Human culture experienced a technological boom in the 20th century, yet the gospel of Jesus Christ is just as important today as it was two-thousand years ago. Although Christianity is the most popular religion by name, cultural relativism and universalism are gaining significant traction within the market place of ideas. As the zeitgeist continues to shift, many Christians are desperately trying to find a balance between preserving conservative values while simultaneously appealing to a largely progressive culture. Within this struggle, the gospel of Paul can serve as a guiding post while navigating through the market place of ideas.
While spreading the Gospel, Paul did not sequester himself to a small fraction of people who agreed with his ideas in advance. Rather, equipped with the armor of Christianity, Paul stepped into a terrain of opposition. In particular, in Acts Chapter 17, the apostle Paul travels to the city of Athens. Athens was a city in Greece where the intelligentsia gathered to exchange ideas and debate topics circulating in thought. In short: Athens was equivalent to a modern day secular university. Although Paul urges his fellow Christians to be wary towards philosophy, he did know enough philosophy to call out bad philosophy when it was due as peddled by the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. In doing so, Paul refuted the philosophy peddled by the Greeks point by point and then proceeded to successfully defend why Christianity was a more intellectually robust alternative.
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"Christian Living in 2014".
What is important to note for a Christian living in 2014 is that Paul used the mindset of his fellow non-believers to guide them back to the gospel. Paul did not wallow in stupor regarding ideas circulating outside of the church. Rather, he chewed, swallowed and spit out the zeitgeist of the day. For Christians of 2014, it is important that we keep in touch with ideas outside of the church in order to pinpoint the flaws in a worldview devoid of God and are readily equipped to defend the Christian faith.
Unfortunately, the church of the 20th century has done a lousy job of teaching children to love the Lord thy God with their mind as much as their heart and soul. In particular, youth groups tend to be regarded as a safe and fun alternative to ominous activities outside church walls. Yet there is a long, rich chain of intellectual history at the forefront of Christian thinking. Indeed, philosophy of religion, thanks to the liking of Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, has made a spectacular comeback in secular universities in comparison to its state at the beginning of the twentieth century. It is therefore rather unfortunate that these tools are not being referenced more frequently by Christians. This is most noted when walking into any Barnes and Noble and observing how thin the Christian apologetic section is. To be terse: the Christianity preached to Christian youth is a watered down coffee stirred with a brown crayon.
Yet the desire for deep theology is not immune among young Christian adults. Once young Christian adults have a taste of a Christianity that is intellectually robust, they cannot get enough; like being starved for a prolong period of time and just realizing one is hungry. However, accompanying the need for intellectual fulfillment has given rise to a new kind of Christianity among young adults commonly dubbed “Hipster Christianity.”
Hipster Christians are noted by the following guise: Hipster Christians tend to wear basic, rugged clothes and sandals. Beards are all the rage these days amongst Hipster Christians and are not without their fair share of tattoos and piercings. In addition, Hipster Christians enjoy theological discussion at the local pub over a cigarette and pint of beer. For some odd reason, Calvinism is a growing trend among Hipster Christians. Most importantly though, Hipster Christians value the mind as much as the arts, and can regularly be found at a locally owned coffee shop. In short: Hipster Christianity is what happens when cool and Christianity collide.
Paul contained a sword that was sharp in intellect while charging into Athens. However, as the ole’ saying goes, there are two sides to every sword. With this fact in mind, it is important to be aware of the pros and cons of hipster Christianity as the year 2014 unravels. In regards to the pros, Hipster Christianity has done an excellent job of making itself appealing to the culture at large. It is aware of the intellectual thought of the time and has entrenched itself in the arts. The most important quality of Hipster Christianity though, is that it is preaching the gospel outside the walls of the church. The movement has adopted an increasingly hip persona circulating within the culture in the same way that Paul guided the stoics to Christianity by appealing to the intellectual norms of the Greeks.
On the other side of the coin, there are caveats to Hipster Christianity that one ought to be aware of while proceeding into the year 2014. As stated earlier, Hipster Christianity is where Christianity and cool collide. Yet cool itself connotes a sense of pride and narcissism—two vices that Christians are instructed to avoid. In addition, “cool” is a term used to describe a disclosed group—insiders versus outsiders so to speak. Becoming a group where only “cool kids are welcome” is alienating, callow and self-defeats the purpose of preaching the gospel outside Church walls. As Paul noted, We are to all to come and gather around the Lord’s table. Finally, being cool only remains cool so long as it is goes against societal norms. Once Hipster Christianity becomes widely accepted, it loses its originally appeal as being savvy and counter-cultural. If this occurs, Hipster Christianity must alter itself in order to stay a flout and can serve as a threat towards preserving traditional Christian values.
As Christians enter the year 2014, it is important to keep in mind that Christianity is not “cool” because it meets the current interests of the zeitgeist, but because it is true. The declaration that Christianity as objectively true, objectively good and objectively beautiful encapsulates traditional Christian values and runs counter to a culture of relativism and universalism—where all religions are regarded as equally true. Yet it is precisely because Christianity proclaims these truths that it is counter-culture and thus, meets the very definition of what it is to be “cool.” Therefore, Christians living in the year 2014 should act as an acute social observer and commentator within the market place of ideas in hopes that culture will bend its knees to Christ and not the other way around.
- Glen, Smith. “Acts 17: Paul and the Greek Philosophers.” Thomistic Bent. (accessed 28 January 2014).
- McCracken, Breet. “Hipster Faith.” Christianity Today. (accessed 28 January 2014).
