Missiological Snapshot: The Vantage Point of Culture

This snapshot is mean to alert us. It draws our attention to narratives and beliefs in our societies and cultures that at times stand in contrast to a Christian worldview and that at other times—and this is important—are so subtle that they go veritably unnoticed. I point these out very briefly for our benefit.

This snapshot is meant to spur us in our cultural attentiveness so that we can engage meaningfully in conversations today.

In this brief video, I draw from the work of Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor and his concept of secularization and exclusive humanism. Taylor maintains that secularization is not void of belief but actually signals the move from a society in which it was once virtually impossible not to believe in God, to one in which the Christian faith is simply one human option among an explosion of others.

He also highlights the pervasive notion of exclusive humanism. Exclusive Humanism is rooted in the belief that meaning is based entirely on what can be explained & experienced without any reference to God, and with no final goal beyond this present existence. Of no previous generation has this been true. 

Later this week I will introduce a prominent narrative that reflects both secularization and exclusive humanism.