by Samuel Thambusamy
I am sure you are familiar with the term “apologetics”. Apologetics is the verbal defense of the Christian faith. Apologetics is concerned with defending Christian truth claims against the challenges to Christian belief coming from philosophical and other more intellectual sources.
However philosophical questions are raised and answered within popular culture – such as films, pop music, literature, art and mass media. Popular culture (re) shapes our attitudes, beliefs and worse character. Popular culture dictates meaning-making, patterns forming and significance giving to young people.
As followers of Jesus,we must map our culture. What is at the heart of our culture? We live in a fragmented world. Fragmentation – the order of the day. Let me just point to some areas where the fragmentation is more conspicuous (and I am picking them up in random).
- Firstly, Relationships. There’s fracturing of relationships [ We are faced with issues of extra marital affairs, live-in relationships, distrust, communication break down, emotional divorce etc]
- Secondly, Work. We suffer from the boredom of work.
- Thirdly, Entertainment. There’s debasement of taste [ We are faced with issues of sex and violence]
At the heart of culture, there is despair and desire. How do we engage with contemporary culture? As followers of Jesus, bring God’s Truth – Beauty and Goodness to bear on issues of contemporary culture. We must engage with issues at the heart of our culture and enter into meaningful conversations with people of differing world views.
While traditional apologetics is concerned with defending christian truth claims against the challenges from academic sources, cultural apologetics is concerned with defending the truth, beauty and the goodness of the Christian gospel in the light of messages and images communicated through cultural products. Cultural apologetics looks at films, pop-music, advertisement taglines and seeks to demonstrate how real, good and delightful the gospel is.
Questions for further discussion:
1) What are the cultural issues that you face in your context/s?
2) How have you engaged with cultural issues? How did you engage with Pottermania or the Da Vinci Code? Why?
3) What is the impact of popular culture in your context/s? Do you think we need to respond to it?
4) How do you think we can bring God’s truth, beauty and goodness to bear on popular culture?
(please post your comments here or email it to contactwisdomtree@gmail.com)
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I believe that Bible is the base for understanding life and the cultural attributes and it’s impact yesterday, today and tommorow.
Like you said it’s true that we must engage with issues at the heart of our culture and enter into meaningful conversations with people of differing world views. I also believe that the word in the world today is fragmentation and also that each of the fragment has evloved with a unique culture with post modernism taking it’s toll.
If we don’t understand culture and the belief systems of each fragment which may be one or combinations of several beliefs rooted deep into various cultures based on theri religion or belief systems how could any one know to connect with people and make a postive impact on their lives about Christ.
My point is that Christians who want to engage with cultural apologetics should be also educated on culture and and it’s belief system because in a country like ours where pantheism and atheism can live in the same society, one will have to identify and should have understood from which end the person is approaching before we engage with them to make Christ meaningful.
My suggestion is that you could also help us out with education on culture and belief systems it would bring us to a standard to fathom the understanding of cutural apologetics.
By: Paul on February 18, 2008
at 5:42 am