The Evangelical Hunt for Hip?

A New Kind of Hipster // Brett McCracken

The new generation of “cool” Christians recognize that copycat subculture is a backward step for the Church, but unfortunately the alternative requires a creative trailblazing for which most are far too tepid. Thus, we’ve settled for a reactionary relevance—a state of “cool” that is less about forging ahead with the new than distancing ourselves from the old. We know we do not want to be the stodgy, bigoted, bad-taste Christians from the pages of Left Behind. We are certain we do not want to propagate Christianity through catch phrases and kitsch, and we are dead set against preaching a white, middle-class Gospel to the red-state choir. Perhaps most of all we are tired of burning records, boycotting Disney and shunning Hollywood. We know exactly what the relevant new Christianity must not be—boring, whitewashed, schmaltzy—but we feign to understand just what we should be instead.

The problem with the Christian hipster phenomenon is not as superficial as the clothes we wear, the music we download or the artistic movies we see, nor is it that we exist largely as a reaction against something else. No. The problem is that our identity as people of Christ is still skin-deep. That our image and thinking as progressives does not make up for the fact that we still do not think about things as deeply as we should. The Christian hipster pretends to be more thoughtful or intellectual than the Podunk fundamentalist, but are we really? We accept secular art and (gasp!) sometimes vote for a liberal candidate, but do we really think harder because we are “hip"?

No. The Christian hipster is all well and good, but not good enough. Christians are called to a higher level of critical thought and discernment. We must consider everything, critique it and diffuse the good, true and beautiful. Whereas the combative fundamentalist focuses on critiquing the secular milieu, the Christian hipster embraces it. While the former closes off from much that is good, the latter forgets what is “good” by accepting all notions of it. Both groups are missing something.

(full article // via JT)

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Comments

[James Paul]

Thanks, KC! Convicting article for me. Man, the Relevant site is looking great!

[The Krow]

thanks so much for sharing this article... has some interesting points to ponder!

[john rushing]

this is really good stuff. as one who tends to be on the bleeding edge of stuff, culturally, it's a good reminder that my distinctives should not revolve around my tats or piercings or the hardcore music and community i embrace but rather the One who was pierced for me.