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Research Term: Art, Culture, and Society

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Summit Lecture Series

Entertainment and the Christian 1
John Stonestreet takes a good look at the entertainment culture that defines America today in order to reason out how Christians should interact with it. He discusses the ways in which entertainment and the arts shape the cultural viewpoint of a nation, thus giving it the power to control people’s worldviews. He also gives practical advice on how to evaluate the worth of movies, music, and television from a biblical worldview as well as how to have an impact for Christ on an entertainment-hungry generation.

Entertainment and the Christian 2
John Stonestreet takes a good look at the entertainment culture that defines America today in order to reason out how Christians should interact with it. He discusses the ways in which entertainment and the arts shape the cultural viewpoint of a nation, thus giving it the power to control people’s worldviews. He also gives practical advice on how to evaluate the worth of movies, music, and television from a biblical worldview as well as how to have an impact for Christ on an entertainment-hungry generation.

Essays

Domestic Tranquility
Since the late 1960s, feminists have very successfully waged war against the traditional family, in which husbands are the principal breadwinners and wives are primarily homemakers. This war's immediate purpose has been to undermine the homemaker's position within both her family and society in order to drive her into the work force. Its long-term goal is to create a society in which women behave as much like men as possible, devoting as much time and energy to the pursuit of a career as men do, so that women will eventually hold equal political and economic power with men. This book examines feminism's successful onslaught against the traditional family, considers the possible ramifications of that success, and defends a woman's choice to be a homemaker. Feminists have used a variety of methods to achieve their goal. They have promoted a sexual revolution that encouraged women to mimic male sexual promiscuity. They have supported the enactment of no-fault divorce laws that have undermined housewives' social and economic security. And they obtained the application of affirmative action requirements to women as a class, gaining educational and job preferences for women and undermining the ability of men who are victimized by this discrimination to function as family breadwinners. A crucial weapon in feminism's arsenal has been...

Witnessing to Radical Feminists (via Equip)
American radical feminist themes have recently found a forum in both the university setting and in popular American fiction (e.g., The Color Purple, by Alice Walker). In witnessing to radical feminists, it is necessary both to find common ground and to conduct an honest exchange of viewpoints. Prayer is also important, as is the need to demonstrate Christ’s love. Beyond this, I would like to suggest six witnessing tips that clarify some common feminist themes. First, you may find that in their battle against sexism many feminists are reacting to...

Why Marriage Should Be Privileged in Public Policy (via Family Research Council)
All citizens, including policymakers, should do their part to uphold the institution of marriage, because it provides the best environment for raising children, who are the future of our society. Strengthening marriage creates a stronger foundation for the family, the basic social building block, and produces a stronger nation that benefits many future generations. Unfortunately, marriage has been badly weakened by decades of divorce, out-of-wedlock childbearing and cohabitation. America needs to restore a culture of marriage in which monogamous, life-long marriages are the norm, and marriage between a man and a woman is treasured as the safest and best haven for children. Pro-marriage policies--as well as marriage-strengthening efforts in communities and churches--will contribute to shaping such a culture.

Doing Life Together
If I've read the New Testament right, as followers of Christ, we are members of Christ's body (1 Cor. 12:14–21), and hence, by definition, we belong to each other. We cannot intentionally follow Christ solo. Interdependence, not independence, is God's pattern. In other words, there is no such thing as a lone-ranger Christian. When we fail to connect with each other we are failing to connect with Jesus. But what does it mean to connect with one another? Sadly, superficiality is a disease of our time. Shallow friendships and fragile relationships mark not only our society but also the church. Even our language betrays such superficiality. Consider how we use the word "fellowship" in Christian gatherings...

Fantasy Media (via Equip)
The Harry Potter books may be the biggest success story in children’s literature. The series by a British woman named J. K. Rowling, who started writing them as a divorced single mother on welfare, has sold over 12 million copies, dominating the best seller lists for over two years. At one point, Harry Potter books ranked nos. 1, 2, and 3, the first time one author had ever taken the top three spots. The fourth Harry Potter book was a best seller based on advanced orders alone — before it was ever published — and when it finally arrived, the whole publishing industry could hardly meet the demand. Amazingly, most of these book buyers, who have taken over the adult best seller charts, are children. Many of them, reportedly...

Is Popular Culture Either? (via Modern Reformation)
"Popular culture" is a slippery and deceptive term for a massive and unwieldy reality. As in other controversies, many arguments about popular culture are frustrating because there is no prior agreement on exactly what is being talked about. Sometimes "popular culture" is used to denote any cultural activity not produced and sanctioned by "elite" cultural institutions. But that really doesn't clarify things, since the term "elite" has a number of meanings. In referring to "elite" cultural institutions, do we mean...

Art and the Christian (via Leadership U)
Where are you as you read this? You may be sitting in an office, reclining in a lounge chair at home, lounging in your back yard, sitting at a desk in your dorm room, or any other of a number of scenarios. Consider for a moment if art is part of your consciousness. If you are sitting in an office, is art anywhere within your vision? If you are reclining in a lounge chair, does the furniture have an artistic dimension? If you are lounging in your back yard, can the word art be used to describe any facet of what you see? If you are in your dorm room, are you listening to music that is art?

The Three Kinds of Illiteracy
Education at all levels in the United States has reached the crisis stage. Of course, the situation didn't arise yesterday; it has developed over a period of decades. Nor is the crisis news to people who have been paying attention to what's been going on in the country. This crisis of education is manifested in three levels of illiteracy: functional illiteracy, cultural illiteracy, and moral illiteracy. Typically, to say that a person is illiterate means that the person cannot read or write. But the word does have other senses. It is sometimes used of someone who is ignorant of the fundamentals of a particular art or area of knowledge. It is this broader meaning that is in view when, for example...

The Creative Arts
The creative arts play a crucial role in shaping the worldview of every person and culture. They are an implied declaration that a worldview consists of more than abstract ideas or theoretical concepts. A world picture is a map of reality made up of images, symbols, myths and stories as well as theoretical concepts. Contemporary psychology has given us such terms as preconceptual sensing and nonverbal cognition and the right side of the brain to identify what I will call images. The arts are rooted in the image-making and image-perceiving nature of people. People do not live by ideas alone. They also express their affirmations and denials through the paint on a canvas, the tension and release of sound, and poems and stories. A noted theologian has said that "we are far more image-making and image-using creatures than...

Truth & Consequences

Amusing Ourselves to Death
Neal Postman (1931–2003) was an educator and cultural critic who saw things more clearly than most. In the introduction of his highly acclaimed and criticized book Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Postman demonstrated that he had his finger on the pulse of our culture in a way most others did not. This comparison between the pessimistic visions of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley is worth quoting at length...

How to Combat Secular Indoctrination
This fall, nearly two million American students will leave for college for the very first time. Their education will cost $12,000 a year for a public university and up to $50,000 for a private one. Scholarships and grants reduce the cost for most families, but still, the Wall Street Journal reports that the average student leaves college with $23,186 in debt. Nationwide, the total cost for this transaction is somewhere between 25 and 40 billion dollars per year. At least families are getting their money's worth. Or not...

Why Students Don’t ‘Get It’
If Christian Smith and Melinda Denton are correct, our key concern in regards to the next generation is that they "get" Christianity. Our primary focus should turn from whether Christian students like church, or whether they think of Jesus as their best friend, or even whether they know why they believe what they believe (though that has been a useful tag line for Summit Ministries for years). Primarily, if Smith and Denton are correct, our focus should be teaching them what Christianity is because, simply put, they don't get it. My experience working with students, most having strong histories in conservative evangelicalism (and representing almost evenly home, private Christian, and public schooling), suggests Smith and Denton are right. I often hear students describe their experience of Christianity in these terms: "I've been a Christian my whole life, but I don't really get it." Or, "I prayed the prayer when I was four, but I don't think it stuck." Or, "I committed my life to Christ when I was fifteen, but I am not sure it stuck." How is it that students who are so deeply engrossed in church culture and who have more access to the Bible, Christian literature, youth programs, and other resources than any generation that has lived since the founding of the church, can be so confused about what Christianity actually is and why it matters? How is it that they possess such a truncated, neutered view of the Kingdom? How is it that these students just don't "get it?"

Helping Students ‘Get It’
In last month's article, I argued that a major project for those of us who work with students is to help them "get" Christianity. While a significant number of Christian students reject Christianity during their university years, far more struggle to embrace a faith that is not really authentic or orthodox. Theirs is a "moralistic therapeutic Deism" as Christian Smith put it; a tame faith that is privatized and perhaps personally meaningful but which is not publically true, culturally significant, or fundamentally informative to the rest of their lives. Rather than trying to make Christianity as attractive and entertaining as possible, we ought instead to be sure that what we are communicating to them is actually Christianity. As I noted, this is very challenging in a culture of information overload, where students are bombarded daily with a multitude of messages, most of which, encourage them toward a mentality of adolescence. Still, there is good news. Adolescently minded cultures like ours inevitably have a leadership vacuum. So, there remains a terrific opportunity for influence for those who produce the leaders, especially if they produce networks of leaders who can think deeply and contribute broadly to a wide variety of cultural institutions. How can we do this?

How to Survive Psychology Graduate School
I recently received the following email: I have a friend who is in graduate school in Psychology at the University of Colorado. She's spent $17,000 (so far) on her education and cannot afford to transfer. But she's finding that if her Christian worldview informs any of her thinking on papers, on exams, etc., she will be downgraded. Other students have told her that if she even appears to espouse a Christian worldview she won't graduate. One of her biggest problems is that she is being forced to (at least appear to) view same-sex marriage as an acceptable alternative lifestyle when she strongly objects to it. I don't know to what degree the school's administration may be under pressure to indoctrinate students into a politically correct, left wing mold, but it worries me. I'd expect this sort of thing at UC-Boulder, but not here. Any suggestions?

Academic Freedom Day
The famous Pink Floyd song that laments, "We don't need no education / We don't need no thought control," is not just the rant of a rebellious mind; it is also a sad commentary on the lack of academic freedom in education today. Academic freedom does not simply mean you have the freedom to agree with everyone else. True academic freedom means you have the freedom to think for yourself — even when your views run counter to the majority "elite." In the scientific community, academic freedom is vital because science only progresses when scientists are able to think for themselves and ask hard questions about the prevailing wisdom. Few scientists understood the importance of the principle of academic freedom better than Charles Darwin...

Why Christians Should Avoid Great Books Like the Plague
An interesting article was penned this fall titled "People of the Screen." The author, Christine Rosen, editor of The New Atlantis, opines on the diminished role of reading books for pleasure. The advent of computers and the internet has taught a generation of children to seek information online instead of on the page and several studies indicate the result is a lack of concentration and interaction with the values and worldview of the author. One national study found that nearly half of Americans ages 18 to 24 read no books for pleasure. Rosen suggests this is to our individual and collective detriment. You're invited to read the entire article here. This month's article tackles the same issue but from a tongue-in-cheek perspective. Enjoy!...

Is There a War between Science and Religion?
Many people today have the impression there is a war between modern science and religion, and that science has won the day. But is that really the case? Are scientific knowledge and religious ideas incompatible? Has science replaced religion as the means for understanding life and mankind's place in the universe? Dr. Ian Hutchinson, Professor at MIT, traces much of the blame for the current hostility between these two disciplines to Andrew Dickson White, former president of Cornell University. In 1898, White wrote a book entitled "A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom." White's preface stated outright that he intended the book to support his battle against the church's control of higher education...

Pop Culture
Francis Schaeffer once wrote that the secular philosophies of intellectuals filter down to the general population through the arts, becoming what we call "popular culture." Thus, pop culture is the prevailing worldview expressed primarily through blockbuster movies, best-selling novels, "top-forty" music, highly rated television shows, the visual arts, and advertising.

Expelled, the Movie
Most of us take academic freedom for granted. We assume that freedom of speech applies not only to the political and social arena but also to the halls of education. However, the foundations of freedom are experiencing seismic tremors in the academy. In the area of science education the freedom to pursue the truth where ever it leads is experiencing a major setback. It is the equivalent of a modern-day black-list! What can jeopardize someone's work in the academy? Criticizing Darwinian evolution, or, worse, suggesting that life displays evidence of . . . we better whisper it . . . intelligence.

Becoming a World-changer
Are you looking for a great Christmas gift that every member of your family will appreciate? How about a gift that will change the world for the better! You may be thinking, what kind of gift would do that? Let me explain. What's the greatest gift you can give someone? As Christians, our immediate answer to that question is "Salvation, God's free gift!" That's true. In fact, Jesus' Great Commission in Matthew 28:19–20 has been the marching orders for the church throughout the past 2,000 years. And usually we think of presenting the Gospel as the primary means of fulfilling the command to "make disciples of all nations." However...

Christianity and Slavery
In the United States, February is designated as "Black History Month." The history of the black race is steeped in the matter of slavery and this raises the issue of the role Christianity played in the practice of selling and owning other people. It's been popular in recent years to accuse Christianity of being a primary promoter of slavery. For example, William McDonald of the New York Times wonders...

The Influence of the Secular Humanist Worldview
Secular Humanism (SH) is a well-defined worldview. The Humanist Manifestos of 1933, 1973, and 2000 explain the details of their beliefs. Topping the list is their belief that God does not exist, or at least there is insufficient evidence for the existence of God. From that theological foundation, Secular Humanists have developed a comprehensive view on various issues, including the nature of man, moral values, the role of the state, plus other areas. Over the past 75 years, Secular Humanists have exerted significance influence over a wide range of culture shaping arenas, including...

Being a Christian in the World
Dear Mr. Edwards, I was a student at Summit this summer. I'm a senior at a public high school. I'm writing for some advice in the situation I'm in. I've been a competing cheerleader for about 15 years, and am now on the school varsity cheerleading squad. We do our pep rally routines to different cuts of songs. Last week was our first pep rally. When I heard the music to our routine I was appalled. I asked who the artist was, and at once knew it was a provocative artist. That night I went home and printed off the lyrics. There were numerous cursing and sexual suggestions to say the least. I asked if I could sit out and not participate, because I didn't want to be involved with inappropriate music. I also asked this in a quiet, behind the scenes way. Basically my principal told me...

Why the Grinch is Stealing Christmas
Like the Grinch of Dr. Seuss fame, there are those who are working hard to erase every public expression of Christmas in USA'ville. To list just a few examples, consider the following...

Living in the Real World
In the high-action, Kung fu fighting, futuristic science fiction film, "The Matrix," high-tech hacker Neo is rescued from a computer-generated world (the Matrix) through which "Machines" have suppressed reality and dominated mankind. Neo is brought into "the real world" by a leader named Morpheus. As part of Neo's training to save humanity from its slavery to the machines, he is introduced to the virtual reality of the "loading program." Upon entering this virtual reality, Neo begins to come to grips with this new understanding when...

Discerning Worldviews in Movies
There are various ways to evaluate movies, such as tracing the growth of the main character, evaluating the theme(s), critiquing the cinematography, or judging the quality of the acting. However, when it comes to understanding and engaging the culture, the best approach is to discern the key worldview issue being addressed. In other words, we attempt to uncover the worldview message of the movie. This is done by asking...

Beyond Entertainment
When our girls, Michelle and Kim, were in high school, we would occasionally watch a movie together on Saturday night. Afterwards, I'd initiate a discussion on the message of the movie. The girls would say, "Oh, Dad, do we have to talk about it. That ruins it!" My response was, "Girls, if the screenwriter, director and producer are simply out to entertain you, then you can sit back, relax and allow your emotions to be moved. However, if they are also out to...

Popular Culture
Francis Schaeffer once wrote that the secular philosophies of intellectuals filter down to the general population through the arts, becoming what we call "popular culture. Thus, "popular culture" is the prevailing worldview expressed primarily through blockbuster movies, best-selling novels, "top-forty" music, highly rated television shows, the visual arts, and advertising. George Lucas clearly understands his role as a film writer and director when he said that...

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