God speaking through culture
I will attempt to answer this question briefly. I’m tired of my own long-winded posts. How does God speak through culture? With the caveat that we must always be careful and discerning-probably even reluctant to say for absolute certain-when God is speaking, whether in or outside of the church, here goes.
By listening to culture we hear were people are-what they need-where their spiritual interests are taking them-how they are describing their spiritual journies. In order to be a church of the present time, we have to know the present time. We may need to adjust our services, theologies, conceptions of spirituality, etc. in order to meet needs.
But I believe it can be taken one step further: that God actually speaks through our culture. The movies you watch, TV shows you view, books you read and art you see can inform you about God if you let it. I recall dialoguing about the movie American Beauty in my Theology and Film class. I didn’t see the movie in theaters in light of its subject matter. When I watched it for class, I found it disturbing and grotesque in many ways. So, in class, we talked about what made it so. A family of strangers who focus on looking good, while their lives are filled with anger and pain. Sex as the ultimate escape and answer. Silence and secrecy as normal ways to live one’s life. No appreciation for the simple beauties around us. I came away with a greater understanding of how God wants us to live and why, as well as how so many people may be living their lives and wishing it were different. Stories have a way of helping us understand God in ways simple doctrine can’t (See Jesus’ rather frequent use of story).
So when you see Harry Potter or watch CSI, talk about it. What happened? Any themes? What did it remind you of? What might God be saying? Everyone you know watches TV and goes to movies. Why not start taking them seriously as a way of discussing life and spirituality with others? For the most part, it works better than trying to discuss salvation issues, hell, or sin straight out. Besides, you’ll get to the important stuff, but in a way where you get to listen and learn, as well as speak.
December 3rd, 2005 at 3:51 pm
Denise, I could not agree with you more about God speaking through culture. A couple weeks ago Andrew and I were watching CSI and there was incident that happened between a character and Brass for those of you who don’t watch CSI Brass is a police captain. The character had a choice to make, she could have told Brass to go to hell, but instead she forgave for him. My first thought was that this act of forgiveness is exactly what Jesus would have done. I know that the saying “What would Jesus do” is used a lot, maybe too much, but it fit perfectly for this situation on the show.
December 3rd, 2005 at 3:55 pm
I don’t know… you see according to David of Last Trumpet Ministries, Harry Potter isn’t doing much good for god:
So, I don’t know… How can you refute this, it’s been published on the internet!!!
December 3rd, 2005 at 4:10 pm
I like that you can put into words the thoughts that I can’t quite articulate sometimes. I like watching CSI (mostly Miami and New York…not so much Las Vegas…but sometimes). I like watching CSI and I like watching Law & Order. I don’t know if I can say that God is actually speaking to me through these shows, but I do know that God is definitely at work somehow in television. My dad asked me once, “how can you watch so much of this?” (or something to that effect). And my answer is that I have never seen an episode in which those who were pursuing goodness and justice gave up. I don’t even think I’ve seen an episode in which the “bad guy” got away. (granted, I probably haven’t seen every episode ever made…) but these shows encourage me somehow. Yeah, a lot of the time the stories are awful. There are terrible people portrayed, and evil has its fair share of representation. But the message is always the same to me. No matter what, there are people in the world who will fight for justice. There are people out there who dedicate their lives to seeking truth, to protecting others, and to standing against what is evil and unjust. I know this is a little idealistic. Life’s episodes don’t always end fairly, like the shows do. But there is nothing wrong with shows that say, “We believe in justice. We believe in what is right. Always. Period.” That gives me some hope for a world where terrible things, like those portrayed in these shows, really do happen. And what’s more, a television show that portrays justice all the time, means writers who believe enough in justice and truth to write story after story after story of justice and truth. So they sort of become more than just stories. That is encouraging too. Yes, I think God speaks through culture and in culture. Maybe not always directly. But he is there. And he is speaking truth. We have to look for it, though. And we can’t look for it if we are not immersed (carefully, and with wisdom and discernment) in our culture.
Plus, Gary Sinise is hot.
December 3rd, 2005 at 4:35 pm
First, Harry Potter did lead me to become immersed in the dark arts of the occult. But other than that, I think God really spoke to me through these films.
Second, I think CSI is a great example. My wed. night prof spoke about the show in particular. We live in a violent world and this is a show about the justice-oriented work of a TEAM of people using their diverse technologically-astute talents to seek solutions. He argues that CSI mirrors today’s need for church leadership, which could be team based, integrating myriad talents. Technology is a huge part of culture and our lives and professions. It affects the world’s view of spirituality, and should be brought into service of God’s kindgom. Also, CSI is justice oriented, but doesn’t shy away from how difficult that pursuit can be. Evil is big, obstacles appear, human personalities interfere and sometimes you sustain heavy losses before you make progress. I think that’s a neat metaphor for what Christians do every day.
December 8th, 2005 at 2:50 pm
Did not Christ Himself use everyday culture and stories of the time to communicate with his audience?