An Important Decision

As someone who is currently studying a modern/postmodern approach to culture by the Christian church, I'm becoming inundated with approaches and ideas (many of them terribly flawed and dangerous). But in the end, there are aspects of culture that we cannot escape and therefore must respond to. The writer of the band Modest Mouse (whom I don't know much about) once quipped "Language is the liquid we're all dissolved in." He's right. And that's part of our culture.

Most writers on culture, especially the classic Christ and Culture by Neihbur, have defined several options or decisions that most people make regarding their response to and interaction with culture. Although Neihbur has five options, one of which is not at all a Christian option (more on this later), it is probably easier to boil it down to three plus one.

Assimilation or Conforming. This response is simple: the culture envelopes me into it and I become indistinguishable from the culture. We are co-opted. We become, without too much of a fight, everything that the culture is wanting us to be. In America that would be a narcissistic, greedy, digitized celebrity that thinks or cares little about others. Of course, this is a simple caricature of a complex social milieu, but probably accurate.

Withdrawal or Cocooning. This response is also simple: I run far away from all "negative" cultural influences by building barriers and walls between it and me. I create another "culture" that is more "positive" or conducive to the ideals I think are right. Unfortunately, this has been the option for much of recent church history, beginning with the impetus for the colonizing of America by the Puritans. It's really not a bad idea, but its consequences are wrought with difficulty.

Combating. This is the choice that most "outsiders" see the fundamentalists taking toward culture. They just get mad, throw things (sometimes Bibles), and yell and people with picket signs donning nasty slogans. This is the argumentative and "in your face" approach to all aspects of culture that are infringing upon the ideals this group thinks are important for sustaining their idea of Utopian life. The culture then becomes an enemy that must be stopped.

Plus one...? But is there another response? I hope there is. What do you think? More soon.