About two weeks ago, I came upon a site where a Christian blogger was being questioned by a fellow believer along the lines of,
"How can you say you're interested in developing Christian spirituality while you announce that your favorite music includes Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the like? Isn't that inconsistent?"
The ensuing discussion included a response or two from the blogger, mixed in with a few comments from others. I'd give a link to the source but have, alas, forgotten where I was at the time.
Anyway, the group managed to arrive at a consensus that went something like this: It's okay for a Christian to appreciate and enjoy many offerings of a somtimes-decadent popular culture, provided that the Christian's first and final devotion to the Lord doesn't get compromised. And, of course, this is something that only the individual can decide for himself or herself.
In his book All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians & Popular Culture, Ken Myers articulates much the same conclusion. Taking his cue from1 Corinthians 10 and Paul's instructions regarding meat that had been sacrificed to idols, Myers writes,
"My answer to the question about Christian involvement with popular culture is . . . You can enjoy [it] without compromising Biblical principles as long as you are not dominated by the sensibility of popular culture, as long as you are not captivated by its idols (p. 180).
Now, for many years I have managed to live with that view. But sometimes tenuously.
I don't know. Maybe I've sung, "Be careful little eyes what you see, . . . Be careful little ears what you hear, . . . " one too many times.
Maybe it's all of those quotations and applications of Philippians 4:8 that I've offered.
Maybe I'm thinking about some of the spiritual giants I know who wouldn't listen to music or sit through movies that hardly bother me in the midst of my engagement. (And, no, it's not that I'm different from them simply as the result of sophistication. Some of them are my superiors, or at least equals, in most every way. They are well beyond a "Do not handle. Do not taste. Do not touch" approach to godliness).
What I'm saying is, after many years of thinking about and living with these questions, I still find myself conflicted regarding my devotion to the God I love versus my attraction to forms of art and entertainment whose impulse or emphasis or appeal is often downright godless. My concerns include things like being a good father, stewardship of time, protection of my heart, and responsibility for my example.
I have a few more thoughts about all of this, but would like hear from others. What do you think?
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3 comments:
Frank,
I am there with you on this one, and being a parent makes this issues even more complex.
I think this is a "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" issue. I would venture to guess that Jesus heard some salty language hanging out with the crowd he hung out with. I bet he may have even found himself humming a chorus of the equivelent of a rock song at the time that he was exposed to as a result.
I think at times we have become too isolated. We can't engage culture because we have created our own subculture that mirrors the culture at large just without cuss words and nudity.
We need to know our own weaknesses and avoid those things that lead us down those paths. We need to be sensitive to our impact on others. That said, I think if Paul were with us today and heard the discussion, he might say, "rock on, but make sure you honor God."
Good questions. My opinions (see my blogger profile to see all the decadent things I engage and my obvious bias!)
1. There are times and those for whom abstaining is necessary, while some are able to redeem all things. To the pure all things are pure. Of course, fooling oneself on this is disasterous.
AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" I consider to be truthful, and I can even view the song redemptively in a "but-for-God's-grace" kind of way. Can it be cautionary, a reminder of personal depravity, and not be heard as a boastful anthem? To me, it's up to me. For someone who smoked pot listening to that song, they might find too close a connection and need to abstain. Will listening to it launch me into debauchery? Not hardly. I know where I am likely to stumble - and it's not over a song.
2. When it comes to children and one's example - I choose to give an example of being able to discern. For my children I don't take a "don't let them see/hear/know about bad stuff" approach. Teaching them to process what they inevitably face (age appropriately) is parenting. Rather than forbidding any movie with foul language, I remind my children that we aren't going to talk that way. They know it. I set an expectation and an example that we are not swayed by everything we see and hear. I don't want to give them the message that I think they are easy prey for every non-God-glorifying idea or example.
I know that my way of raising children isn't the "Christian school" mentality, but my kids were stronger in faith by growing up in Africa and attending school with muslims, sikhs, hindus, etc. I believe sheltering children makes them easy prey. Exposing them to junk without teaching skills of discernment and strong faith values is inexcuseable. But . . . teaching them to live in the world and maintain their faith is essential! We're fooling ourselves if we think we can raise them in a bubble!
Dee, Steve, Greg,
Thanks so much for weighing in.
Dee, for what it's worth, I'm chicken too, which is why this post sat around for a long time unpublished. For some reason, I wanted to represent myself well especially on this one. (I know, great motivation).
Steve, great thoughts. I especially liked the part about the isolation of Christian entertainers and their audiences. A few years ago, I saw in a Christian bookstore a set of music CDs that announced on the back cover, "You'll like this if you like . . . " and then gave a list of represtative mainstream bands. I thought, "Clearly, the intended customer already knows and likes the bands listed. So now he's gonna buy and listen to a substandard-yet-Christian imitation?" Do people really do that?
Greg, I'm like you. I don't think that the devil's going to get to me through heavy metal music and R-rated movies. It would have happened by now. And you're right to point out the importance of past experience and the training of conscience and sensibility.
I think Paul could laugh out loud at a lot of idols, if it weren't for the fact that some Christians didn't have his knowledge (1 Cor. 8:7) and could actually be susceptible to the demons that lurk behind them. What an irony: Images are nothing, except a mask for a demon.
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