Plugged In: Connecting Your Faith with Everything You Watch, Read, and Play

b|150

Created notes:

Introduction

subversive fulfillment
- syncretism / irrellevance
- ”Sin must not be denounced in general, but in the particular idolatrous forms in the culture. Salvation must not be declared in general but as fulfilling the very hopes that the culture wrongly puts in it’s idols.”
responses to our culture and media: (can be a mix)
- Flight (lock ourselves in)
- Fight (lash out)
- conform (look alike)
Proposal of this book: Engage with culture
- processing it in such a way that it feeds our faith and
- opens doors for conversations with others talking about Jesus

1: What is culture?

Worldview begets culture begets worldview
- each culture has different obstacles to encountering the person of Jesus
  - ”propability structures”: each individual/culture finds things harder to believe about the gospel story
  - that’s why Contextualisation is important
- A British person’s obstacles might be miracles, sexual morality, science … whereas for a Muslim American foreign policy might be an obstacle to encountering Jesus
Our culture informs how we read the Bible
- the gospel does not fit a singular culture or language
- there isn’t one that represents it best
How do I faithfully represent Jesus in consuming culture and creating culture?
- I wrestle with the second part of this in A Theology for Online Creators.

2: The Bible and Culture

Culture is religion externalised. Culture is how we worship. It is the way we show what is relevant to our heart.
- ”Cult” and “culture” share the same root
Even after the fall, every human is still an image bearer, a culture creator.
We create idolatrous culture and in turn it shapes us. We both make and are made by idols.
- 8
- Greg Biehl: “What people rever, they resemble. Either for ruin or for restoration.”
- Same idea: Giving attention is giving authority
Through the fall of the first adam all culture got tainted. Through Jesus, the new Adam all culture is being and will be restored.
- Evangelism leads to restored culture.
Quoting 18, the author argues that through the experience of pain and suffering God warns to repent (Related: God’s wrath). With death being the ultimate warning. He argues that God’s wrath is slowly being poured out to lead to repentance.
- Instinctually, I would disagree. Evil does not originate from God. His kindness leads to repentance.

5: Confront and connect - The Theory

There is always going to be confrontation by the Gospel in some sense. Because the gospel offends each culture in some way: 23
the Gospel also connects. 22: Paul mentiones what each culture values. Jews don’t look for wisdom and Greeks don’t look for power.
- 24: Paul connects Christ crucified to the people he preaches to
- Christ crucified can both be understood in terms of power and wisdom.

6: Confront and connect in practice Acts 17

7: Theology of Culture for Beginners

Using these steps to lead people to think about culture and see how Jesus is the fulfillment for their desires.
It is great for small groups, one and one chats, personal reflection … It could also spark some blog posts for me!

Entering: Stepping into the world and listening to the story 23
1. What’s the story being told? By whom?
2. How does this answer Man’s three basic questions?
3. What would the world look like if the premise of this would become true?
4. Do people buy into it?
5. What’s the false Gospel story?
Exploring: searching for elements of grace and the idols attached to them (v23)
1. What’s true good and helpful about this in terms of God’s common grace? How is it twisted and distorted?
Exposing: Showing up the idols as destructive fraughts (v29)
1. Getting people to stop and think: 19.
2. We need to show up the “explanatory poverty” of idols
Evangelising: Showing up the Gospel of Christ as subversive fulfillment (v23)
1. With which elements does the Gospel connect or confront? How is the Gospel the subversive fulfillment?

Joschua’s Notes