catapult magazine

Here’s a question from one of the people out here that CAN’T give you a complete history of Alfred Hitchcock’s works cross referrenced with their Aristotelian influences and linked with the recent string of events in Ghana that are only reported in obscure newspapers printed with Soy Ink, whose environmental impact is clearly much less detrimental than normal ink.

A lot of times when I log on to *cino, I feel like a completely ignorant buffoon. I’m perhaps “moderately cultured,” not “very cultured.” I get up, I go to work, I do my job, I unwind in the evenings, I try to stay up on stuff. But here, I have very little to contribute. I have questions: Since Culture is, indeed, Not Optional, is it my duty to become as cultured as Grant? Feel free to say yes. I’m sure I need more discipline on these things. I’m just wondering if there’s something I’m missing. Since about 4 or 5 years ago, I have had to start training myself to like good music/movies. I grew up liking DC Talk and Jim Carrey was the epitome of funny. Thankfully, I think many of my viewpoints and “aesthetics” have changed dramatically over the past several years. Still, I often feel lost. Where do you get the time to take in all this culture (movies, current events, books)? When I read a book, it takes me a long time. I don’t have the cash to see a movie every week. And aside from the newspaper and the television, there’s so many things in current events that I miss, I wonder if I’ve got my eyes closed and everyone else has them open. It seems like too much to be able to hold down at once.

I’m not making excuses for my lack. I suppose no one’s a perfect angel here. I suspect that the cliquishness that’s perceived in communities like this comes from people not knowing what they’ve done wrong when their version of culture is what they’ve been handed and they don’t understand how a group of people can tell them they’ve gotten it all wrong. I think for some people, this stuff comes naturally. Others of us are having to break old, bad habits. And like with most habits, it’s not easy. Maybe some people can empathize with some of the stuff I’m saying here.

So tell me: what do I need to change? Go ahead, give me the easy answer. Give me the in-depth “zeitgeist” answer. You founders: stop preaching to the choir (throught I’d throw that in to link the Rush Limbaugh thing) and preach to me for a second.

I’m obviously being a little extreme here for the sake of the post.
Come on, just go with it.

I’m afraid my last post was no clearer than the one before. Maybe a question would be better:

Is there some way we could acknowledge that cultures are identified by shared experience without making experience the god by which truth is defined?

In other words, shouldn’t a Christian definition of culture leave room for the fact that there are obedient and disobedient ways to cultivate God’s Creation?

Our definition must acknowledge that there are good and bad ways to be a cultural creature.

I’m sorry Grant, but I think I need clarification. I don’t understand how the fact that our culturing can be either obedient or disobedient conflicts with the idea that culture is socially constructed? Can’t those two exist together? Can we be good and or bad culturers in society together? I’m not trying to be snotty, but I don’t understand the conflict there.

Here is a different perspective on the issue of culture. I am a younger college student, and I feel that it is very difficult to be cultured when I am not surrounded by influences that will allow me to become more knowledgeable. I agree that it is very intimidating to listen to and read the perspectives of many people on this website. It’s scary! I even went so far as to make sure that my real name wasn’t evident in my user name because I don’t want anyone to recognize me. I just know that the time will come when I respond with a message that is completely idiotic and off the wall and will leave me feeling utterly humiliated. I feel that it is hard to be cultured because of my younger age and because I don’t have influences here to challenge myself. How do I become cultured when I don’t have times to read the books and I can’t be around people like Grant (since yes, we have been idolizing him this entire topic) and others like him. I am surrounded by people who consider comparing calories in a beer can to be careful analyzation. Although you may think that’s an overstatement, the sad fact is that it contains partial truth. I feel like anytime I try to put in my semi-cultured view I get blank looks and tilted heads. I just do not have confidence in my opinions and I feel like I really don’t have anything to back up what I am saying. Also, once I gain more of a cultured knowledge, how do I influence those around me? How do I allow people to understand where I am coming from and to respect the opinions that I state? Since I assume that many of you have experienced college, I thought that perhaps someone could help me out.

And one other thing, when we have discussions in which I want to participate, but feel I don’t know enough about to back myself up, should I still participate or should I just keep my mouth shut? I typically partipate and wish I had kept my mouth shut when it’s over. Just a thought-

I know where you’re coming from C Sue. I find myself in similar counting calorie-type situations and often just give up on trying to culture myself or others, rather than having my friends think of me as some liberal “christian” who just simply doesn’t want to live a “disciplined” lifestyle and definitely doesn’t know her Bible. Most of the time I’m just questioning, not even making a statement, but you can instantly feel the fear of finding that maybe, just maybe, something that we’ve been taught isn’t necessarily true. Anyway C Sue, I just wanted to say I sympathize with you. I feel your stifled, culture-deprived pain.

Please, please, participate! I do truly understand what you feel like—I feel the same way a lot of the time. But it’s okay not to know things, and to ask questions. Personally, and maybe it’s just my teacher side, I don’t think anyone’s voice should be stifled.

C Sue, I think you have an interesting definition of culture lurking under your comments—would you please share more about that with us? I’d like to hear more about your experiences.

I don’t even know what my definition of culture is. I just know that its not optional…tis why I registered on “Culture is not optional”…

My last response was not necessarily concerning culture, but perhaps yearning for a stimulation of knowledge. I don’t know, why don’t you tell me what my definition of culture is…because to be completely and brutally honest, I have not a clue.

I’m becoming less and less sure about a definition of culture the longer I think about it (some idol I’ve turned out to be…humph!)

I agree with bridget that the obedient/disobedient idea does not conflict with socially constructed culture. Culture is social construction, so to speak. And Christians do culture disobediently just as much as the next guy/gal. But if Christian culture is not perfect culture, what is Christian culture? What is the fire we all share as a Christian culture and how do we know we’re sharing it?

One thing is becoming clear, at least, from this dialogue: the unity we feel as a body of Believers is not found in a shared definition of culture, ‘cause most of us don’t seem to have a clue how to define it! Are we any closer to a definition, now? Let’s just give it a try, a good scientific definition, like “Art is the symbolical objectification of certain meaning aspects of a thing, subject to the law of allusivity”—Seerveld. Then maybe we can add to or protest against eachother’s definitions until we’ve got one we can all agree on.

Okay, I’ll be the first to make a fumbling attempt:

Culture: The outward manifestation (and action?) of a person’s understanding of and identity with creation, created both personally and socially.

Ohhhhhhhhh! NOW I get what you’re trying to say. FINALLY! I think. I had to relate it to art to understand the dilemma because that’s what I’ve spent a lot of time trying to understand. So, let’s take art as an example.

As I understand it, Christian art is art the way it should be. Christian art is normal art — art the way God intended for art to be. That’s why I get fed up with people who settle for repetitive, simplistic praise and worship music ALL the time. Or moral-of-the-story Sunday morning bathrobe bible dramas over and over again. They’re obviously not fulfilling the huge role that the arts were meant by God to fill in his creation. It is not as if there is “regular art” and then Christians come along and add something to it or “Christianize” it to make something called “Christian Art” (to paraphrase/quote Calvin Seerveld).

Likewise with plumbing and teaching and engineering etc. We don’t add something to make it Christian. A Christian car designer doesn’t just add a Jesus decal on the side of a car he designs. He designs a car according to the ordinances God has put in place.

And likewise with culture. Christian culture is culture the way God intended it. There’s not regular culture culture that needs Christianizing. Christian culture is the norm. So one definition of culture is “our God ordained, societal institutions, forms, beliefs, and traits”.

BUT! There is a dilemma! Because we live in a fallen world, “Christian culture” also naturally refers to the beliefs, traits, etc of Christians – of those who confess Christ as king. The culture of Christians, as opposed to the culture of those who are not Christians.

ALSO! A definition should encompass the truth of how things are. When we talk about culture, we should be acknowledging our brokenness and sinfulness and be refering to characteristics of the world as it is.

So, I think Bridget started on the right track. Let’s keep going.