
Description:
Would Jesus tattoo Leviticus 19:28 on his left thigh?
Some Christians consider it borderline blasphemy to even ask the question. Others are delighted to answer the question in the affirmative. Both parties can’t be right.
In an age of Western apostasy, it should come as no surprise to find cultural apostasy leading the way. In this pungent little book, Kevin Swanson challenges the modern Christians that capitulate to the post-Christian worldviews and cultural expressions. He doggedly refuses to separate worldviews and culture, pressing hard for repentance, or a change of worldview in the mind of the reader.
Christians are too easily ruined by philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men (Col. 2:8), because they are not discerning of bad ideas and bad cultural devices. Kevin Swanson addresses such varying topics as major motion pictures, popular music, country music, eastern medicine, tattoos, computer games, horror literature, fantasy, sports, super heroes, Contemporary Christian Music, Hip Hop, Thomas Kinkade, Harry Potter, Jack Bauer, Sesame Street, and the Hunger Games.
基督徒应当怎样看待流行文化?
“耶稣会不会把利未记 19:28 纹在自己的左腿上?”
这个颇具挑战性的问题,反映出基督徒在面对现代文化时可能产生截然不同的看法。
在这本篇幅不长、观点鲜明的书中,作者 Kevin Swanson 挑战基督徒认真思考:我们的文化选择是否真正受到圣经世界观的塑造,还是已经在不知不觉中接受了周围社会的价值观?
作者认为,世界观与文化不能完全分开。一个人对神、人、善恶、真理和人生意义的理解,会影响他所创造、接受和享受的文化。因此,基督徒不应只是问:“这件事可不可以做?”而应该进一步思考:
“这背后反映了怎样的世界观?它是否符合圣经真理?它正在怎样影响我的思想和生命?”
本书以歌罗西书 2:8 对“哲学和虚空的妄言”的警告为基础,讨论许多现代基督徒实际会接触到的文化现象,包括:
电影、流行音乐、乡村音乐、东方医学、纹身、电子游戏、恐怖文学、奇幻作品、体育、超级英雄、当代基督教音乐(CCM)、Hip Hop,以及《Harry Potter》《The Hunger Games》等流行文化作品。
作者透过这些具体例子,鼓励基督徒培养属灵分辨力(Biblical Discernment),学习从圣经世界观来审视娱乐、艺术和文化,而不是简单跟随社会潮流。
需要注意的是,本书对现代文化中的许多现象采取较为保守且批判性的立场。读者可以将它作为思考和讨论的资源,并将作者提出的观点与圣经仔细查考,而不是把书中对每一种文化现象的具体判断都视为所有基督徒一致的结论。