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.
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...
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...
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?
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...
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...
