# Christians NEED to Do This in Order for Culture to Flourish ![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JrYnlYhL4DE/maxresdefault.jpg) ## Introduction - Humans have the ability to creatively organize God's creation into new creations, reflecting the image of [[God]], as a result of being made in God's image and being blessed by Him [(00:00:10)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=10s). - The act of taking what God has made and forming it into something else is what is referred to as culture, with culture being what humans make of creation, as stated by Ken Myers [(00:00:38)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=38s). - The importance of culture making lies in understanding that it is an inherently good act, as it is part of God's image in humans and His blessing upon them, but it must reflect the ultimate citizenship of the Redemptive Kingdom [(00:01:03)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=63s). - God has revealed Himself through both creation and scripture, but it is up to humans to interpret that revelation and communicate it to others [(00:01:21)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=81s). ## The Problem of Depravity - However, depravity leads to the suppression of that truth, and humans will wrongly interpret God's revelation if left to themselves, as seen in Romans chapter 1 [(00:01:48)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=108s). - The primary way for Christians to ensure that their culture making rightly reflects God's intended meaning is by interpreting God's natural revelation in light of His special revelation [(00:02:57)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=177s). ## Art as Interpretation - All culture making is an interpretation of God's natural revelation, with artists taking the stuff of God's creation and creatively reorganizing it to emphasize a particular truth [(00:03:08)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=188s). - Art is a form of interpretation that conveys not primarily the facts of life but the truth and meaning of those facts, as noted by [[Leland Ryken]], and it incarnates meaning in concrete form [(00:03:33)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=213s). - The story "Light" by [[C. S. Lewis | CS Lewis]] illustrates the idea that truth and meaning can be conveyed through art, with the protagonist Robin struggling to understand the concept of light despite being able to see [(00:03:56)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=236s). - The story highlights the importance of understanding that some truths, like light, are not something we see but rather something by which we see, and that art can be used to convey these deeper truths [(00:04:39)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=279s). ## Beauty and Knowing God - The concept of beauty is often approached as something to be looked at, talked about, and appreciated, but it is more than that - it is a significant way to come to know [[God]] and His World [(00:04:52)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=292s). - Beauty is not just a category alongside truth and goodness, but rather the means through which we come to really know what is true and good [(00:05:19)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=319s). - Beauty is inherently rooted in the nature and character of God, and He communicated beauty in what He made [(00:05:35)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=335s). - Belief in Transcendent beauty is rooted in a conviction that God is the source, sustainer, and end of all things [(00:05:42)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=342s). - Everything that is true, good, and beautiful is so because God is truth, good, and beauty [357.84, 360.759, 362.919]. - There are no brute facts or moral standards apart from God; they are facts and moral because God determined them to be so . - Beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but something is beautiful when it reflects [[God]] who is beauty [(00:06:27)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=387s). ## The Standard of Beauty - [[Epistle to the Philippians | Philippians]] 4:8 provides a list of absolute standards by which to judge all things, including culture, which can be grouped into three categories: truth, goodness, and beauty [(00:06:36)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=396s). - Christians, as image bearers of God, must be committed to thinking God's thoughts, behaving according to God's moral will, and loving those things that God calls lovely [(00:07:25)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=445s). - Thoroughly Christian living is concerned with orthodoxy (right belief), orthopraxy (right behavior), and orthopathy (right loves), but the realm of orthopathy is often missing from Christian theology [(00:07:43)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=463s). ## The Beauty of Scripture - The primary reason to recognize the significance of beauty is that the [[Bible]] itself is God's truth communicated in beautiful forms [(00:08:11)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=491s). - God's word is more than just a collection of theological information, but a revelation of truth and goodness that comes to us in various aesthetic forms, such as narratives, poetry, and oratory [(00:08:23)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=503s). - These aesthetic forms are essential to the truth itself, and God's inspired word is the best way that truth could be presented [(00:08:44)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=524s). - The Bible's aesthetic forms are not merely decorative but part of the essential presentation of its truth, and they are inseparable from the truth itself [(00:09:07)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=547s). - Truth and beauty are intertwined in the scriptures, forming an inseparable unity that cannot be separated [(00:09:28)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=568s). - Truth, goodness, and beauty are three strands of a single chord that cannot be separated, and understanding this unity is essential to truly knowing [[God]] and His World [(00:09:36)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrYnlYhL4DE&t=576s).