so last night at immersion the topic of discussion was christ and culture...can we use the culture we live in to communicate the gospel? i think we decided that the question is not really a question at all. of course we not only can use this culture but we have to!
what else would we use? what, other than water, is the fish going to swim in and survive?
so what does our gospel show us about culture? we looked at paul in athens (acts 17:16-34) and listened to the way he used the epicurean and stoic philosophers' writings to communicate to the larger greek audience. he took questions and concerns written down in their own pop culture lingo. he acknowledged their questions and honoured their search. he commented on their devotion to the divinity they professed to see all around them. paul did something radical by even today's religious standards. paul admitted that, when faced with a question of divine revelation, the pagans could profess truth and could glimpse god and hear whispers of The divine one.
but then he took it a step further....
paul commented but did not compliment the athenians on their religious ways (or idolatry as he said). he simply used it as his "contact point" to bring about the questions that their own thinkers had been raising.
why would a god live in a small house we build for him/her?
are we not the offspring of the gods? should we then be bowing down to these manufactured idols?
do we not move, breathe and have our being because of the gods? is not zeus (not the bearded dude with the lightning but the all-encompassing end of philosophical thought...kind of the way christians might call jesus "the word") responsible for all things?
paul honoured these questions and then offered what he believed to be an answer to one of the questions that stood out in the city of athens. throughout the city there was a statue to an UNKOWN GOD and paul brought forth the idea that he knew who this god was. this god was not distant and remote but intimate and close and in love with humanity. this god was not honoured by the little trinkets they made and bowed down to, in fact he found that insulting. this god created the world and all that is in it. one day this god will judge everyone on this planet that he made and gave to us. he has even appointed that judge and proved this by raising him from the dead.
that's when he lost people.
but it is a succint view of the christian faith. it is a culture-honouring way of telling the gospel story in ways that make sense to the listeners. sure, paul lost people but not because of his inability to communicate the gospel. it was the gospel itself that some rejected (others accepted it too). it is one thing to have people reject the message, it is our failure oftentimes that we refuse to tell the gospel stories in ways that make sense. then the rejection is not quite the same thing.
so, during the immersion service we read the lyrics to some songs that are not considered "christian" to see if we could spot what god is doing in them. we wanted to hear the whispers of god in the culture of our day so that we could honour the questions that people are asking and maybe, just maybe, say to someone...
"this one you are looking for, i think i might know something about him...."
so here are the songs...they are all fantastic and evidence of just how alive god can be to those who are looking...
coldplay: god put a smile upon my face
daniel lanois: the maker
r.e.m.: talk about the passion
happy listening.
what else would we use? what, other than water, is the fish going to swim in and survive?
so what does our gospel show us about culture? we looked at paul in athens (acts 17:16-34) and listened to the way he used the epicurean and stoic philosophers' writings to communicate to the larger greek audience. he took questions and concerns written down in their own pop culture lingo. he acknowledged their questions and honoured their search. he commented on their devotion to the divinity they professed to see all around them. paul did something radical by even today's religious standards. paul admitted that, when faced with a question of divine revelation, the pagans could profess truth and could glimpse god and hear whispers of The divine one.
but then he took it a step further....
paul commented but did not compliment the athenians on their religious ways (or idolatry as he said). he simply used it as his "contact point" to bring about the questions that their own thinkers had been raising.
why would a god live in a small house we build for him/her?
are we not the offspring of the gods? should we then be bowing down to these manufactured idols?
do we not move, breathe and have our being because of the gods? is not zeus (not the bearded dude with the lightning but the all-encompassing end of philosophical thought...kind of the way christians might call jesus "the word") responsible for all things?
paul honoured these questions and then offered what he believed to be an answer to one of the questions that stood out in the city of athens. throughout the city there was a statue to an UNKOWN GOD and paul brought forth the idea that he knew who this god was. this god was not distant and remote but intimate and close and in love with humanity. this god was not honoured by the little trinkets they made and bowed down to, in fact he found that insulting. this god created the world and all that is in it. one day this god will judge everyone on this planet that he made and gave to us. he has even appointed that judge and proved this by raising him from the dead.
that's when he lost people.
but it is a succint view of the christian faith. it is a culture-honouring way of telling the gospel story in ways that make sense to the listeners. sure, paul lost people but not because of his inability to communicate the gospel. it was the gospel itself that some rejected (others accepted it too). it is one thing to have people reject the message, it is our failure oftentimes that we refuse to tell the gospel stories in ways that make sense. then the rejection is not quite the same thing.
so, during the immersion service we read the lyrics to some songs that are not considered "christian" to see if we could spot what god is doing in them. we wanted to hear the whispers of god in the culture of our day so that we could honour the questions that people are asking and maybe, just maybe, say to someone...
"this one you are looking for, i think i might know something about him...."
so here are the songs...they are all fantastic and evidence of just how alive god can be to those who are looking...
coldplay: god put a smile upon my face
daniel lanois: the maker
r.e.m.: talk about the passion
happy listening.
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