I just found an interview at Christianity Today that really intrigued me. Apparently there is a humanist Jewish gentleman who has written a book about his perceptions of Christian Pop Culture. This is a good read to help understand the preconceived ideas that many that we are trying to reach actually have of us.
In the interview the author admits one of my pet peeves, namely, there are several "strains" under the label of "Christian" and failing to understand these distinctions will lead to wrong conclusions.
"That is in many ways our fault as non-Christians for not making the effort to make such distinctions. If the awareness is not there, it's partly because these people are often choosing not to identify as Christian in the same way, partly because they don't want to be tarred by that brush. And I think that's unfortunate in many ways because I think what they're doing is very Christian in the best ways, and that by ceding that word to the forces they don't particularly like, they're doing a disservice to the faith."
The link below will take you to the interview.
In Rapture Ready! Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture, Radosh describes his experiences with the Cornerstone Music Festival, Christian comedians, creationist Ken Ham, Bibleman, Ultimate Christian Wrestling, Jay Bakker, and others.
Actually, he concludes, merging pop culture and Jesus isn't as bad as he expected:
Is it possible that if we were all more faithful in sharing what we know with those around us in our own sphere of influence - that nonbelievers would be able to better tell what is "christian" and what isn't, as presented via media and "pop culture".
ReplyDeleteIs it also possible, that if truly born again christian artists (and there are some who presently do a fantastic job of this already) were more forthright in presenting the gospel during their "performances" that this would also help unbelievers to notice the genuine from the nongenuine more redily?
Granted, God has not called nor gifted every one of us to be an evangelist.....but HE HAS called and equipped every one of us to be His faithful witnesses. A witness simply shares what they have experienced with others.