Last week I offered a brief synopsis of the standard evangelical progressive philosophy of culture and worship. Today, I’d like to offer a simple counterpoint to that view. This conservative philosophy, of course, is a central focus of much of what we write here at Religious Affections, and this post is not meant to be… Continue Reading
Over the past several weeks, I have presented a brief sketch of a conservative Christian posture toward culture more faithful to Scripture than much of what constitutes the prevailing evangelical perspective. Despite caricatures by opponents, and extreme abuses by some, this philosophy provides a basis for a rather robust philosophy of cultural engagement, which could… Continue Reading
God has a mission, and that mission is to create a people who will draw near to communion with him by faith through the means that he has provided in the sacrificial atonement of his Son. As part of that mission, God has tasked the New Testament Church to help make disciple-worshipers through the proclamation of the… Continue Reading
So here are the primary points of my argument: Culture is the behavior of a people. The formation of certain kinds of behaviors falls squarely in the nature, purpose, and mission of churches. The cultivation of holy living necessarily involves shaping the inclinations of hearts. The heart’s inclinations are shaped through habitual practices. Liturgies are… Continue Reading
Over the past several weeks I have been making the argument that in order to shape the behavior–the culture–of a people, we must give attention to the inclinations of their hearts, and such inclincations are shaped through habits. Let us bring this full circle. I have argued that liturgies form us because they embody beliefs… Continue Reading
Last week I mentioned that we are inevitably shaped by worldly liturgies, and so we need something to counteract this. This is where it will be useful to narrow the definition of leitourgia to how it has been used at least since the LXX as the work of the people in corporate worship. Most evangelicals… Continue Reading
Our aim over the past several weeks has been to discover how Christians can cultivate higher inclinations toward what is true and good, but we must recognize that the reverse also happens—deformation of our inclinations. Again, our actions are not always the outcome of rational choices, and this is true of sinful behavior as well. Sometimes… Continue Reading
Behavior is shaped by liturgies because, as Lewis stated, our inclinations are organized through trained habits, and habits are formed through rituals. And it is the shape of those rituals that cultivates the habits, because the form of the liturgy embodies certain values. Allow me to illustrate. Imagine a dense forest separating two cities. In… Continue Reading
Perhaps one of the best ways to help us contemplate how behavior is shaped in the way that I have been explaining over the past several weeks is by considering the nature of behavior as we discussed it a few weeks back. I have suggested that culture is the behavior of a people. It is the ergon… Continue Reading
The following is the foreword to By the Waters of Babylon: Worship in a Post Christian Culture by Scott Aniol. The surprising acrimony that sometimes attended the “worship wars” of the last several decades suggested that we were talking past each other; that what we were talking about was somehow the tip of a larger, undiscussed iceberg beneath… Continue Reading
Last week I argued that culture is essentially the behavior of a people. Here is the second peg to the argument I am developing over these several weeks: The cultivation of culture should be a concern for conservative Christians because the formation of certain kinds of behaviors falls squarely in the nature, purpose, and mission of… Continue Reading
I am pleased to announce the publication of my next book, By the Waters of Babylon: Worship in a Post-Christian Culture, published by Kregel Publcations! Here’s how the back cover describes the book: When the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, they could no longer worship as before, in their beautiful temple, in the safety and… Continue Reading
Evangelicals today are enamored with culture. Visit any Christian blog or pick up a catalogue of recent Christian books, and you will likely find discussions of the cultural mandate, redeeming culture, forming culture, and creating culture. This matter is of particular concern to conservative Christians. We often find ourselves in the role of cultural critic,… Continue Reading
Discussion of culture is an essential ingredient in any intelligent philosophy of Christian music. Especially in today’s globalized, multicultural environment, understanding what culture is and how it relates to worship and music is critical. The Standard Evangelical View J. Nathan Corbitt, in his The Sound of the Harvest: Music’s Mission in Church and Culture,1 presents an… Continue Reading
Evangelicals today are enamored with culture. Visit any Christian blog or pick up a catalog of recent Christian books, and you will likely find discussions of the cultural mandate, redeeming culture, forming culture, and creating culture. This matter is of particular concern to conservative Christians. We often find ourselves in the role of cultural critic,… Continue Reading
I was recently directed to a blog post that rejoiced in the fact that certain segments of conservative evangelicalism were becoming more “culturally affirming.” The specific incident the author cited involved an institution changing its philosophy of music from a more conservative to a more progressive one. So this got me thinking: what did this… Continue Reading
Last month I had the privilege of spending a week in Brazil, where I spoke at a conference of pastors and church leaders. It was my third time in Brazil, and I’ve grown to enjoy every chance I get to minister in that country. It was also the second time I was invited by my… Continue Reading
I am writing a series of posts on the meaning of 1 Cor 9:19-23, in particular his comment in verse 22, “I have become all things to all people.” The first post in the series looked at the broader context in chapters 8 and 9. Then I explored some interpretative principles in Paul’s greater writings that… Continue Reading
In 1 Cor 9:22, Paul writes, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” This is series on the meaning of 1 Cor 9:19-23, and those words in particular. In the first post, I introduced the problematic way many evangelicals and missiologists interpret this passage. Many understand this… Continue Reading
Culture is the same as behavior, and I am explaining in this series implications from the New Testament based on that idea. Here are the previous implications: New Testament authors explain cultural differences between various people groups as differences of belief and value. New Testament authors identify people groups (ethnicities, tribes, nations, etc.) as those… Continue Reading