A White Cat in a Snowstorm
Can trying to be relevant make a Christian irrelevant? John Piper writes:
“I think relevance in preaching hangs very little on watching movies, and I think that much exposure to sensuality, banality, and God-absent entertainment does more to deaden our capacities for joy in Jesus than it does to make us spiritually powerful in the lives of the living dead. Sources of spiritual power—which are what we desperately need—are not in the cinema. You will not want your biographer to write: Prick him and he bleeds movies.” [1]
I agree fully that we should be reviewing and assessing popular culture, and using elements of it that are familiar to people to reach them with the gospel. Jesus apparently refers to Prometheus in his comment to Saul about kicking against the goads! See here.
But, I can only think of a handful of preachers, let alone Christians, who, when pricked, bleed Bible. Charles Spurgeon and James Jordan come to mind. All the others are from earlier history.
Peter Leithart says we desperately need to “speak Bible.” We need to read and think Bible, and see the world—and popular culture—with Bible eyes first.
Otherwise, our efforts at relevance make us a white cat in a snow storm.
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[1] John Piper, Why I Don’t Have a Television and Rarely Go to Movies.
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