Navigating the Currents: Christianity’s Complex Dance with Culture

The relationship between Christianity and the surrounding culture is a dynamic and often fraught one, a constant negotiation between divine principles and human expression. Author Ashford illuminates three distinct perspectives that Christians adopt in this intricate dance, each with its own set of assumptions and consequences.

The Fortress and the Fight: Christianity Against Culture

The first perspective views Christianity and culture as inherently antagonistic forces, locked in a perpetual struggle for dominance. The church is positioned as standing resolutely on one side of a stark dividing line, while the world and its cultural expressions occupy the opposing territory. Ashford astutely observes that this viewpoint finds particular resonance among those who witness their societies drifting away from traditional Christian values, feeling increasingly marginalized and even mocked for their theological and moral convictions by influential cultural and political voices.

Within this paradigm of opposition, Ashford identifies two dominant analogies:

• The Church as a Bomb Shelter: This analogy casts the church as a sanctuary, a fortified refuge where believers can seek shelter from the perceived spiritual bombardment of the outside world. The emphasis is on insulation, creating a protective barrier against the contaminating influences of a secularizing culture. While driven by a desire to preserve the church’s purity and to “hold fast to the faith” in the face of perceived attack, this stance risks creating an artificial and ultimately ineffective separation. These “man-made barriers,” as Ashford aptly notes, offer only the illusion of safety from sin, externalizing godlessness as something that can be kept at bay by physical or social walls, rather than recognizing it as an internal “disease of the soul” that no barrier can truly contain. Consequently, this mindset often leans towards legalism, attempting to restrict Christians’ engagement with society and culture. While acknowledging the spiritual battle against the forces of darkness, it errs by seeking to wage this war through withdrawal, obeying only half of Jesus’s directive to be in the world but not of it. The self-imposed isolation, the “comfy little bubble,” ultimately hinders the church’s ability to be a transformative force within the very culture it seeks to avoid, effectively silencing one of God’s most potent tools for change: its people.
• The Church as an Ultimate Fighter: This analogy adopts a more confrontational stance, envisioning the church as entering the arena to actively combat the perceived evils of the surrounding culture. This perspective draws strength from biblical calls to “wage war against what is evil,” to “put on the whole armor of God,” to “fight the good fight of faith,” to “resist the devil,” and to “cast down anything that exalts itself against God.” However, Ashford cautions that this mindset often falls short by making it too easy to perceive the battle as being against people rather than against the underlying sin. God’s ultimate plan for the church is one of rescue and redemption, not destruction. The “unbelievers” who populate the social and cultural landscape are not merely enemies to be vanquished, but rather “drowning people in need of a lifeboat.” The church, therefore, is not solely a military base for soldiers, but also a vital “hospital for the sick,” engaging culture not through aggression but by consistently pointing towards the one who can heal its inherent brokenness.

The Mirror and the Embrace: Christianity of Culture

The second perspective presented by Ashford takes a diametrically opposed approach, advocating for a welcoming embrace of the surrounding culture and its integration within the life of the church.

• The Church as a Cultural Mirror: This analogy depicts churches that actively strive to reflect the prevailing cultural norms and values. Proponents of this view often recognize that cultural shifts occurring independently of the church are not always negative. Ashford points out that “God has enabled all people—Christian or not—to make good and valuable contributions in the cultural realm,” citing monumental positive changes like the human rights movement and the abolition of slavery as examples. Looking back, we can acknowledge that Christians existed on both sides of these transformative movements, with some advocating for progress and others resisting it, and we can now often discern where the error lay. However, this perspective carries the inherent risk of uncritically adopting cultural trends, failing to discern when culture deviates from God’s principles and even elevates idols in His place – be it celebrities, political figures, the pursuit of sensual pleasure, wealth, power, or even seemingly positive values like unchecked productivity and a distorted understanding of freedom. The crucial question then becomes: can the church truly embrace culture without inadvertently embracing its idols as well? Ashford notes that those holding this “Christianity of culture” perspective tend to view their cultural context with high regard, perhaps disagreeing with minor aspects but largely seeing it as an ally rather than a threat. They generally perceive cultural advancements as positive changes that the church should readily adopt, often navigating the gray areas of cultural expression with an inclination towards acceptance. While rightly acknowledging God’s design for humanity to create culture and recognizing the presence of truth, goodness, and beauty within it, this mindset can be misguided in its failure to sufficiently discern the corrupting and distorting influence of human sin on certain aspects of culture. Consequently, when Christians fully adopt a “Christianity of culture” mindset, they risk affirming the church’s prophetic voice in a way that ultimately aligns its doctrines and moral beliefs with the prevailing cultural consensus, potentially diluting the distinctiveness of the Christian message.

The Ambassador and the Guide: Christianity In and For Culture

Ashford presents a third perspective, one he believes offers a more balanced and ultimately more effective way for Christianity to engage with culture:

The Church as Christ’s Ambassador: This perspective envisions Christians as representatives of Christ, living their lives fully within their cultural context but with a clear and unwavering allegiance to another kingdom. They are “in the midst of and for the good of their cultural context,” with their cultural lives characterized by both obedience to God’s commands and a compelling witness to His transformative power. Drawing on the powerful metaphor of ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20, this view understands Christians as representing a different reality while fully inhabiting their current one. God, in His sovereignty, created the very structure that allows culture to exist, evolve, and progress. Humans, within this divine framework, are the formulators and shapers of culture.

Ashford articulates a crucial distinction: “Every cultural context is structurally good, but sometimes directionally corrupt.” Therefore, the call is not to withdraw from culture or to blindly embrace it, but rather to live firmly within it (structurally) while actively seeking to steer its trajectory towards Christ and away from idols (directionally). As ambassadors, believers immerse themselves fully in the culture, striving to understand its nuances, speak its language, and identify its deepest longings – not to endorse everything it does, but with the ultimate intention of revealing how Christ is the only one who can truly fulfill those often well-meaning but ultimately misdirected desires. Ashford emphasizes that “every aspect of human life and culture is ripe for Christian witness.” Whether it be art, science, or politics, every dimension of culture provides an arena in which Christians can articulate the message of Christ through their words and embody His character through their lives.

This perspective encourages a posture of gratitude for the existence of culture, a recognition of the good within it, coupled with a proactive commitment to redirecting what is not good towards Christ and the holistic well-being of humanity.