Friday, September 07, 2012
Culture and Religion
Religion Dispatches looks at atheism and Christmas:
We have allowed ourselves to be so identified with things that are not church that the church has become indistinct. Is it good that the church has had a huge cultural impact? Of course it is - but the church has to be more than just culture.
This is one of the problems when the church follows culture instead of sets it, and that is the key difference between where we used to be and where we are now.
I wonder what would happen if the church sought to be culturally distinct rather than culturally compliant?
Why are they playing “Silver Bells” when I step into the Port Authority? Does it not loosen the tightness of my purse strings and make me want to spend? To buy? To consume? Is that the Wired store over there? With the billboard still dazzling my eyes, I can nevertheless see clearly. Yes, 37 million Americans know myths when they see them. That’s because we live in one. Our myth says religion is still central to our lives, and, hey—is that the line for the Wired in-store wind tunnel over there?That's a reasonable impressive argument, and what it speaks to is a failure for the church.
We have allowed ourselves to be so identified with things that are not church that the church has become indistinct. Is it good that the church has had a huge cultural impact? Of course it is - but the church has to be more than just culture.
This is one of the problems when the church follows culture instead of sets it, and that is the key difference between where we used to be and where we are now.
I wonder what would happen if the church sought to be culturally distinct rather than culturally compliant?
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