CHRISTIAN SCHIZOPHRENIA ABOUT ENGAGING CULTURE

I hope to demonstrate a correlation between the last two posts on Monday and Tuesday, that is, the church’s schizophrenic engagement with the culture and the increased number of millenials leaving the existing church.
First, I underscore the paradox mentioned in yesterday entry. Christians grapple with tension because scripture urges them to be careful about the world’s influence upon them while instructing them to be intentional about influencing the world.

CHRISTIANS AND CULTURE

CHRISTIANS AND THE CULTURE AROUND THEM

How well are Christians engaging with the culture outside the protected church environs? It has been common for churchgoers to view culture as “secular,” evil, and something to be avoided. The former group of Christians whom we may term as ‘legalists’ has categorized believers who have not made the secular/sacred distinction as ‘liberal’ or ‘libertine.’ This dichotomy is not uncommon to Christian conversation and Christians have stereotypically opted for one or the other of these approaches to engaging culture.

GOD MAY BE FINE BUT THE CHURCH IS NOT

Thirty years ago, no one questioned the value of the local church, of church membership and involvement in church programs. Many do today. I am writing with the Caucasian North American church in mind. The demographics and stats may differ in other countries and continents. The demographic that most of our churches are missing are teens, college students, young working adults, and young marrieds. They are the Millenials and for them, God may be fine but church is not.

STEVE MARTIN & A SONG FOR ATHEISTS

Let's begin with this. It is not typical of what you can expect. It is however, good fun. God loves fun, don't you think? Yes? No?

This was filmed at the David Letterman show, featuring here, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

SPECTRUM OF BELIEF

Yes, No, Maybe are words reflective of viewpoints on the spectrum of belief and unbelief. If the spectrum is pictured as a linear indicator, then 'Yes' is dogmatic faith at one end, with 'Maybe' representative of uncertainty or doubt in the middle and at the extreme other end stands 'No' which conveys firm nonbelief.

The range is from Absolute Belief to Absolute Non Belief with Lack of Belief somewhere in between the two poles.  

STARTING SOON

The blog will open soon.

When it does, I will be inviting your responses. I will make statements or I will pose questions and provide opinions to which you may want to reply. Do it.

Certainty cannot be overrated when it comes to one’s belief system. Why believe it if hesitation remains about its accuracy.