Blog Action Day: Christ and the Environment

Lately in the Christian world there has been an increasing debate over environmentalism. Some would like to include environmentalism among the other political issues Christians feel are important. Others reject environmentalism as an unnecessary distraction- for various and sundry reasons.

As with most opinions on controversial topics the complexity of reasons can only be surpassed by the diversity of opinions. In order to better understand the reasons behind various Christian perspectives towards the environment I would like to filter the opinions through the eyes of H. Richard Niebuhr.

Niebuhr was an American theologian who is perhaps best known for his typology describing the various ways Christians engage their culture. In his seminal book on this subject, Christ and Culture, Niebuhr divides Christianity into five different perspectives based upon how they might approach their culture.

Back to the topic of the day: how would a proponent of one of Niebuhr’s particular categories approach then environment as an issue?

Thy Kingdom Come

I’ve been preaching a series on the Lord’s Prayer lately (with the help of the Simpsons) and was wondering how people from different perspectives on Christ and Culture would mean “thy kingdom come” when they pray this in the Lord’s Prayer.

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.

Who is on the Lord’s side?

Sometimes when people describe the interaction between Christ and Culture they use phrases like, “culture wars.” This invokes images of Christians valiantly fighting off the influence of the world or reminds people of Fundamentalists who have belligerently forced their beliefs on other people- depending on which side of the war you find yourself on.

User-Friendly Niebuhr?

http://journeyinghome.org…olitics-part-1/

According to Steve at Journeying Home:

Gerry Breshears, Professor of Theology at Western Seminary, translated Niebuhr into more user-friendly English. Breshears suggests the following windows for viewing the relationship between Christ and culture:

I’d like to comment on this summary in a hope to better explain Niebuhr’s categories. I think that Breshears (even if he is a Prof and I am mere pastor) shows some common misunderstandings of the categories.

Christ of Consumerism

http://www.wittenburgdoor…n_and_earth.wmv

In the closest step I’ve seen toward Landover Baptist Church becoming a reality, a BBC show (Heaven and Earth) has done a story about a church in Dallas that includes shops, a food court, and other things that resemble a mall. For it’s blending of American Consumerism and Isolationistic, Evangelical Christianity this is an example of Christ of Culture. I wouldn’t believe it until I watched the story.

This church is attempting to create a world where its members can coexist without the rest of the world. But rather than avoid the world like Christ Against Culture might do, they are re-creating a church in the image of a mall. This goes far beyond anything “seeker-sensitive” I have ever seen before.

The Simpsons in Church

This week I began a sermon series using the Simpsons. I’ve gotten many different responses when I tell people what I am doing- many of which can be described using Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture categories.

Praying for Baseball

A few weeks ago I was asked to pray for a local basebal game. Immediately I though of a dirt-track stock car race I went to in Mississippi which started with a prayer in the thickest drawl, “Lord, we thank you for this sport that we love so much…” How was I going to pray for a baseball game? Was I going to sound like this guy?

Using Pop Culture to Reject Pop Culture

Thanks to the Writing on the Wall blog (and my Google RSS search covering Niebuhr, Christ, and Culture) I was turned on to a ministry called Battle Cry. They try to encourage teenagers to reject the influences of their culture and instead attempt to transform it for the better. Although this sounds like an example of Christ Transforming Culture, it is really something quite different.

The Scheibners Against Culture

//www.thefamily.org/endti…p3?cid=1&id=191

The Scheibners are a family that moved to rural Pennsylvania in order to get away from the world today, hoping to raise their children in a a safer, more Christian atmosphere. Here’s a modern-day example of Christ Against Culture.