Rethink Mission: Inspiring gospel-centered missional churches

In part 1, we saw that art produced by those who aren’t Christians is not necessarily “evil.” All artistic output in some way reflects both the image of God and human depravity.

If this is true – then how do we navigate the cultural & artistic forms that surround us?

Many Christians don’t realize that the way they view the world around them is more influenced by gnosticism than it is by the Bible.

Gnosticism (influenced by Plato) says that “the material world,” everything around us, is inherently flawed.  The only thing of value is an imaginary “ideal world.”

Christianity says that “everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude” (1 Tim 4:4). In fact Paul says that when men “forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth,” that they are actually teaching a doctrine inspired by demons.

A religion inspired by gnosticism says that the “secular” world around us is essentially of lesser value than things having to do with Christianity or religion which uniquely are considered “sacred.”

Christianity says that “if you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, ‘Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!’… in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?” (Col. 2:20-22).

In a great book on this subject called Being Human, Covenant Seminary professor Jerram Barrs & Ranald Macaulay write, “we have been created to enjoy God’s world in all its richness. Human culture is also to be enjoyed. Spirituality involves the whole of human life; nothing is nonspiritual. But wherever Platonism has affected Christian teaching there has been a separation of the sacred and secular. Thus, prayer, worship, evangelism and ‘the ministry’ are thought to be sacred. All other activities are secular. The sacred is said to be more spiritual.”

This view of creation, of culture, of art, of the creative expression of human beings is not only thoroughly Biblical, it is also thoroughly freeing.

Of course, this also complicate things. The avoidance of sin doesn’t necessarily mean avoiding the “secular” world.  Paul even says that “such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with… their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” (Col 2:23).

This brings up a good question, though: How can we tell what is sin?  What is to be engaged, what is to be enjoyed, and what is to be avoided?

What do you think?

This entry was posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm and is filed under cultural engagement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.