Is Culture a Threat?

William Edgar writes in his article, The Threat of Culture, "Culture, then, is subversive. It can subvert for ill or good. At times Christians have feared its power. They have worried that it might drive them into worldliness, removing their focus from the spiritual goals of salvation. Some cultural expressions can do that. There is a lot to worry about in our time, and threats to spirituality abound. But is that the end of the story?"

Edgar's article traces Paul's own engagement of culture in Acts 17. In Acts 17, he traces the two lessons of Paul on culture: how culture becomes perverted and how culture can be redeemed.

He goes on to write,

"There are two ways we can work out the implications of these ideas in terms of cultural engagement. The first is to redefine or redirect cultural patterns affected by the fall. Of course, the gospel is a new creation, not simply a restoration. As a result our redirecting should be very ambitious. As we seek to enact change, we are living out our heavenly citizenship. Each one of us has a calling."

"One more thing. I have come to believe that we Christians should be subversive. Is there not a place to undermine the dominant powers and exercise divine power to dismantle strongholds? (2 Corinthians 10:4) When Jesus became incarnate his mother Mary sang her Magnificat, praising God for bringing down the mighty and exalting the humble. (Luke 1:52) Our Lord Jesus undermined the power of both religious teachers and Roman rulers.
He did not do this violently but subversively, and with great imagination. Think of the parables. Think of his interactions with the Scribes, catching them off guard with his deepening of the law, his praise of the simple and anonymous, his defense of the vulnerable and his cleansing of the Temple."

Of course, when one engages culture one is asking for a response. Sometimes, I believe we do not engage because we do not want to deal with the messy responses that are bound to come our way. Jesus dealt with them all day long, and we can expect them to come our way as well. Edgar writes,

"After his magnificent speech, Paul received three reactions. I suggest they are the ones we will receive not only when we speak, but when we work at challenging and transforming culture. Some believed. Some repented and enlisted in the task force. Some mocked and rejected the whole idea as preposterous. "


We can expect the same responses, but we will never move people from mocking to belief and repentance without the Holy Spirit moving us to action.


I am a proponent of engaging culture, and therefore recommend reading this article as it will make you think. I am not an advocate of every thought in the article, but appreciate the subject and the way in which it was presented. I would suggest that Christian education is a great venue for engaging culture and preparing the next generation to do the same. It is also one of the most effective means of changing culture.



At Westminster our goal is to engage culture with education that is distinctly Christian and excellent in all things in order to change culture and the world... one student at a time. Come and find out what God is doing at Westminster Christian Academy! Blessings!