Cult & Culture
As one who is fascinated with the meaning and importance of words, the word “culture” is a case study of note. The Latin root of “culture” is the base word cultus, which originally meant “to worship” but is now generally used in a very derogatory or censorious manner. How strange that the word “culture” is commonly used as a positive word to describe the level of sophistication or civilization of a person, group, or nation, while “cult” means a group whose practices go outside of another group’s perceived ways or norms. The point is this: Culture is both a description of a people’s common standards and values, and, by its very nature, a combined set of common prejudices concerning how people ought to live.
In other words, “culture” is based on an agreed-upon worldview in relation to or opposition with other conflicting worldviews. Hence, we can properly describe what is going on in our nation as a “culture war” or war of worldviews since it ultimately involves a battle between two conflicting forms of worship—one worshiping the Creator and one worshiping man.
Unfortunately, the world culture has self-consciously accumulated the vast majority of the available tools of communication. The corporate business world system is shaping the cultures of the nations far, far more than Christianity at this point in time. Social media, the internet, streaming services, music, and the movies hum the same sounds and pictures around the world as uni-culture becomes more and more of a temporary reality. Conversely, having read the end of the Scriptures, someday God’s Kingdom culture will cover a regenerated earth.
While we will await Christ’s physical return for such a complete victory, we nevertheless are commanded to “occupy until He returns” (Luke 19:13) and in so doing, believers are quietly invading the media-culture world even as we speak. How exciting it is to know that the leaven of God’s Kingdom will eventually “leaven the whole lump” (Matthew 13:33) and that we here at GoStrategic continue to play a part in spreading that leaven. May God continue to grant us wisdom and appropriate “hiddenness” until God’s specific time. “Culture” is about worship, and the media will indeed fulfil this Scripture:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” —Revelation 11:15
Culture always follows worship—so whoever shapes our worship shapes our world. And that is…