Throughout history Christians have had the task of learning how to live the Christian life in their time alongside the cultural and philosophical underpinnings of the day. How do we live in the world, engage the culture and spread the Gospel all while not being consumed by it? Should we aspire to asceticism, completely withdrawing ourselves from the culture around us or perhaps, on the other extreme, should our relevance make us no different than the world around us — all for the sake of Christ? With a biblically-focused foundation, this course will seek to look at many aspects of the culture we live in and strive to best understand how Christians should live in it today. We will look at various forms of cultural influence including history, politics, media, entertainment and technology and discuss not only how these are shaping culture, but how a Christian can engage — living in the world, but not of it. We will emphasize the role of entertainment (mostly television and films) in modern culture – how it shapes us, how it teaches, and the worldviews behind it.
*Discussion-based class around select movies with limited outside work.