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.

Thanks, Jason. That’s it. There is obedient culture—the act of cultivating according to God’s norms. And then there is Christian culture—a set of common traits and characteristics evident in the products of Christians.

I like bridget’s start. Why is it important to express culture as an OUTWARD expression, though? Are you thinking of certain inward acts of human beings that aren’t cultural?

This post maybe doesn’t help with the definition of culture, but I have some questions on the Christian walk in general.

Some people seem to feel guilty about not knowing every jot and tiddle about culture or philosophy.

I know Paul said he became all things to all people (I don’t have my Bible w/ me, so I apologize for the paraphrasing), indicating the need to meet people where they were in sharing the gospel.

There’s a difficulty applying our faith to this mysterious “culture” somewhere out there. When we think of culture as something elusive around us and we’ll never be able to understand unless we read every newspaper, etc, there’s confusion about how to live the Christian life “responsibly” or “informed”.

It’s my understanding of this organization is primarily about getting Christians out of a bubble and serving Christ.

But reading some of the discussions I become confused.
Is the end to become culturally savvy, or even to express your faith meta-narrative in an original and expressive art form or is the end to reach out to a broken and dark world with the light and love of Jesus Christ?

These two are not mutually exclusive. I know lots of people who bring the light and love of Jesus Christ to people through art. I choose to do it through teaching. I think it happens to be that a lot of people on this site are passionate about art, and so their faith comes across in those terms.

Grant, I don’t know that “outward” is necessary…It may be a null distinction. I was trying to get at the idea that things in themselves are not culture—sort of the tree argument, which seems a bit senseless. Like a tree is not culture (or is), until you have an attitude or an idea toward it, we are cultural beings, it is by virtue of our ability to culture. I don’t know if that makes sense.

Um, could culture possibly be relative? I know relativism is purported to be this bad terrible thing, but it seems possible here.

I’m also beginning to wonder if a comprehensive definition is becoming too much to ask. Stay with me . . exploration itself seems to be an integral part of culture, simply because we never arrive—at anything, really. We never will have the perfect art, or history, or philosophy, yet we’re always searching after it. Everybody’s looking for something, and we’re always trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Perhaps that’s the shared experience—the exploration. There are times when that search leads us to moments of shared serendipity (or whatever you want to call it)—ie. a good piece of visual art or a concept like socialism that touches people. But just like you can’t put a formula on good art—only instances of what good art accomplishes—so I wonder if you likewise can’t truly define Christian culture. Maybe it would be more helpful to focus on the MANIFESTATIONS of culture, as Grant suggested the Bogart definition might merely be a manifestation rather than a definition.

Or is that just being critical where I ought to be “thetical”?

C Sue: If everyone was brilliant and focused on identifying the manifestations of culture, like perhaps Grant “Baal” Elgersma over there, who would give them anything to focus on? In a way, I think perhaps artists and philosophers can be seen as the “caretakers” of definitions and awareness—

I know I “use” too many “quotes.” And I’m “sorry.” Anyway.

—but being a caretaker as such makes one due no more honor than a farmer or a mason. Jonner had some good stuff to say about this earlier in the thread. It’s the job of caretakers to sound the alarm when something’s wrong. And like it or not, the caretakers need your views and thoughts as much as they need to talk using big words with each other. I have to constantly fight feelings of inferiority, but I think it’s a delicate balance between fighting those feelings and spurring one’s self on to become more educated, more aware.

Hi. My name is. My name is. My name is. Bfickaficka Slim Shady.

Um, did anyone think to look in the dictionary? Here are Merriam Webster’s definitions:

1. The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon mans’ capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.

2. The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.

This gives you all a target. Criticize away.

But isn’t Culture also what makes us… us? Such as our living enviroment, or choice of music, our religous paterns… etc? Just a thought…

Well said, Asybes. I think the problem is this one timy little word can hold all these different connotations and variations up. I wonder if we were perhaps on the right track to break out some smaller definition. Obedient culture, Chrstian culture (both from earlier in this thread) and maybe we could add a few more — North American culture — to refer to the specific culture of the general society that most of us live in. Individual culture to refer to that which Asybes identifies. Maybe more too —cino culture?

Or should these be called subcultures?.