When it comes to the culture, we’re usually struggling to land on the same definition. Is it the world around us? Is it the people within our geographic region? Is it more spiritual, something like the zeitgeist of our age? Can culture be measured, or is it too subjective? Furthermore, is it possible for someone to influence it in a significant way, or is it static and changed only through a linear progression?
When we look to Webster, we find that culture has at least six nuanced definitions depending upon the context with multiple subpoints providing further clarity in understanding the nuances of the word. Then there are Christian thought-leaders like Jeff Myers, who, in his book, Understanding the Culture, provides insight by saying, “Culture happens when humans interact with the world.”[1] Others like Carl Trueman, in his book, Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, explains the American Sociologist, Philip Rieff’s take on culture by saying that “Rieff’s approach to culture is characterized by a number of ideas. Foremost is his notion that cultures are primarily defined by what they forbid.”[2] He goes on to explain that “This is a basically Freudian concept: if sexual taboos drive civilization, then civilization is really defined at its base by a negative idea, by that behavior that it denounces and renounces as unacceptable.”[3] To bring this all together, we have culture with the potential to be defined in myriad ways; however, including humans and their actions within. Thus, any understanding of culture must begin with the proposition that humans interact to create and define culture.
We understand this practically. When I say, “My company has a culture.” You more than likely understand that to mean that there are humans interacting and therefore creating and defining the culture within that company. It may be dress. It may be language. It may be hair color and haircuts. In the case of Philip Rieff’s take on culture, it could even be the inverse of these things, which simply means that culture in the company is defined by not wearing certain things, not cutting your hair a certain way, etc.
Another instance where we understand culture practically is when I say, “My church has a certain culture.” Most Christians would understand that to mean the way the singing is conducted, the way the preacher speaks, where he stands, what he wears. Even, the age of the congregation. Putting it in Rieff’s cultural framework, the church could be defined as not singing in a certain way, not having a certain age or demographic, etc.
Thus, as we see, the direction we take this cultural conversation will dictate the outcome of these propositions. And so, what I want to do is simply provide a working definition that will guide the rest of this chapter. We’ll examine the variations of how culture is expressed, as well as look at ways a Christian can influence the culture.
CLICK HERE for more on the GAP Book.
[1] Jeff Myers, Understanding the Culture: A Survey of Social Engagement (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2017), 37.
[2] Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, 43.
[3] Trueman, 43.
— January 20, 2022