• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wyatt Graham

Faith | Books | Culture

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Column

Culture

Can Christians Use Cultural Ideas without Compromising Their Faith?

July 13, 2019 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Provides name of author and description of website as well as Twitter handle

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) transports triglycerides and cholesterol to repair and to provide cells with energy. We know this because modern science has discovered this reality and invented the language (low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides, and cholesterol) to conceptualize how my body works. 

We use all sorts of words that our culture has invented and which derive from larger concepts.  We engage in a capitalistic, free-market economy. We program with Java and Ruby. And like LDL or other medical concepts, we use these words freely and participate in their respective systems of thought (e.g., the free market, nutrition, etc.). 

But can using language and engaging cultural ideas have a negative outcome? Some think so. A group of American evangelicals have used the analytic tools of a contemporary political ideology to describe inequality in American culture. In response, a second  group has decried such a method as being incompatible with Christianity. Who is right? 

Well, the answer to such questions relies on how we understand cultural words and ideas and their ability to integrate into Christian modes of thinking. Here are some scriptural and non-scriptural examples that will ground our thinking on the matter.  [Read more…] about Can Christians Use Cultural Ideas without Compromising Their Faith?

Filed Under: Culture Tagged With: Culture

The Gospel Option: An Evangelical Response to the Benedict Option

March 30, 2017 by wagraham 1 Comment

“Illustration from Mikael Agricola’s New Testament” (source) PD-1996

David Brooks at the NYTimes called The Benedict Option “the most discussed and most important religious book of the decade.” Over at The Week, Damon Linker wrote that The Benedict Option “may be the most important statement of its kind since Richard John Neuhaus’ The Naked Public Square, the 1984 book that Dreher’s implicitly seeks to supplant.” 

The plethora of reviews written for The Benedict Option (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and probably many more) as well as the various discussions and controversies surrounding the book prove just how discussed The Benedict Option is. The internet, it seems, is alive with the sound of The Benedict Option.

For my part, I believe that Rod Dreher has correctly diagnosed our times but has prescribed the wrong medicine. Instead of retreating into Christian communities to create a Christian cultural witness, we need to return to a New Testament Gospel witness. But before I get to that, let’s start with what Dreher gets right. [Read more…] about The Gospel Option: An Evangelical Response to the Benedict Option

Filed Under: Culture Tagged With: Benedict Option, Bill 28, C-14, C-16, Canada, Christians in Canada, Culture, Gospel, Rod Dreher, TWU

Review: The Benedict Option by Rob Dreher

March 6, 2017 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Dreher, Rob. The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. New York: Sentinel, 2017. Pp. x + 262. ISBN 9780735213296. $29.98 CAN [Hardcover]. Source for Book Cover.

The Benedict Option may be one of the most important books of the next decade because it outlines a strategy for Christians to survive and thrive in a post-Christian culture. Dreher describes the Benedict Option with the iconic image of the Ark:

The image of the church as an Ark floating atop tempestuous waters of destruction is one of great antiquity in the history of the Christian faith. This iconic concept of the church’s self-understanding must be recovered with vigor. (238)

The church is an ark that withstands the waves of a collapsing culture. Is is also a wellspring of life (238). The church must withstand the pressures of culture and also thrive on living waters. [Read more…] about Review: The Benedict Option by Rob Dreher

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Benedict Option, Culture, Post-Christian

Primary Sidebar

Wyatt is the Executive Director of The Gospel Coalition Canada. He enjoys his family and writing. You'll generally find him hiding away somewhere with his nose in a book.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Want articles in your e-mail? Sign up here!

Does God have Emotions?

March 17, 2023 By wagraham 4 Comments

Is Wrath an Attribute of God?

March 10, 2023 By wagraham 1 Comment

Byung-Chul Han’s “Burnout Society”

February 28, 2023 By wagraham Leave a Comment

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in