Coming to grips with “culture”

“Theology, my professor said, is the ministry of the Word to the world: the application of the Bible to all areas of life . . . Educators have typically tended to gravitate toward the first element: the Bible . . . As to the second element of the definition – the application to all areas of life – students were pretty much left on their own.”

That’s how Everyday Theology, edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, begins – by asking how Christians can apply Anselm’s “faith seeking understanding” to everyday life.

Jesus gives us this challenge, says Vanhoozer, when responding to the Pharisees: “. . . you know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times” (Matthew 16:3).

But culture is difficult to define. Drawing on Dilthey, Clifford Geertz, Augustine, and Saussure, Vanhoozer says culture is “the software that determines how things function and how people relate in a given society. Culture is both system and practice, a means through which visions of the meaning of life are expressed, experienced, and explored through diverse human products,” – a means of spiritual formation.

He divides culture into texts and trends. Texts are particular examples that identify “something about our values, our concerns, and our self-understanding,” while trends encompass broader societal habits.

Chapters are divided between texts – “The Gospel According to Safeway: the Checkout Line and the Good life,” “Despair and Redemption: A Theological Account of Eminem,” “Looking at Megachurch Architecture,” and trends – “Welcome to the Blogosphere,” “Fantasy Funerals and Other Designer Ways of Going Out of Style,” among others.

The steps of cultural interpretation, says Vanhoozer, are first to examine the historical context of, say, weddings, and then compare them to a scriptural interpretation. Only then can we answer the question “do North American weddings line up with God’s intention for and expectation of marriage?”

Everyday Theology is practical and useful, with sidebars, suggested readings, and a glossary of methodological terms.

As Christians we need to consider how cultural texts and trends affect our walk with Christ. Culture is not necessarily evil but is something we exist in, like fish in water. Therefore if we’re going to live our lives in the way Christ has commanded, we need to be willing to examine the texts and trends we engage in everyday. Vanhoozer’s book is well worth reading as it provides a useful method for Christians to approach this task.

Jon Mair is a master of divinity student at MBBS–ACTS in Langley, B.C. and attends Jericho Ridge Community Church.