The Church and CULTure
There is much ado about culture. Godly culture, ungodly culture, white culture, black culture, and hip-hop culture. Yes, I had to throw that one in there. We are inundated with hip-hop culture. Millions of dollars are thrown at these no-talent lyricists and they respond by flooding our national community with images of their arrogant flaunting of ostentatious "bling-bling." My son asked me in jest the other day, "Hey, Dad, what does candy and music have in common? You gotta throw out the wrappers!"
Culture is usually defined as the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group. Taken from the Latin it essentially means to cultivate, grow, or develop. One cannot ignore, however, the idea of "cult," and rightfully so. The Latin cultus means to worship, and these tangible expressions across the horizon of society (i.e., our culture) reflect not only what we worship, but that which we believe (i.e., our faith).
This is why I still agree with Dr. Henry Van Til's definition that "culture is religion externalized" (See The Calvinist Concept of Culture). Though at base there is a corruption in the religious outlook of modern man the cultural manifestations serve to reinforce those core beliefs in a vicious loop of a never-ending tune.
The Worship of CULTure
Culture is a buzzword and ministries stumble over themselves to cater to it. It's their pursuit of relevance that distorts the Biblical idea of engaging a fallen world. The foolishness of preaching (1 Cor. 1:21) is by no means a license for Christian boy bands or Strippers for Christ. That is not the meaning of foolishness.
The foolishness of preaching is intended to both "confound the wise" (1 Cor. 1:27) and "DESTROY the wisdom of the wise" (v. 19). Preaching was foolish because it lacked the apparent wisdom sought by the Greeks and avoided the sign-power demanded by the Jews (v. 22). Preaching was to be without worldly wisdom. In other words, God did not need Paul to "dress up" the gospel "with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect" (v. 17).
Yet, today's minister exhausts his (or her!) resources by remaking the gospel in the image of contemporary CULTure. The result: the cross is made of no effect. Oh sure, people might be raising their hands in the altar but the future will prove if "affliction or persecution... the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful" (Mk. 4:17, 19).
Seeker CULTure
Modern ministers love to get their hands on the gospel. They enjoy dressing it up in the wares of modern culture. Everybody knows that sinners respond better to Starbucks in the vestibule, big screens in the sanctuary, and a thumpin' band on the stage. In addition, the newspeak removal of redemptive keywords from contemporary Christian parlance is designed to "help" postmodern sissies embrace an otherwise "bloody" gospel of Christ. Like Zipporah (Ex. 4:25) these seeker pastors of postmodernity are casting the crimson stained foreskins at the feet of Christ declaring, "Surely a bloody husband art thou to me."
What these seeker shepherds are incapable of recognizing is that however you usher in the postmodern convert is the way you must sustain them for the duration of their walk. Meaning, if you bring them into the Kingdom with espresso, plasma screens, shorts and sandals, and no serious commitment, then you CANNOT introduce, later on, the kind of radical commitment Christianity demands. They'll walk on you and head straight for the Emergent Church. God help us.
The CULTure of the New Rome
This is the conduct of life in the new Rome. We are wading in the culture of death and we are awash in the symbols, arts, and institutions of death. Much like ancient Rome and Greece we worship the personified ideals of the mythological heroes. Only now those heroes are celebrities.
Celebrities advise us on politics, life, marriage, taste, and economics. Daily they sit on the multitude of Oprah-like talk shows sharing with us mortals how "human" they really are and that they encounter similar psychological setbacks as the impoverished populace. Americans listen with stupified gullibility.
Like ancient Rome the average citizen of today's city-state is drawn by lust to the modern coliseum. The desire for base carnal entertainments are the traits of a people who think their empire is secure and the rest of the world worships Caesar as they do. It is false security and it dulls their minds to circumspect living and serious thinking.
Today's coliseum in which we are all gathered is the television. Day and night millions congregate around the tube to watch the reality competitions and see who will be the new gladiator in music, relationships, or business. The West has fallen in love with Caesar's entertainments and their blood-lust screams for more.
The Response of the Church
And what has been the response to this nonsensical culture? What has the church, whom providence has granted a national platform, proclaimed to this culture of death?
Rank individualism of the grossest kind. It is the celebration of the self. An exaltation of man from the result of his sin through an encouraging word. Much like spraying Lysol on a mound of manure. Joel Osteen is saturating America with a book entitled Your Best Life Now and Rick Warren is setting record sales with The Purpose-Driven Life. It is solely by the grace of God that I do not own a copy of either book. Although to be fair Warren's book is still a far cry from Osteen's self-absorbed doctrines. But then again that's like saying "I'm the best sinner that ever went to hell."
God the Cultivator
One need not read much of the Bible to see the constant reference of agrarian analogies to describe the work of God in history. This is because God portrays the history of man and his religious task as akin to soil and land. The word that God repeatedly sends to man is likened to sowing seed in the ground. In addition, the priesthood of God's nation is given the task of caretaker and expected to deliver the "fruits" of God's investment. This is Christ's point in Matthew 21:33-46 where God is likened to a householder who establishes a vineyard and lends it out to husbandmen before He departs to a far country.
In the parable the householder sends servants when the time of harvest drew near. Yet the husbandmen repeatedly beat and stone each dispatch sent by the householder. Eventually He sends His son which the husbandmen assassinate in order to steal the Son's inheritance.
Today's husbandmen betray a strange resemblance to these ancient caretakers. They likewise do not acknowledge that they labor for another's inheritance. The fruit does not belong to them. It is the property of the householder, and He's promised it to His Son. We are merely hired hands given a responsibility to make sure that harvest is full, healthy, and delivered on time.
Our harvest is weak and sickly. The manifestations of modern culture -- it's fruit -- are not what the householder desires. And like the Israelite headship of old today's popular leader scorns the servants of God that are sent to them.
Give Him What He Wants
God desires a new culture -- that which arises out of the Christian faith. He planted seeds as the sower and He expects a hundred-fold return. What He's getting from us is instead weeds and thistles. The kingdom, He said, was to become a great tree to fill the whole earth (Mark 4:30-32). This is the culture He desires. One which leads to His rule and not the pluralistic compromise with fallen man's refusal to give up his sinful pursuits.
Modern man must not be catered to, he must be countered. He needs revelation, not relevance. The church has granted the sinner openness and not opposition. Yes, man must be engaged. He must be commanded to repent:
"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent." (Acts. 17:30)
So, why do we continue to "wink" at modern man's ignorance? What friendship is there between Christ and Belial? I'd rather stand before God and risk Him saying I was too firm rather than too weak and compromising. Grant me, O God, the same "business card" as that of Elijah:
"As the Lord of Host liveth, before whom I stand." (1Kings 17:1)
I don't stand before men when I stand before men! In the presence of Ahab, an earthly king, Elijah insults the paper monarchy by acknowledging that the prophet stands perpetually before the King of the Universe. We must walk in that same awareness. I don't stand before 50 Cent, Eninem, Oprah, Bush, or Michael Jordan. I stand before God and command every man every where to repent. I cannot pluck the fruit; I must sever the root. Today's culture of death must be unearthed at the level of it's faith, not approached wearing the same bling-bling and spouting an equal knowledge of pop-culture parlance.
Culture is usually defined as the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group. Taken from the Latin it essentially means to cultivate, grow, or develop. One cannot ignore, however, the idea of "cult," and rightfully so. The Latin cultus means to worship, and these tangible expressions across the horizon of society (i.e., our culture) reflect not only what we worship, but that which we believe (i.e., our faith).
This is why I still agree with Dr. Henry Van Til's definition that "culture is religion externalized" (See The Calvinist Concept of Culture). Though at base there is a corruption in the religious outlook of modern man the cultural manifestations serve to reinforce those core beliefs in a vicious loop of a never-ending tune.
The Worship of CULTure
Culture is a buzzword and ministries stumble over themselves to cater to it. It's their pursuit of relevance that distorts the Biblical idea of engaging a fallen world. The foolishness of preaching (1 Cor. 1:21) is by no means a license for Christian boy bands or Strippers for Christ. That is not the meaning of foolishness.
The foolishness of preaching is intended to both "confound the wise" (1 Cor. 1:27) and "DESTROY the wisdom of the wise" (v. 19). Preaching was foolish because it lacked the apparent wisdom sought by the Greeks and avoided the sign-power demanded by the Jews (v. 22). Preaching was to be without worldly wisdom. In other words, God did not need Paul to "dress up" the gospel "with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect" (v. 17).
Yet, today's minister exhausts his (or her!) resources by remaking the gospel in the image of contemporary CULTure. The result: the cross is made of no effect. Oh sure, people might be raising their hands in the altar but the future will prove if "affliction or persecution... the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful" (Mk. 4:17, 19).
Seeker CULTure
Modern ministers love to get their hands on the gospel. They enjoy dressing it up in the wares of modern culture. Everybody knows that sinners respond better to Starbucks in the vestibule, big screens in the sanctuary, and a thumpin' band on the stage. In addition, the newspeak removal of redemptive keywords from contemporary Christian parlance is designed to "help" postmodern sissies embrace an otherwise "bloody" gospel of Christ. Like Zipporah (Ex. 4:25) these seeker pastors of postmodernity are casting the crimson stained foreskins at the feet of Christ declaring, "Surely a bloody husband art thou to me."
What these seeker shepherds are incapable of recognizing is that however you usher in the postmodern convert is the way you must sustain them for the duration of their walk. Meaning, if you bring them into the Kingdom with espresso, plasma screens, shorts and sandals, and no serious commitment, then you CANNOT introduce, later on, the kind of radical commitment Christianity demands. They'll walk on you and head straight for the Emergent Church. God help us.
The CULTure of the New Rome
This is the conduct of life in the new Rome. We are wading in the culture of death and we are awash in the symbols, arts, and institutions of death. Much like ancient Rome and Greece we worship the personified ideals of the mythological heroes. Only now those heroes are celebrities.
Celebrities advise us on politics, life, marriage, taste, and economics. Daily they sit on the multitude of Oprah-like talk shows sharing with us mortals how "human" they really are and that they encounter similar psychological setbacks as the impoverished populace. Americans listen with stupified gullibility.
Like ancient Rome the average citizen of today's city-state is drawn by lust to the modern coliseum. The desire for base carnal entertainments are the traits of a people who think their empire is secure and the rest of the world worships Caesar as they do. It is false security and it dulls their minds to circumspect living and serious thinking.
Today's coliseum in which we are all gathered is the television. Day and night millions congregate around the tube to watch the reality competitions and see who will be the new gladiator in music, relationships, or business. The West has fallen in love with Caesar's entertainments and their blood-lust screams for more.
The Response of the Church
And what has been the response to this nonsensical culture? What has the church, whom providence has granted a national platform, proclaimed to this culture of death?
Rank individualism of the grossest kind. It is the celebration of the self. An exaltation of man from the result of his sin through an encouraging word. Much like spraying Lysol on a mound of manure. Joel Osteen is saturating America with a book entitled Your Best Life Now and Rick Warren is setting record sales with The Purpose-Driven Life. It is solely by the grace of God that I do not own a copy of either book. Although to be fair Warren's book is still a far cry from Osteen's self-absorbed doctrines. But then again that's like saying "I'm the best sinner that ever went to hell."
God the Cultivator
One need not read much of the Bible to see the constant reference of agrarian analogies to describe the work of God in history. This is because God portrays the history of man and his religious task as akin to soil and land. The word that God repeatedly sends to man is likened to sowing seed in the ground. In addition, the priesthood of God's nation is given the task of caretaker and expected to deliver the "fruits" of God's investment. This is Christ's point in Matthew 21:33-46 where God is likened to a householder who establishes a vineyard and lends it out to husbandmen before He departs to a far country.
In the parable the householder sends servants when the time of harvest drew near. Yet the husbandmen repeatedly beat and stone each dispatch sent by the householder. Eventually He sends His son which the husbandmen assassinate in order to steal the Son's inheritance.
Today's husbandmen betray a strange resemblance to these ancient caretakers. They likewise do not acknowledge that they labor for another's inheritance. The fruit does not belong to them. It is the property of the householder, and He's promised it to His Son. We are merely hired hands given a responsibility to make sure that harvest is full, healthy, and delivered on time.
Our harvest is weak and sickly. The manifestations of modern culture -- it's fruit -- are not what the householder desires. And like the Israelite headship of old today's popular leader scorns the servants of God that are sent to them.
Give Him What He Wants
God desires a new culture -- that which arises out of the Christian faith. He planted seeds as the sower and He expects a hundred-fold return. What He's getting from us is instead weeds and thistles. The kingdom, He said, was to become a great tree to fill the whole earth (Mark 4:30-32). This is the culture He desires. One which leads to His rule and not the pluralistic compromise with fallen man's refusal to give up his sinful pursuits.
Modern man must not be catered to, he must be countered. He needs revelation, not relevance. The church has granted the sinner openness and not opposition. Yes, man must be engaged. He must be commanded to repent:
"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent." (Acts. 17:30)
So, why do we continue to "wink" at modern man's ignorance? What friendship is there between Christ and Belial? I'd rather stand before God and risk Him saying I was too firm rather than too weak and compromising. Grant me, O God, the same "business card" as that of Elijah:
"As the Lord of Host liveth, before whom I stand." (1Kings 17:1)
I don't stand before men when I stand before men! In the presence of Ahab, an earthly king, Elijah insults the paper monarchy by acknowledging that the prophet stands perpetually before the King of the Universe. We must walk in that same awareness. I don't stand before 50 Cent, Eninem, Oprah, Bush, or Michael Jordan. I stand before God and command every man every where to repent. I cannot pluck the fruit; I must sever the root. Today's culture of death must be unearthed at the level of it's faith, not approached wearing the same bling-bling and spouting an equal knowledge of pop-culture parlance.
