Christians and Culture
Jul. 12 2007
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Al Mohler’s message and its implications on Christians relating to culture: How do Christians relate to culture? How should they think about it?
To get help with thinking about this I went to my friend Nathan Sasser. Nathan is one of those rare people that walks around with a huge library of knowledge packed into his head (he holds an M. Div from Westminster) but is humble, not arrogant, because of it. He is also helping direct The Clash—a worldview camp for young adults.
Nathan and I crammed ourselves into his tiny office, listened to Alan Lomax Blues records, and talked about Christians and culture.
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Ricky: I’ve heard people say lately that we “live in a post-christian culture.” I know that you’ve said that before. Can you explain what “post-christian culture” is?
Nathan: I think the term just points to the fact that even a rudimentary understanding of Christian concepts or the Christian message can’t be taken for granted anymore. Since the Enlightenment our culture has become gradually much more secularized than it is Christian. So if you grew up in a Christian home you might have a rude awakening when you leave that environment.
But at the same time every age is tempted to take its own situation way too seriously and think: “Things are worse than they’ve ever been!” Or, “The postmodern era confronts us with new questions that have never been talked about before!” That’s probably as equally unhelpful as naivety. The reality is that we’ve lived in a post-christian culture since Genesis 3 and all the problems of the human condition and all humankind’s rebellion against God and all the chaos that was introduced as a result of sin are nothing new.
Ricky: So then what should our response be to a post-christian culture?
Nathan: Well in other periods of time in which basic Christian concepts were more of a given you could take it for granted that large parts of people’s worldviews were shaped by the Bible: ethics, God, religion, humanity. Even if the people then weren’t professing Christians much of their worldview would have been deeply influenced by a Christian worldview.
So our response as Christians is first that we have to be more intentional about shaping our own worldviews according to biblical principles as opposed to the default assumptions of increasingly secularized culture. It takes much more work and much more effort for us to think Christianly about the world than it did for previous generations. It means fresh new engagement with the scriptures and letting our minds be transformed by the word instead of conformed to the world.
Hold on a second, my favorite book about this is by Abraham Kuyper. Let me find it…
:Rummages though bookshelves:
Ricky: Got it?
Nathan: Yeah.
Okay, so a hundred years ago Abraham Kuyper saw that there was a great conflict going on in the world between two world and life views (two “Weltanschauungs”)—between modernism and Christianity. Kuyper said the modernistic worldview—by which he meant the whole post-enlightenment secularized naturalistic worldview of the west—has an entire system that has been wrought out and is completely consistent with its own principles and it gives you an entire alternate way of thinking and living that excludes God. Kuyper said Christianity should not necessarily try to respond bit by bit to the secular culture. He argued that Christianity’s response should be to forge its own world and life view wrought out with equally glittering consistency. And of course our world and life view is the only true one because it comes from God through the scriptures.
Ricky: So this is “the clash” that you were talking to me about? These two world and life views colliding?
Nathan: That’s the clash. For Kuyper this was between Christianity and Modernism but I think the principle can be applied more broadly than that. We live in a clash between the biblical worldview and all ways of thinking that are tainted by sin and don’t start with God. It’s essentially a clash between any worldview that honors the creature rather than the creator.
Ricky: There’s a quote by Kuyper you gave me that says, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’” I love that.
Nathan: Part of what Kuyper is doing is fleshing out the biblical point that since the triune God is the creator of everything we have to reckon with him and take him into account when we do anything. There is no part of our lives that is not religious. There can be no division for the Christian between sacred parts of our lives and secular parts. There can be no division between the spiritual and non-spiritual. Everything is spiritual. Every part of your world and life view.
Ricky: Well lets bring it back down to the level of daily life…It can seem that going to the grocery store, going to work, going to Starbucks, that you’re not really confronting other worldviews. It feels like you’re just living your life. Most people aren’t going to be writing huge treatises or anything like that. How do Christians apply this concept on a daily basis?
Nathan: That’s exactly right but that doesn’t mean every part of what we do isn’t religious. For example, as Christians our jobs are more than just jobs, they’re “vocations”, they’re things that God has called us to. Human beings have been ordained by God to take dominion over the earth and every part of human endeavor is part of that. We do our work not to just mindlessly put food on the table but as part of a holy calling.
And then in all of our relationships we’re not just dealing with people, we’re dealing with people who have been made in the image of God. That’s fundamentally a religious assumption. Having a Christian worldview affects the way we think about nature, it affects the way we think about the human problem, it affects the way we think about government and politics.
Ricky: One of the things you’re mentioned a couple times is the importance for the Christian to have a solid worldview personally…but is there a way in which solid worldview can also help people around us?
Nathan: Of course. For one thing this helps in the area of practical evangelism because the more you see the all important effects of your Christian conviction on all areas of life, the more points of contact you’ll have for gospel conversations. I mean if you can use politics to transition to a conversation about the ultimate human problem and sin then there are so many opportunities for gospel conversations. And you can do it in a way that shows people exactly what Kuyper was saying—that Christianity is more than just something that affects your Sunday but something that affects everything in your life. It’s not just a set of arguments that says “Jesus was either a liar, Lord or lunatic therefore you should become a Christian” but it’s something that makes sense of the entire universe. You’re saying to people, “Your whole world is in chaos but the revelation of God and his word lights up all the darkness around me.” That’s compelling.
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Nathan Sasser is a theological intern with Jeff Purswell at the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastor’s College. Currently he’s also helping direct The Clash—a worldview camp for young adults. Nathan holds an M. Div from Westminster Seminary and knows more about the history of Rock ‘n Roll and Blues than any of our other friends.
Ricky Alcantar is the editor of newattitude.org and serves the singles ministry at Vista New Life Church in El Paso, TX. Nathan is trying unsuccessfully to help him understand Rock and Blues.