Niebuhr's
Christ & Culture is widely considered one of the most significant books on social ethics written in modern times, but detractors are not as certain of its categories and judgments. Carson argues that all five of Niebuhr's categories are viable and should be viewed as part of one single overarching biblical vision. Called to live in the world, but not to be of it, Christians must maintain a balancing act that becomes more precarious the further our culture departs from its Judeo-Christian roots. While many other books on culture interact with Niebuhr, none of them takes anything like the biblical-theological approach adopted here. Groundbreaking and challenging. 240 Pages. Hardcover from Eerdmans.
D.A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical School, Deerfield, Illinois. He has written nearly fifty other books, including The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism; How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil; and Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.
“Don Carson here writes clearly, carefully, and helpfully about the timely topic of how Christians should engage culture. Well-suited to write such a volume, Carson exposes and explodes ‘egregious reductionisms’ which he says too often afflict Christians. We can’t reduce the relationship of Christ and culture to one model (Niebuhrian or otherwise). Reading this book has sharpened my own understanding. So buy the book you’re holding. Read it. Pass it along to folks in your congregation. And reduce ‘egregious reductionisms’!“ -Mark Dever, Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington D.C.
“There is no more crucial issue facing us today than the relationship of the church and the gospel to contemporary culture. Don Carson’s treatment of this issue is the most balanced one out there. Rather than grinding an ax or pushing his own paradigm, he listens carefully to the Scripture and brings us in the end to a sophisticated simplicity about these matters. I highly recommend this book.“ -Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City
Called to live in the world, but not to be of it, Christians must maintain a balancing act that becomes more precarious the further our culture departs from its Judeo-Christian roots. How should members of the church interact with such a culture, especially as deeply enmeshed as most of us have become?
D. A. Carson applies his masterful touch to this problem. He begins by exploring the classic typology of H. Richard Niebuhr with its five Christ-culture options. Carson proposes that these disparate options are in reality one still larger vision. Using the Bible’s own story line and the categories of biblical theology, he clearly lays out that unifying vision. Carson acknowledges the helpfulness of Niebuhr’s grid and similar matrices but warns against giving them canonical force.
More than just theoretical, Christ and Culture Revisited is also designed practically to help Christians untangle current messy debates on living in the world. Carson emphasizes that the relation between Christ and culture is not limited to an either/or cultural paradigm — Christ against culture or Christ transforming culture. Instead Carson offers his own paradigm in which all the categories of biblical theology must be kept in mind simultaneously to inform the Christian worldview.
While many other books on culture interact with Niebuhr, none of them takes anything like the biblical-theological approach adopted here. Groundbreaking and challenging, Christ and Culture Revisited is a tour de force.
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
2 of 2 Reviews Showing:
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Bep Houson (Nampa, ID), October 07, 2009
All is well with my bible.
Wish I could buy another one for less money
though.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Rev. Doyle Peyton (Bellville, Ohio), May 29, 2008
How do we live in the world but not of it? What belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God? Carson shows in his John Gillian fashion this issue is just as complex as ever in today's world, and more so, requiring balance and biblical wisdom. Preachers won'
t find a lot of grist for their mills but will find it a thought provoking read.
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