tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31896366.post4181737676413233880..comments2024-03-22T07:16:35.188+00:00Comments on Against Heresies: Engaging with popular cultureMartin Downeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08019053545918223050noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31896366.post-72897419739085938932010-12-13T12:05:55.195+00:002010-12-13T12:05:55.195+00:00You can track him down! He's on twitter (just ...You can track him down! He's on twitter (just search his name) and has 'Movie Night kit' on a website called:<br /><br />www.turnau.czAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31896366.post-90540105379657098762010-11-22T09:49:00.069+00:002010-11-22T09:49:00.069+00:00Enjoyed this post.
Your comment about not all pa...Enjoyed this post. <br /><br />Your comment about not all parts of pop culture being meaningful is half true. The fact is that it exists because there is a demand for it. <br /><br />Therefore, while it may be garbage, it reveals two things: (a) that the background noise of our society is a demand for low-grade entertainment. This is meaningful and important to recognise in and of itself; (b) that people ascribe value to it (at least enough to spend their time on it) is important evangelistically. If we want them to engage with what we think is important, we at least have to give some attention to what they are interested in, and why. <br /><br />I suggest that a useful way to answer Mark's question about "cultural engagement" is that we want to know what cultural artefacts make people tick in this society, and why they appeal so much. Because the appeal we ourselves are making doesn't come in a vacuum. People will judge its relative importance against the background of all the other things that currently fill their lives.<br /><br />When I took my Masters in postmodern philosophy I had the chance to meet and interact for a year with students and tutors who wouldn't have given me a minute of their time unless I was prepared to sit and talk with them about the things that interested and engaged them. <br /><br />Like Paul with the idols in Athens, we engage with the things of culture because we want to engage the people who adulate that culture, with the gospel.Marcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16725283501097528603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31896366.post-5947759260389085222010-11-18T17:23:09.079+00:002010-11-18T17:23:09.079+00:00Phil, John, Mark,
Thank you for posting comments....Phil, John, Mark,<br /><br />Thank you for posting comments. The article is by Ted Turnau and he would need to answer the specifics of the important questions that you ask.<br /><br />Maybe we could track him down...Martin Downeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08019053545918223050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31896366.post-70983946937327259232010-11-18T15:29:44.565+00:002010-11-18T15:29:44.565+00:00Thank-you for sharing this. Many good points.
A ...Thank-you for sharing this. Many good points.<br /><br />A question for all who wish to reply: If you like or use the expressions "engage the culture" or "cultural engagement", how do you define those expressions? I personally find these expressions vague and unhelpful, though somewhat popular.Mark Dawsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05374711078877624577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31896366.post-60355982193747983132010-11-18T10:49:30.986+00:002010-11-18T10:49:30.986+00:00Yes, thanks for a helpful post on a difficult subj...Yes, thanks for a helpful post on a difficult subject. I have one question. You write:<br /><br />If you find keeping up with popular culture too much, find a few artists working in popular culture who have the ability to really tap into the spirit of the age.<br /><br />My question is:how can we gain such knowledge without becoming so immersed in culture that we are compromised by it; without it becoming 'a weight' or a defilement?<br /><br />I feel over the years I gained a fair expertise in the world of cinema but it was at the expense of a spiritual purity. I find it very difficult to align 'whatsoever things are pure... ' with much cultural engagement.John Thomsonhttp://johngreenview.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31896366.post-5461618678320038362010-11-18T06:38:12.155+00:002010-11-18T06:38:12.155+00:00Thanks for this thoughtful and perceptive post. I ...Thanks for this thoughtful and perceptive post. I hope you enjoy this attempt to engage the spoken word poetry culture with a bit of their own irony.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eotw1kgLmRcPhilhttp://www.SacrificialPoet.comnoreply@blogger.com