Wisdom in cultural context

Eph 5.15-17 says "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is" (KJV)

I believe that a part of wisdom is being able to accurately assess to what extent culture has already influenced my thinking, so that I can then ask for wisdom in order to know how I should deal with my conformity to the world, as I seek to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. (See Romans 12.2)

Or something like that.

Anyway.  Ken Myers has been deeply influential in helping me to see the nature of cultures influence through his writings and audio compilations and interviews at the Mars Hill Audio.

Ken influentially (to me) says in his book:

            “Culture is an abstraction.  We cannot isolate for observation three pounds or fourteen centimeters of culture.  These abstract questions of definition are extremely important, just as some amount of abstract thinking about who God is and what man is are necessary if we want to be obedient to God.  But responsible evaluation of culture must always deal with concrete human experience of what has been labeled “culture.” We don’t, after all, encounter culture.  We hear a particular song or see a specific film or read a novel that we have chosen from among all the others available.

            “Not only does cultural analysis require that we look at real cultural experiences, it requires that we look at them in their natural habitat, and that we understand something of their history.  In assessing rock’n’ roll, for example, it’s not enough to read the lyrics and find out on what beat of each measure the accent falls.  We also need to consider what relationship rock has with other aspects of pop culture, what social role it plays for its fans, and how it compares with other musical options available to listeners.  We need to look at the culture of rock, not just the words and the music.

            “Such consideration of the context of a particular cultural expression is important not for the sake of some sort of academic purity, but for the sake of Christian wisdom.  (emphasis mine)  Many of the decisions we make about our involvement in popular culture are not really questions about good and evil.  When I decide not to read a certain book, I am not necessarily saying that to read it would be a sin.  It is much more likely that I believe it to be imprudent to take the time to read that book at this time in my life.  To paraphrase Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 10 (which is, as we shall see, a very significant passage for our thinking about culture), something may be permissible, but it may not be very beneficial or constructive.

            “Each of us arises every morning with, in the providence of God, a number of duties, dilemmas, opportunities, and confusions that stem from living in a particular culture at a particular time.  Our decisions about what sort of involvement with popular culture is prudent does not occur in isolation.  Just as a critic cannot understand a song or a novel or a movie outside of its cultural context, so we cannot anticipate or evaluate the effect popular culture has on our lives without looking at that context.  Do I want to read that book because everyone else is reading it, or because of some intrinsic merit it has? Am I turning on the television because there is something I want to watch, or because I am addicted to distracting titillation?” 

Myers, Ken. All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture.Westchester, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1989. 30-31.