Christian Pop-culture: The Problem
This post is in response to a previous post entitled Why It Matters: Part 1
There was a movement (perhaps it still exists) among Christian youth groups urging young christians to burn their “secular” CD’s. (What does that even mean?!) I remember finding myself unwillingly at such gatherings. Of course, I also remember feeling very smug that I didn’t have any secular CD’s to burn! Out of this environment, I grew an uncertainty about my relationship to popular culture, an “us vs them” mentality, as well as a large amount of guilt if I ever did enjoy listening to heathen music. I believed that a Christian framework didn’t have room for anything that wasn’t made by a Christian about Christianity, for Christians.
The problem with this approach from “Reflecting Theologically on Popular Culture as Meaningful: The Role of Sin, Grace, and General Revelation” by Theodore A. Turnau, III:
First of all, “Such an approach to sin localizes the problem as something “out there,” something we can control if only we are careful enough.” As a result, Christians have retreating instead of engaging. And, Turnau says, “we are probably only setting up more socially acceptable idolatries that will be harder to detect and repent of.” (Remember how self-righteous I was for not having “secular” music!)
He goes on to discuss the controvercial idea of Common Grace*, and looks to scripture as his support. In Acts 14,
“Yet he [God] has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14: 17). One could argue that God shows common grace only in nature and that culture is somehow excluded from the influence of common grace, but does God only use “natural things” as good gifts to people? The addition of “crop” (cultivated plant-life) certainly seems to add a cultural element to the natural gifts. That cultural element is amplified in Isaiah 28:23-29 where Isaiah discusses the details of wise farming technique. He concludes that all of it is “from the LORD Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.” [22] Does Isaiah mean to say that this applied only to the covenant community? Did not Gentiles know how to farm too? Or does God bless even those who ignore and curse him and bless such people in and through culture?”
… Is it therefore so far-fetched to count popular culture as one of those things that God uses to “fill your hearts with joy” à la Acts I4? It certainly does function this way for many outside (and inside) the body of Christ. We need to see popular culture not simply as bad but as good gifts from God. These gifts have surely been twisted by sin, but they are good gifts nonetheless for which we should even give thanks.
So, that means that if Ryan Adams sings a line that resonates so deeply that it moves my soul, or if Slum Dog Millionaire stirs and excites me, or if a cellist in a bomb crater brings me to tears, it’s actually a gift from God - because all truth is God’s truth… And all beauty is God’s beauty. And God out of his wisdom is using even the gifts of those who reject him to reveal his creativity, love, and devotion.
I have more to say on why I’m moved by these things in light of the Gospel, but that will have to wait until another day.
What then shall we do? Accept all of popular Culture with open arms? Stay tuned til tomorrow for Christian Pop-culture: The Solution.
*Common Grace, not to be confused with saving Grace, is common in the sense that it is bestowed on anyone regardless of faith, and is Grace because it is unmerited favor from God. For a deeper look into Common Grace as it applies to Popular Culture, I highly recommend listening to recording talks by Kevin Twit or downloading his papers here.
