topic of current interest. Although I have never personaly attended, I have noticed their speakers are always great and topics always interesting.

In his first lecture, Frame addresses an important, foundational question: what is culture? I was glad to see him start here because that is one of the things I have had the hardest time doing. “Culture” is one of those things that we know what it is, but when we have to define it, we have a hard time.

The World according to the Bible (part 2)

This is part two of a series discussing whether Niebuhr can define “culture” as synomous with the way the New Testament uses “world.” In attempting to gain a clearer definition of “culture” we hope to gain more insight how we as Christians should engage it. In the first part of this series we looked into a resource that attempts to categorize the Bible thematically (theologically)- to see how it portrays the Bible’s understanding of “world.” Because that resource seemed to think that the Bible thinks very poorly of the world- which would not allow for any other response to the world but avoidance and thus invalidate any other perspective toward engaging the world- we didn’t find this resource’s categorization helpful in further understanding what Niebuhr means by “culture.” Therefore, in this article, we are looking to see if another resource will help us understand the world and culture.

Hopkins, Christ and Culture: A Review

Hopkins offers us a brief review of the five different perspectives of Christ and Culture in this article. But first he states the why we should read Christ and Culture:

Rather than simply “going with the flow” it is important for Christians to think critically about the culture in which we live and reflect deeply about how to engage the world in a way that honors God and furthers His ends. By doing so we will be better prepared to live out our God-given purpose for existence and find true fulfillment. This book is a great starting point for such reflection.

Marsden, Christianity and Cultures

Here is an article that comes from the speech George Marsden made on the 50th anniversary of Niebuhr’s talks that formed the basis for Christ and Culture.

It is an excellent summary of some of the criticisms Niebuhr has been charged with since writing the book and a defense of Neibuhr’s definitions and categories.

The World according to the Bible (part 1)

One of the most obscure things about Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture is his definition of “culture.” Niebuhr claims that his use of “culture” is the same as the New Testament’s use of “world.” In this article I am turning to the Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology to attempt to understand what the Bible means by “world” in order to more fully understand what Niebuhr means by “culture”.

Slate.com: Pop Goes Christianity

Slate.com has an excellent article reviewing a new book by Daniel Radosh, Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture. This article shows how Christians have embraced culture and began creating their own culture to parallel secular pop culture. It asks some engaging questions about what happens to the Christian message when we do this.

Many of the attempts of Christians to use the culture around them reflects a Christ Above Culture outlook. They are using parts of culture to promote Christ. This motive can easily be lost. One day you are producing rock music to attract people to Christ and the next day those same people- who are now Christians- want to purchase your music and only your music. That’s when we begin to sell out to culture and fall into the Christ of Culture perspective.

Christ and Culture Revisited and Reviewed

I finally finished reading Carson’s book last week. After digesting it (my excuse for procrastinating on this review) for a week, now I am ready to offer my two-cents.

Carson showed me a significant limitation inherit to Niebuhr: the categories uniquely apply to a culture that is friendly and somewhat acceptable to Christianity- as the 1950s were, when Niebuhr wrote Christ and Culture. Although in this blog I have called for more examples of Christ and Culture from outside the West, as Carson says, “Where opposition, persecution, and even martyrdom await Christians with any public fae, expansive chatter about theoretically ideal models of possible relations between Christ and culture is little more than speculative farce” (p. 194). I think of my brothers and sisters in China, Iran, North Korea, and even parts of Indonesia and India.

How to Apologize, according to Wired

Of all the things I read, I think I enjoy my subscription to Wired the most. Every year they publish an entire issue featuring brief articles telling you “How to” do various things. Usually these things are very geeky and are actually answering questions I wonder about- further proving my geekiness.

Occasionally they include a more serious “How to”- although its hard to take it seriously surrounded by so much sarcasm. For instance this year they have a great description on How to Apologize. Its a great description of how to make a clear, concise apology.

The Puritans Transforming Culture: The Mayflower Compact

The other day I caught a new show called, Drive Thru History. I don’t watch the Trinity network much (which is an example of Christ Above Culture by the way), but every once in a while they come up with something worth watching. This show is like something you might find on the History network but from a Christian perspective (another example of Christ Above Culture). Although this Christian influence negates any neutrality (as if the History channel is ever neutral) and this limits the scope of the show (for instance, they skipped the entire Protestant Reformation) I enjoy watching it.
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Anyway… the episode I watched talked about the Pilgrims coming to America. Most people know that these people were Puritans- resisting the corruption, in their minds, of the Church of England. In the context of a discussion of Christ and Culture, the Puritans are often quoted as an example of Christ Transforming Culture. The Mayflower Compact is a great example of this.

Christ and Culture Survey

Take the survey to see how you engage the world as a Christian. This survey will place you in one of Niebuhr’s five categories, according to his book Christ and Culture.