Salt in the Pop (Culture) March 12, 2008
Posted by Anya in : I won't keep things purposely vague , trackbackDo you have any thoughts on this quandary I’ve been feeling lately about raising children who are prepared for the times we live in? In a nutshell - when we were growing up pop culture was not Christian, but at the same time was generally not offensive. There were tv shows a family could watch together, you could find music that had good lyrics, etc. Now, not only is pop culture not Christian, it is (IMHO) offensive as well. So we (our family) basically live in the world of “Christian pop culture” - VeggieTales movies, Clubhouse magazine, CCM music - which is on the one hand (I hope) responsible and proper parenting. But is that preparing them for what they will face in 10-15 years? And if it isn’t, how do we do that, given the times we live in? Maybe your blogbuddies have some thoughts.
That is the question from my Uncle Bob aka Ferris. Mom is posting about it as well, so please read both posts (oh, c’mon, do you really have something else to do than read our posts??)
I think, in addition to what Mom says, I’ve been well equipped through the schooling which I’ve received. If you really have a lot of time, and I have somehow fallen behind on giving you reading assignments, read The Fabric of Faithfulness by Steve Garber. Preferably about five times. Because the first time your eyes will just glaze over. As they will the second time. But things may start to make sense by the third time… and… yes. You get the picture.
I’m going to insert here that I don’t object to all CCM. Some of it is very good. Some of it — Derek Webb’s album She Must and Shall Go Free comes to mind — has lasting value.
But the pop culture is all around, and, as Mom points out, what promotes itself as “Christian” culture really just tries to paint the decaying face of sin. Joost Nixon made that point beautifully in this article.
I know a lot of the moments that have prepared me were totally unscheduled. In fact, I’ve tried to keep a notebook of some of them since the summer of 2005. Steve Garber obviously was influential there, too, as I have written in the front cover
Learning to care
Only connect
Thank you to Steve Garber [he contributed those two lines, which summed things up nicely] and in an immeasurable way to those who taught me how to care.
Would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be? [Casting Crowns, Stained Glass Masquerade]
It must be different through your eyes, cause you look at me like it’s the first time that you’ve ever seen my face… [Sanctus Real, Eloquent]
The notebook itself is telling, of some of the moments in my life that have most caused my heart to ache. It’s me trying to work out, in some cases, what was happening. In other cases I was looking back at what had happened and seeing how it had made sense. (Yes, I always write a lot.)
“How do you speak? What do you say? How do you witness?” I wrote, trying to figure out what I had just been told. Because I couldn’t comprehend it. Not coming from someone I’d known almost all my life. No. Not someone I had trusted. Not someone who I had joked around with. I wrote, that time, about the shock, the desire to yell (words which some people would probably die if they found out that I knew), relief, a sense of God’s holiness… all at the same time. That’s the difficulty. We — like the Ringbearer — are called to live torn. More like Samwise, I guess. Both being in the world and not belonging.
Another day I wrote, “It’s broken, and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know the answers.” Maybe that’s a difference. Even when I don’t know the answer, I know that there is an answer. One right answer. Not “whatever”. Not “well this is true for me and maybe not true for you”.
So I guess it is the same way with the question I started with. I don’t know exactly how to prepare anyone for what the world will be like in ten or fifteen years. I think, though, that we will be prepared if we are prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within us. And that means to Christians as well as non-Christians. It means living the hope. Seeing how God is working in life, enough to be able to look back and say, “Amazing grace”.
Please — really please, not just because I love comments — comment and let me know what you think. How do we live as Christians in a culture which tries to make everything of about as much substance as computer-generated veggies? How are we light and salt?
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[…] Miss Language has posted on the same subject, as usual, with style and insight. Go read there and comment one or both places. Share some encouragement. […]
I think that Christians have a lot to learn from the emos, because while the “emo” pop-culture is just as ungodly a pop-culture as any other, one thing you have to say for the emos is that they “get it”: they understand what makes every other un-godly culture tick. And that is ignoring the reality of sorrow.
Emos see everyone rushing about avoiding the hard, painful reality of sorrow. They see the all-prevalent catch-phrases of pop-psychology: “Believe in yourself.” “Don’t focus on the negative, focus on the positive”, and they turn away in hatred and loathing. From their point of view, nothing is real in this world except sorrow. They’ve tried everything- sex, drugs, fame…nothing gives lasting happiness. They’ve had enough. They’ll be resigned to the fact that all the methods and techniques that are out there are just ways to try and avoid the truth that this world stinks.
So they form little groups which centre on sorrow. “Sorrow is the only reality, so let’s acknowledge and “celebrate” the only thing that is permanent, lasting and true. Let’s come together to expose the hypocrisies of our age.”
Look at our “Christian” pop-cultures from an emo perspective. “Be joyful? There is no such thing as joy. You’re just as bad as all the rest- holding on to some crutch to get you through life. VeggieTales? Pretty colours dancing on the screen with smulchy messages attached. Christian music? Boppy sounds that make you feel good until the music dies away. You have nothing that anyone else doesn’t have.”
What can we say to the emos?
First up: “This world does stink. We’re 100% behind you there….because the reality is, we’re all rebels. And rebellion against God results in great sorrow. And guess what? You think this world is bad? Hell is going to be much worse.”
Second: “BUT sorrow is not the ultimate truth. The Triune God is the ultimate truth- and He is not only just to punish sin, but merciful to pardon. But, sin isn’t something to brush away with a snap of the fingers. It has to be dealt with in the way that suits its terribleness. And God the Son did that by becoming the man Jesus and taking ALL the sorrow, the pain, the punishment that sin deserves on His own back. Then He rose again because the price had been paid! Once and for all, He took sin away- so He is able to save from the reality of sorrow. Trust Him!”
Basically, the problem with all the Christian and non-Christian pop cultures is that they deny truth. While they may on the surface acknowledge that “sin is bad, Jesus died for sin, you have to repent and believe”, the very way that they are transmitting these truths denies those truths. If we really and truly believe what the Bible says about sin- if we treat the horror of sin as a truth- then do we try and get the message across in a sing-a-long song performed by a cucumber and tomato? If we really and truly believe what the Bible says about the awesomeness of mercy- do we try and get the message across through singing a boppy little song that speaks of “the rainbow of the Father’s smile”?
It’s about getting the facts right- truth- and then treating said truth with proper respect- deep-rooted and trembling conviction. That’s what makes for a godly Christian and a godly Christian culture. And so the fight really is all about (as John Piper says) “battling unbelief”. As my current AIM status message quotes him: “La Bible éveille la foi, la source de toute obéissance : The Bible awakens faith, the source of all obedience.” Whether it be in our own hearts or in a culture, the gospel has to be the shaping force.
It’s scary, really, because it is we who are so small in faith, strength and courage that are supposed to tell others of the glories of the gospel. But then again…we have to remember that our own sinful nature is not the only reality. The Holy Ghost indwelling us and strengthening us day by day is an even more real truth. So we step out, trusting His grace to be sufficient.
“Lord, increase our faith.”
I don’t know anything about emos but I like what Anika had to say about sorrow. I agree that most people try to hide from sorrow and pain. One place I have seen what seems to show a healthy respect for sorrow, while bringing a redemptive element, is the children’s book/movie Because of Winn-Dixie.
Wow, BEAUTIFUL post. You lost me a couple of times there…not sure why…but I wasn’t really reading it intellectually…I was FEELING the ideas behind it without even thinking about them…(not sure if that makes sense, and yes, I did go back and read it intellectually before commenting:)
“It’s broken and I cannot fix it.” That is so true, so true!
What you say about “living torn” is sooooo true. I’ve never been able to find a way to express that haunting thought. I have a journal and I also wite alot. I guess I kinda write how you do. When I want to scream, I can do it there. When I don’t understand why, I write, “I don’t understand why.” I cry onto into that book and that helps as much as pages of confused writing. I so often write that I am living “broken.” How do we live in this world without living broken? How do we see the things that happen around us every day and keep going? How can we do it? I guess there are only two choices: either we go numb to it, or we let it out, and writing is the best way to let it out, I guess.
The pop-culture issue is an interesting one. I agree 100% with what Anika said. And about emos…YES! If we don’t understand sorrow and hurt, we CANNOT help other people. (Have you read “The Man Who Was Thursday?) Of course, we can’t encourage the emos to keep their attitudes because we’ll never be able to witness to someone who’s already dead of suicide!
Because I didn’t grow up in the U.S, the pop-culture annoys me more than the average American. It’s so SHALLOW. Christian pop-culture is shallow, too. I guess that’s what annoys me most. However, I am learning to give more grace to the people who have grown up in it. How can we tell them it’s “wrong”? Witnessing…how can we witness except with the Bible? Some pop-culture fits it…can we condemn the people who use that? I think that our shallow, empty generation (and I’m talking about some believers too) won’t get out of their self-centered lifestyles until they see some sorrow…and learn to care about other people firsthand. You know, if you have a friend who is suffering…really, REALLY suffering, you pour yourself into their life. You forget yourself. You just want them to see JESUS. And once someone sees Him, really sees Him, everything else IS shallow.
I’m not sure if I’m making sense, so I’ll wrap it up by saying: Everyone grows up in different settings and thinks differently about little things. I don’t know if we can (or should) try to force them to think exactly as we do. In the end, JESUS is all that matters. For people like us, who didn’t really grow up in the pop-culture, when we see SORROW, we fight! and it hardly matters how. (Well, obviously, it DOES matter, but I’m sure you get the picture.)
If you actually managed to wade through this whole thing, bravo! But hey! You asked for comments!
Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy
P.S. Have you heard, “Tears Of The Saints,” by Leeland? It’s a beautiful song and I love the line, “Father we will lead them home.” I guess it voices some sort of determination that we all need, in order to fulfill our Great Comission. “Father, we WILL lead them home.” I guess you kinda have to hear the song to understand what I mean…
Am I safe in assuming that an emo is NOT a flightless bird?
You want to know what an emo is? Here’s a great (exagerrated)definition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f67_og3v_Ow
Ok, OK, I’m just kidding. They’re not all THAT bad…:)
Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy
Wow. Deep, dude. Rock on.
Just kidding.
Kind of beside the point, but I don’t think that American culture is any more shallow than any other culture, we just manifest it in different ways. Watch Japanese game shows, go to an Irish pub, walk along a street in Berlin, and you’ll find the same denial of brokenness and/or denial of a cure, simply expressed in different ways.
I do get annoyed with the Christian pop culture: we choose a world of marshmallow gooey feeling rather than face the harshness of living in a broken world. But, as a parent, do I want to toss my kids into that broken world as soon as they can walk? “Well, kid, that’s reality. Sink or swim, you’ve got to deal with it?” I think that’s what Ferris is asking, and the answer, obviously, is no. Neither do we want to keep them coddled in the greenhouse forever, unprepared for the blast of winter wind that comes when they leave home. But where’s the middle ground? I think there’s nothing wrong, per se, with Veggie Tales or CCM, but it is the milk rather than the meat of the gospel. At some point, Christians have to step out of the marshmallow goo and come face to face with the brokenness and answer it with Christ. And as we parent, we gradually help our kids “broaden their horizons” and see more and more of the “real” world and, as they do, we discuss it with them and guide them in understanding how to live as a Christian in our culture, how to respond. We as Christians mustn’t be content with the milk, but seek out the meat of the gospel and grapple with our culture in those terms. And the meat of the gospel is found in the hard work of studying the Bible, hearing the Word preached, discussing the Gospel with other Christians (iron sharpens iron) and with non-Christians, living out the Gospel in our daily lives. Not only do non-beleivers see, but our children see and learn from what we do and say. From us, from what we do even more than what we say, our children will learn what it means to be a Christian in our pop culture.
All this talk of marshmallows and meat has made me hungry, so you’ll pardon me if my comment didn’t make complete sense. I”m off to make dinner.