Introduction We live in a world filled with prophets, individuals who are dissatisfied with the way that things are and who articulate a new design for living that moves a people toward a preferred way of personal and communal existence; in other words, they engage in designing and fostering a revitalization movement within their respective [...]
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A very useful book concerning the role that religion plays in the organization of life is RELIGION IN SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE by Bryan Wilson — here are just a few insights from this excellent book concerning the process of secularization: -the process of secularization within Western culture is evident and well-documented: men’s diminished concern with the [...]
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One of my favorite authors to read is CRAIG VAN GELDER, who teaches at Luther Seminary in St. Paul Minnesota. Craig is a keen observer of North American culture plus he is a very good, concise writer — here are three insights that he gives us concerning WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO WE LIVE IN. [...]
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BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CULTURE LEARNING — A BIBLIOGRAPHY Barrett, William. Irrational Man. New York: Anchor, 1962. Bellah, Robert. Habits of the Heart. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985. Berger, Peter. Against the World For the World. New York: Seabury Press, 1976. Berger, Peter. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion. New York: [...]
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The lengthy material that follows is gathered from two sources, both by BEST and KELLNER, who are professors at the University of Texas, Austin — the title of their two books are POSTMODERN THEORY and THE POSTMODERN TURN — they are, in my opinion, the best two books on the POSTMODERN CONDITION and are a [...]
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The following material is from the technology and culture faculties of GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: NARRATIVES -MODERNITY…master narratives and meta-narratives of history, culture and national identity -POSTMODERNITY…suspicion and rejection of master narratives…instead there are local narratives and the deconstruction of master narratives GRAND THEORY -MODERNITY…faith in a GRAND THEORY, totalizing explanations in history, culture and science, to [...]
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-there is a time, and ours is such a time, when a NEGATIVE MESSAGE is needed before anything POSITIVE CAN BEGIN…there must first be the message of JUDGMENT, the TEARING DOWN -I would spend 45-50 minutes on the NEGATIVE, to really show man his dilemma…to show him that he is more dead than even he [...]
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EXEGETING YOUR COMMUNITY CULTURE -building cultural bridges to the Gospel and removing cultural barriers to the Gospel demands a clear and precise understanding of the culture of the community -since most pastors were not trained to be sociologists and anthropologist they must bring to bear upon the study of their culture the same exegetical tools [...]
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-there is a world spirit that has existed ever since man revolted against God…today we might call it SECULAR HUMANISM or RATIONALISM…it is the spirit of ANTILAW that manifests itself in revolution against God Himself -it is characterized by MAN PUTTING HIMSELF at the center of everything…yet, even though its basic attitude is always the [...]
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Francis Schaeffer on the observation that much of modern theology merely echoes what the culture is saying and not what God is saying: -today, when we listen to the religion that is preached, it is largely the SAME THING the UNBELIEVING PHILOSOPHERS and SOCIOLOGISTS are saying…the only difference is that theological language is being used [...]
Francis Schaeffer does a great job of helping the 21st century person understand the ROOT MYTH of Western culture in a simple and clear way — the following statements are just a few of his many fine writings on ORIGINS -the shift in emphasis from the uniformity of natural causes TO the uniformity of natural [...]
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-Francis Schaeffer observed these four major divisions as a result of the Fall of humankind into sin: (1) the first and basic division is between man, who has revolted, and God -the heart of the rebellion of Satan, and of the first human pair, was the desire to be AUTONOMOUS…by the action of one man [...]
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-in 1961, observed Francis Schaeffer, the Supreme Court defined SECULAR HUMANISM as a religion — what are some of the primary tenets of “the humanist religion” as stated in THE HUMANIST MANIFESTO (1933): (1) the universe is self-existing and not created (2) the nature of the universe is that there is no supernatural reality (3) [...]
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-in answer to WHY HAS OUR SOCIETY CHANGED, Francis Schaeffer made the following observation: -the answer is clear: the consensus of Western society no longer rests on a JUDEO-CHRISTIAN BASE but rather on a humanistic one which makes MAN THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS — it puts man, rather than God, at the center of [...]
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-in my bibliography I list all five volumes of THE WORKS OF FRANCIS SCHAEFFER — in my opinion, they should be required reading for any communicator of the Gospel in the 21st century — some of the things that Francis observes and recommends are dated, but the way that he engages the culture with Scripture [...]
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Missiological Bridge-Building Based Upon an Emic and Etic Understanding of Culture As Derived From Music Missio Apostolica Volume VII, No. 1 (May 1999) INTRODUCTION Francis Schaeffer observed that modern music is both an avenue for creative expression and the means through which modern man is exposed to new views of perceived reality (Schaeffer 1976:186, 201-202). [...]
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One of the best books on American culture was written by an economist by the name of Herbert Schlossberg titled IDOLS FOR DESTRUCTION (1983) — here are a few of his many fine cultural observations: -anyone with a hierarchy of values has placed something at its APEX…whatever that IS, is the god he or she [...]
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THE POST-MODERN AGENDA is: (1) an intense concern for PLURALISM and RESPECT FOR LOCAL CULTURES resisting modernization (2) the desire to cut across different TASTE CULTURES which now fracture society with a new DOUBLE CODING (3) an acknowledgement of DIFFERENCE and OTHERNESS which those (such as the feminist movement) have brought to the forefront (4) [...]
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-the idea that THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE could be a new credible metanarrative…it certainly would replace humanism (man the measure of all things) with the larger picture in which THE COSMOS is the MEASURE OF ALL THINGS, giving direction, orientation, and meaning to human activity -because of physical laws such as gravity, and the [...]
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-in late 20th century a traditionally-garbed Bedouin can be found riding a camel across the desert while having, beneath his robes, a business suit, mobile phone and laptop computer -the most visible shift in the post-modern world is towards PLURALISM and CULTURAL ECLECTICISM -pluralism is mostly a by-product of COMMUNICATION and GLOBAL CAPITALISM…the globe has [...]
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-Charles Jencks, in his book POSTMODERN ARCHITECTURE IN 1975, helped to define postmodernism within the academic community; twenty years later, in a series of lectures in Germany and America, he continued to refine his assessment of the POSTMODERN CONDITION in his 1996 book titled WHAT IS POST-MODERNISM — here are few notes from that book: [...]
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-the early scientists of the modern period (Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton) believed that the world was CREATED by a reasonable God…however, as the methods of science achieved greater and greater triumphs in explaining the nature of external reality, the picture derived from the Bible was replaced by a VERY DIFFERENT ONE -scientists in the 17th [...]
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-following the publication of ideas from ALBERT EINSTEIN in the 1920s, the majority of scientists have accepted the view that the universe started with an explosion of some dense particle…the idea of the BIG BANG HYPOTHESIS is that billions of years ago all the matter of the universe was concentrated in a single mass (the [...]
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-Peter Berger observed that we live in a world in which TRANSCENDENCE HAS BEEN REDUCED TO A RUMOR -it is rumored that He might exist, but who knows…there appears to be no eternity and no eternal perspective…all reality seems to be restricted to the here and now -in a large measure, significant findings and theories [...]
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-Jean-Paul Sartre understood man to be a USELESS PASSION -what Sartre meant is this…a person’s life is filled with many passions…he feels strongly about many things…he cares deeply about life but these passions are ultimately proved to be USELESS and FUTILE, without enduring significance, since all of our deepest concerns and aspirations will end in [...]
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