In my own experience, I have found that many Christians do not understand the "hows" and the "whys" of cultural engagement, even to the point of wondering why Christians should be concerned in the first place. Cultural critic Ken Myers states the issue well when he writes: "It might seem an extreme assertion at first, but I believe that the challenge of living with popular culture may well be as serious for modern Christians as persecution and plagues were for the saints of earlier centuries...Enemies that come loudly and visibly are usually much easier to fight than those that are undetectable...the erosion of character, the spoiling of innocent pleasures, and the cheapening of life itself that often accompany modern popular culture can occur so subtly that we believe nothing has happened." [1] If Myers' assertion is correct, and I believe it is, should it serve as an alarm to retreat, or as a call to advance?
The modern Christian's response to culture is usually one of either passive consumption, or the exact opposite one of active condemnation. Both extremes are flawed in their approach and misunderstand popular culture. In one sense, the condemner realizes the power of pop culture on the individual, which is why he chooses to avoid it. He has made a decision that he believes is right for his own personal sanctification, yet he becomes little more than an earth-dwelling ghost to the culture around him. In other words, in the name of not becoming "of the world," the condemner of pop culture also ceases being "in the world."
Conversely, the indiscriminate partaker fails to critically analyze the effect that pop culture is having on him and soon becomes so "of the world," that he must compartmentalize his thinking into "church" things and "non-church" things. That is, he becomes convinced that a split exists between the "secular" and the "sacred." Forgetting that God created everything in this world, the partaker eventually comes to believe that Christianity only touches on certain things—going to church, praying before eating, reading the Bible daily (or...almost daily), etc. But regardless if they are condemners or partakers, Christianity for these individuals becomes nothing more than a religion—a man-made system of do's and dont's—than the all-encompassing worldview that it actually is. The Gospel redeems the whole man, not just a portion. "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17)...
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