The Way of Christ in Culture (Quinn & Greeson)

In this work, authors Benjamin Quinn and Dennis Greeson offer a descriptive look at, and prescriptive framework for, how Christians engage in everyday life (i.e. culture). 

Descriptive: they overview the story of the Bible, offer a definition of culture ("the ways and products of creatures in creation"), survey approaches for how Christians have related to culture in the past (including Niebuhr, summarized here), and considered the significance of God as Creature (and thus the author of culture) as well as the significance of us as creatures embedded in cultures that emerge in creation.

Presecriptive: they offer a fundamental proposal that "the biblical notion of 'walking in the way of wisdom' is the best approach for cultural engagement." After exploring wisdom and what that looks like, they "offer a framework for how to think about culture, using the very biblical metaphor of walking in the way of Christ as cultural creatures." But this framework is "a set of questions worth asking in any cultural context in which you find yourself." In short, that framework has the following components:

• Orientation (When are we?)
• What time is it? [in the Biblical arc of history]
• How should we live in the time in between? [the 'already and not yet']
• Interpretation (Where are we?)
• Worldview: what is true?
• Worship: what is good and desirable?
• Procession (How do we get there?)
• How should we walk? [in a given situation, what is my aim? Is it a worthy goal that can be directed toward the worship of Christ and love of neighbor?]
• Whom can we follow? [as others have gone before and offer valuable insights]

Ultimately, "we are charged by God to pursue the ways of the King and his kingdom in every square inch and every waking hour of our lives—especially in our engagement with culture." So it is important that we know both 1) the ways of the King and 2) the ways of our culture as we seek to do everything for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

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I enjoyed this book. It is an introduction to this topic, but unlike the one I read prior, this goes a little deeper and is more thought-provoking. It does seem to meander at times, and I was dissatisfied in places (mainly because of the meandering), but other sections I found excellent and worthwhile.

Rating: A-

Every Square Inch (Bruce Riley Ashford)

Christians are called to obey God in every area of life. This goes well beyond the Ten Commandments; everything we do, think, and say should be faithful to and reflect Christ. That includes engaging the culture around us. In Every Square Inch, Bruce Riley Ashford provides an introduction for how to do just that. After starting with general thoughts on culture and a theology of it, Ashford looks at the arts, sciences, politics, economics and wealth, scholarship and education, and a few other areas of our lives. In each, he revisits the basic Christian story (creation-fall-redemption) and how that story shapes how we approach a given topic.

This is a mostly solid, if basic, introduction. I was already familiar with a fair amount from my other readings, but I did learn a few new thoughts and concepts I found useful. I questioned a few of his statements (especially in the 'economics and wealth' chapter), but overall, this is a good introduction for those unfamiliar with the idea that being a Christian affects how we live in every sphere—it is far more than going to church each Sunday.

Rating: B