Cultural Heresy

Many Christians do not go to movies. I go to few. Many do not watch TV. I do... but it's limited. They avoid anything that is even considered worldly. I was just SW of Iowa City over the weekend. I drove by several Amish Farms. They have shut themselves out from the world. We admire men like Smith Wigglesworth ( I DO) who would read no newspaper. Just the Bible. Many of us (me included) have our bookshelves full of Christian Books. We don't read novels. We don't read shades of Gray. Nor should we. That causes us to become Cultural Heretics. We have isolated ourselves completely from the culture. We do so many times to protect ourselves and our families from influences that might kill them. Particularly in some communities where that is a real possibility. We talk a different language. Our conversations are coded...biblical references and assumptions.

We have so succeeded in isolating ourselves from a fallen culture we no longer are capable of engaging it. We can't speak to them. They have no idea what we are saying. Our books and movies are not read by the culture... oh a few are. Jesus Calls, Left Behind, Cross and Switchblade. There are few christian authors who successfully cross over. Mostly we are talking into an echo chamber of our own making. The ones who DO succeed in crossing over are criticized. Joel Osteen for instance. His "Best Life Now" book was read in the culture. Yet Christians lambaste him for his soft approach to theology. He's engaging the culture, we're not.

Our movies are for the most part unseen by the unsaved. The Bible TV series was watched...but very little Christian Witness exists on Secular TV. We are unrepresented. Mostly because we don't exist in the places where Decisions on these things might be made.

Most of our Christian music (save a few C&W artists) is unheard by the lost. I have admired those who have tried to do Christian Rap. It is an art form that will speak. Unfortunately no one has really crossed over. I hoped at one time that EMINEM would get saved.

The Apostle Paul knew about this. He was a cultural chameleon. HE became all things to all people. In Athens he pointed to their art and used it as a launch pad for conversation. In Rome he became like them. He said, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

We must learn to speak into our culture. We are no longer able to do so. I don't mean compromise, I mean we must become like Paul. The great catastrophe in 72 AD caused the Christians to disperse throughout the culture. They became many different things to many different peoples. Maybe God will have to do that again to get us to engage with the culture.

To continue to hide behind our church walls and not engage the culture is cultural heresy and if we consider Paul's approach... maybe it's simply HERESY