Since my post on Christian music got me in such hot water, I thought I would clarify some of the issues that need to be thought about (or maybe just dig my hole deeper-what have I got to lose? :))

In the last post, I said that “Christian music is wrong.” I had hoped that the rest of the post would clarify what I meant showing that this initial overstatement was didactic in tone.

The issue that I have is not so much with Christian music. I believe that there should be praise and worship songs and I also concede that some of them are very sincere. The main issue is the creation of the 20th and 21st century’s “waiting on a mountain top” Christian sub-culture. 

Let me make something really clear. My main presupposition behind this is that culture in-and-of itself is amoral (neither good nor bad). Along with this is the further assumption that culture can and has evidenced the characteristics of God. This comes from the truth that all people, fallen and redeemed, retain God’s image. Whether they realize it or not, all people, redeemed and unredeemed, can and sometimes do give God glory, even if it is against their will. Often times, the glory that the secular culture presents before the Lord is better than that of the Church. Remember when Christ was entering Jerusalem just before the crucifixion and his followers were saying “Blessed is He who comes in the name of God”? The account is worth posting:

Luke 19:37-40 37 As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting: “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

Christ said, if His people do not glorify Him, the rocks will. Christ did not literally mean that the rocks will miraculously receive cognition and the gift of verbal articulation. He was speaking in hyperbole. He meant that if His people don’t glorify Him, then the rocks will. In other words, God will receive His glory. If it does not come from the most likely source (His people) then it will come from the most unlikely source (the rocks). If this does not humble us, I don’t know what will.

I believe that the “sub-culture Christian network” is causing the rocks to have melody. Why? Because when we demonize all of God’s creation in a gnostic like I-don’t-care-about-this-world-since-it-is-going-to-hell-in-a-hand-basket type mentality, we concede God’s creation to other’s who do not recognize Him for the greatness of all of creation, culture included. We then create sub-culture clicks that are meant merely to pass the time until we get to glory.

What we often fail to realize is that by creating this Christian sub-culture we are failing to do what Christ commanded us to do as a Church and as a kingdom of priests - represent the people to God. How can we represent what we don’t know? How can we be missional when we are totally unengaged? The Christian sub-culture keeps us from fulfilling the great commandment.

Here is a list of things we have in the Christian subculture:
1. Christian music
2. Christian radio stations
3. Christian newspapers
4. Christian universities
5. Christian book stores
6. Christian language
7. Christian YouTube (GodTube.com)
8. Christian movies
9. Christian TV stations
10. Christian candy (Yes, look at Mardel)
11. Christian dress
12. Christian comedy

I am sure there is more (you can list them if you think of them). The key thing to understand about all of these is that they are unnecessary. These are all part of the culture that is amoral. There is nothing in-and-of itself evil about any of the cultural categories that they assume. There is no reason for Christian to disengage in these market places in order to create a new distinctly Christian venue. Disengagement here means that we have limited ourselves to the street corners and church building for the display of God’s glory.

I lament more than all things the loss of the university. In the 1920s when liberalism became too strong in the light of our apparent educational dysfunctionality during the Scopes Monkey Trial, Christians left the university to start their own. This created an unnecessary dichotomy between “Christian education” and “secular education.” Granted, seminaries are created to focus on specific training just as medical schools do, but we are talking about mainline universities here who’s intent is to give a broad education in the various disciplines. Christian need not concede the education over to the world. I realize that secular education can be bad, but if we have learned anything over the last 100 years it is that Christian education can be just as bad. (There is, however, an encouraging light that is beginning to shine in this area. Evangelical Philosophers such as Alvin Plantinga and Evangelical historians such as Mark Noll have broken ground and begun to reestablish Christian dignity in the university setting.)

The point is that each one of these sub-cultures listed above isolates us and the Gospel from those people who engage in culture. Culture is part of the common human experience. It is no wonder we don’t know how to communicate to those outside the faith. It is no wonder the average Christian loses all unbelieving friends after three years. (and that is not because they become believers.) :)

Christ never created a sub-culture. In fact, He was in the bars telling stories and giving hope. He was going to weddings filling wine glasses. He did not isolate Himself on a mountain top of misguided Christian petitions and pietism, but recognized the mission that He was on required a true engagement with real people. In fact, the only “Christian” sub-culture of his day was created by the Pharisees. They had their own way of doing everything and watched intently for someone to fail by engaging in culture. Far from joining in with the Pharisees sub-culture, He condemned it.

Paul was the same way. He did not see culture as evil and did not seek to create a Christian sub-culture. In fact, he teaches us that the preeminence of the Gospel message demands that we meet people where they are.

1 Corinthians 9:20-23 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

I am not saying that there is not a place for Christian t-shirts or the Christian message in the movies. I am strictly speaking of restricting our message to the choir. I am also talking about enjoying life outside of the churchy environments that we have created. Let us do all things well, enjoying all of God’s creation, including culture.

In short, let us bring Christ to where He is needed most and not get angry when people enjoy the melody of rocks, realizing that they might be the only ones carrying a tune!

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