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Book Review: In the World but Not of the World?

April 11th, 2009 at 02:12pm Albert McIlhenny

Faith and Pop Culture (Christianity Today Study Series) – Christianity Today Topic: Christian Culture; Protestantism Summary: Small group guide to studying the relationship between the Christian faith and pop culture Rating:

At a time when popular culture has presented Christianity its greatest challenge, it may well present Evangelical Protestantism an even greater challenge than most. For even if its success in speaking to the popular culture far outstrips other quarters of the Church, one has to wonder if its message is being compromised along the way. Just look at the Evangelical subculture with its own versions of the larger culture and try to discern a difference apart from the occasional namedrop of the three persons of the Holy Trinity.

Christianity Today, the flagship magazine of Evangelicalism, attempts to have Evangelicals to wrestle with this question in Faith and Pop Culture. A study guide for small groups, the book consists of published articles concerning popular culture and questions guiding the discussion to allow Evangelicals to begin facing the problem of confronting the culture without being seduced by it. How can they Evangelicals be “in the world” without ending up “of the world”?

The articles make interesting reading and the questions get to the point quite succinctly. Of course, any such discussion depends on the willingness of the participants to engage in the discussion openly. Perhaps the one drawback is that the questions or articles never really get around to pointing out evangelicalism’s own faults in imitating so much of the culture around them. Still one does need to start the discussion somewhere and Faith and Pop Culture can be the entryway to a deeper examination of the problems of Evangelicalism and its relationship to the world around them.

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