Christ and Culture Revisited

Oustanding, helpful, Biblical tour-de-force by Carson. He clearly shows the inadequacies of many 'Christian' approaches to cutlure (with particular focus on Niehbur) while he also attempts to lay out a broader understanding of the issue from a wholistic Biblical framework. He does not de-emphasize the tensions and struggles of faithful living in a fallen world and in particular contexts. It bogs down a little in his discussions on post-modernism, but overall, an outstanding book that probably needs to be read more than once for it to truly sink in and percolate. A must read in these polarizing days of culture wars and 'win at all costs' political campaigns!

This is a rich, revealing, and satisfying survey of how believers relate to the culture in which they live. In the first chapter, Carson adopts Clifford Geertz's definition of culture, which is "an historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols ...by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life (p. 2)." He also revisits Richard Niebuhr's five constructs which he finds in scripture: Christ against Culture, the Christ of culture, Christ Above Culture, Christ and Culture in paradox, and Christ the Transformer of culture. In chapter two, Carson concludes that the second option is probably unbiblical and that the other four constructs can be true in different times and places, and that it is better to see these as working together rather than four buffet style pick and choose options. Carson also mentions some non-negotiable teachings in the biblical storyline that must be the foundation of any understanding of how the Christian relates to culture: 1. God made everything good, but that this is a fallen world because of original sin inherited through Adam and Eve 2. Jesus came to inaugerate the New Covenant and to die for our sins and rise again to be the king of the universe 3. There is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be feared. Chapter three discusses Christ, culture and postmodernism. While Carson acknowledges that culture colors the way we perceive truth, this does not support the postmodern idea that we cannot know truth as truth. We can acknowledge with emergent church leaders that all of our knowledge is interpreted, and also agree with scripture that truth is important and reliable. There is also a chapter about the Christian and secularism, power, democracy, and freedom. Carson notes that Jesus himself taught us that some sort of distinction between Christ and Caesar (government) must be maintained (Mark 12 - Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's). He also notes that not all democracies are created equal - the democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, are still very fragile. Carson also mentions that the radical left would like to force groups like the Boy Scouts to subscribe to their liberal egalitarian vision for America. He mentions the tension between majority rule and the drive to preserve the rights of the minority. He concludes by noting that secularism, freedom, power, and democracy cannot be properly labeled good or evil. They can be either, depending on the context. He observes that Christian communities who desire to live out the Word of God will invariably encounter and confront aspects of culture that are not in line with the Word. We must sacrifically serve and minister to people within this complex culture. There is also a long chapter on the church and state. Carson discusses the origin of the idea of the "wall of separation" between the two, and that it originates within a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to Jo

In 1951 H. Richard Niebuhr penned his now classic volume, Christ and Culture. In it he sought to explore the "enduring problem" of the "many-sided debate about Christianity and civilization". In an attempt to come to terms with this complex and important issue, he presented various models of this relationship. The result was his famous fivefold reply: Christ against Culture; Christ of Culture; Christ above Culture; Christ and Culture in Paradox; and Christ the Transformer of Culture. Each of these models he describes in detail, and he notes both strengths and weaknesses to the five options. He suggests that believers will have to make up their own minds as to which is the preferred option. In Carson's new volume he seeks to carry on from where Niebuhr left off. He begins by assessing his work and the five models. He rightly notes that for Niebuhr the real issue is not so much how Christianity relates to culture, but "two sources of authority as they compete within society, namely Christ ... and every other source of authority divested of Christ". And Niebuhr is especially thinking of secular or civil authority here, Carson reminds us. Carson also notes some weaknesses in Niebuhr's important volume. He did a good job of aligning various historical figures with the five models, but sometimes the fit is far from precise. For example, while Augustine or Calvin may well fit in the transformationist model, they do so only partially. And Tertullian cannot consistently be seen as fitting in the opposition ("against") model. And so on. Carson then discusses the biblical plotline, and what are some nonnegotiable elements of the biblical worldview. He rightly notes that we do very much have a responsibility to our surrounding culture. Believers have a relationship with God "in the context of embodied existence". Indeed, as image bearers of God, we have "responsibilities toward the rest of the created order - responsibilities of governance and care". He discusses the fall and sin, and the call of Israel. But he notes that with the arrival of Christ, something new entered human affairs: "up to that point in history, religion and state were everywhere intertwined". This was just as true of Israel as with the surrounding pagan nations. But when Jesus announced that we should "give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" he initiated a whole new paradigm. Prior to Jesus there were no genuinely secular states. All nations were involved with gods. Jesus was the first to highlight that there are two separate and distinct realms here. They of course overlap, but are not identical. Thus there has always being - even if imperfectly - church-state divisions within Christendom. Islam of course has never known this dichotomy, nor does it want to. And Carson reminds us that in the words of Jesus we have real differentiation between Caesar and God. However, Jesus intended that God should have the pre-eminence. Of course how all that fleshes itself

How shall Christ and Culture interact? The question is universal. From Christians hiding in China, to the power and majesty of Catholicism, to the Moral Majority in America, to the reclusive Amish communities in Pennsylvania, the Church has struggled with the correct understanding of how faith applies to local context. For years, various groups have fit themselves into one of H. Richard Niebuhr's five categories; Christ against Culture, Christ of Culture, Christ above Culture, Christ and Culture in Paradox, and Christ the Transformer of Culture. D.A. Carson's, "Christ and Culture Revisited," critiques Niebuhr, and offers a more thoughtful and orthodox path forward. It is an excellent bird's eye view of a contentious topic, painted with broad but well-researched strokes. In this review I describe its six chapters, draw out the, "takeaway," ideas, insert a few notes, and give my overall thoughts. Summary Chapter 1 explains and reviews Niebuhr's, "Christ and Culture." Niebuhr's categories cast a fairly wide net, and Carson's analysis begins to narrow it. He argues that at least one category (Christ of Culture) necessitates a heretical view of Christianity, and as such is not acceptable as a category. Chapter 2 continues critiquing Niebuhr by applying biblical theology. Carson evaluates Niebuhr's strengths and weaknesses, handling of Scripture, assignment of historical figures, and understanding of canon. He also makes a key argument; to suggest that there are multiple views of Christ and Culture and that individual groups can rightly choose just one is incorrect. This limiting of oneself to a single theme of Scripture (such as, say, appreciating God as Creator but not as Redeemer) is an affront to the wholesale acceptance of the historical-Biblical perspective. It is akin to saying you are eating a Caesar salad when really you are just eating lettuce (my metaphor). Carson then shows that a true paradigm for understanding Christ and Culture must necessarily accept a "bundle" of clear Scriptural perspectives. This bundle includes; Creation and Fall, Israel and the Law, Christ and New Covenant, and Heaven and Hell. Any paradigm that does not include or proportionally mishandles these perspectives is inherently flawed and inconsistent with orthodox Christianity. Chapter 3 will be familiar to those who follow Carson's work, but frustrating to those who do not. As in many of his other lectures and writings, he spends considerable time interacting with his critics. This chapter could easily be skipped by the curious layman, because it is mostly technical discussion of the definitions for culture and postmodernism. However, it is a good chapter for those who want to understand the technical issues caught up with this type of critique, and have strong background in the debates surrounding these terms. Chapter 4 discusses four major forces that impact and at times bend or challenge our understanding of Christ's role in cultur