A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today’s World

by John Stonestreet, Brett Kunkle, Jim Denison (Narrator)

We don’t have to lose the next generation to culture. In this practical guide, John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle explore questions including:
What unseen undercurrents are shaping twenty-first-century youth culture?
Why do so many kids struggle with identity?
How do we talk to kids about same-sex marriage and transgenderism?
How can leaders steer kids away from substance abuse and other addictions?
How can we ground students in the biblical story and empower them to change the world? 
With biblical clarity, this is the practical go-to manual to equip kids to rise above the culture.

Genres: Christian, Parenting, Cultural, Nonfiction, Christian Living, Theology, Faith

9 pages, Audible Audio

First published June 1, 2017

About the author

John Stonestreet is president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, the cohost of BreakPoint, and the coauthor of several books.

Reviews

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purposefully read this book slowly, one chapter at a time, to absorb its message and contemplate ways to apply it.

Part 3 Pounding Cultural Waves was especially helpful, so helpful, with its Hopecasting, that I gave the book 5 stars.

If you are raising children in THIS culture then this book is both easy to read and extremely hopeful and relevant.

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book is geared mostly toward parents, there is much wisdom and worldview formation available for anyone in these pages. This is a well done overview of our current cultural situation, with great practical encouragement for faithfully following Christ.

[Nitoy Gonzales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: A Practical Guide to Culture by John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle
If parents are feeling the heat of this demanding culture and want their kids to stand for God, here’s a book that help them navigate through the tidal waves. “A Practical Guide to Culture” promises to avoid alarmism in a culture that is getting harder and harder to be a Christian.

Putting the word “practical” on the title doesn’t mean that you’ll dive in immediately to the advice and put it into action. Stonestreet and Kunkle first unpack the meaning of culture. And boy they sure did define it so clearly in the first part of the book and gradually opens other boxes of truth surrounding the word culture.

The authors want us to change the question Christians usually ask when culture comes to their doors. Rather ask “Where do we draw the line?” or “Have we lost the culture?” we need to go back to the Story of God to know the real question. The better question should be “What is our salvation for?” This question is essential as we know what culture is and what can we do to it.
The practical part of the book is seasoned with godly wisdom, true life stories, and well research information, mixed with grace without compromising the gospel. Every chapter is short but solid. You will always some take away that will leave you informed and ready to put in action.

The last chapter is as important as the practical stuff in this book. It’s building the Christian worldview for our kids. Some books left this vital part after they shared the practical part. It’s a good thing that the authors included this, not as fillers but as essential part in the foundation of our kids. For us readers we should not skip this part.

“A Practical Guide to Culture” is clear, precise and readable book on navigating your kids in this culture. If you have read plenty of books on culture, consider this a diversion from the buzz other books on culture is generating. You don’t want noise, you want practical book. You don’t want an edgy, radical just a simple cool book that will help parents raise their kids biblically ready to face this culture.

My verdict: 5 out of 5

More book reviews? please check my blog: http://delightinggrace.wordpress.com

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical, hopeful, and gospel focused.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. We are in a time where cultural messages are everywhere and I really want to be considerate and compassionate to other opinions but still remain true to my Christian values. I think this starts with having a strong foundation for what you do believe so instead of being combative, you can be secure in your beliefs and open to discussion with your kids and others. I thought the organization and resources in this book were great and it touched on a host of topics of great importance to me. At times, I would have loved to dive even deeper into the arguments, but this was a long book already as there are so many topics to hit on that I understand why they kept each chapter the length they did--and then provided resources where you could learn more. While this book is aimed at how parents can be informed and keep an open dialogue with their kids, I feel that this book is great for any Christian who is grappling with all the mixed messages out there and wants to understand and see where the Christian view lies.

Overall I found this to be thorough and well-organized, but I did remove a star as I sometimes found the writing to be a little pretentious at times. I know it is exceedingly hard to strike a balance between being authoritative and informative without coming across as a know-it-all, and often they met this, but when they gave examples from their own families or encounters they had in their ministry, I wasn't a fan of the tone. I got through it as there is a lot of good nuggets in there and it was worth the read, but sometimes the tone was a little off-putting (and hence me taking breaks as a I read and reading this over a long period).

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is very rare to find a parenting-related book that combines an accessible, popular style with such intelligent, rigorous content. Stonestreet and Kunkel recognize that modern culture is hostile to Christian faith. They offer guidance on educating children who will be able to understand and deal with the culture around them. They wade right into a slew of difficult topics, and their analysis is very good.

Personally, I didn’t actually feel that I’m the target audience. I’ve already thought and read quite a bit about these subjects elsewhere and consequently ended up doing some skimming and skipping. However, I am likely to recommend this book to others.

I appreciated the authors’ definition of “culture:”

“Culture is for humans what water is for fish: the environment we live in and think is normal. The main difference is, unlike the fish, we make our own environments. . . . Culture shapes our perceptions of reality. . . .

“Cultures consist of those products of human activity that have collectively taken on a life of their own. The worlds we create powerfully influence our lives by convincing us of what is normal. As we live in a culture, we become committed to its vision of life, unless we’re intentional otherwise. In other words, we make our cultures, and then our cultures shape us.”

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really clear and helpful. Some chapters are particularly strong, like chapter 7 “Castrated Geldings and Perpetual Adolescence.” The main weakness I found was in part 3 where the chapters deal with specific issues in our current culture; I almost always felt like these issues were not given enough in-depth consideration. However, I think that’s probably necessary given the purpose and format of the book, and the authors do give places to look for further study. Well worth the read.

[Amber Remick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book on accident thinking it was a different story, but by the time I realized I was so hooked on the information I was learning that I HAD to finish it. What a great lesson on influencing today’s culture and how and what to be skeptical of. This book as already made me question certain parenting strategies and helped prepare for the future.

[Julie Mabus · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title says it’s very practical. Stonestreet and Kunkle take the biggest issues facing our kids today and break them down into understandable bits for parents. The action points were doable and will be helpful when navigating these issues with our children.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four stars for the book; one star for Jesus.

I sort of locked onto the idea mid-book and from then on, was not able to let it go: this is a primer-style guide. It touches briefly on many different topics-- a bingo of "issues"-- never delving too deep into any and using a repetitive format to decrease the brainpower it takes to comprehend any of them. And that's fine. It's a "practical guide" to Christian worldview and likely a necessary work. It might actually be nice to own a copy so I could flip to the resources section of any given topic. That said, if you've done any amount of reading or studying in any of these topics, this won't be much of anything new. And if you're already a Colson Center reader/follower, much of this is a distilled aggregation of Stonestreet's columns from the last 8-10 years. Again, that's fine. Just know that, if you're one of those people, and I very much am, this is going to be nothing very much new.

Recommended for those new to Christianity, worldview, and Christian worldview.

[Mike Fendrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and practical guide to the "hot cultural topics" that the Christian faces. I think this would be very good High School Sunday School material. But it is also a good introduction to these topics for adults. A conversation starter.

Recommend

Second reading. Went through this book with our church's High School students. Generated a lot of thoughtful, gracious discussion. What a joy it is to be involved with mature, thoughtful high schoolers who are eager to learn and ask questions. Loved it. Thank you Lord.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors named this book well. I found the suggestions throughout the book to be very practical and things that I could easily implement as I parent. I think they effectively present the Christian worldview and also do a good job of refuting the lies the culture tells us in so many different areas today. Great book I will probably reference again and again. I would recommend this to Christian parents everywhere.

[Miles Mullin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accessible and well-organized and thus, easy to navigate. A great book for orthodox, Christian laypeople who want to teach their kids or others about culture and how to engage it Christianly. For those who have not thought about culture or what “culture” is, their section on culture is a great primer. In general, they hit all the right points and with the right tone (not shrill or combative). It was a bit overly conservative at points.

[Jeff Bridgforth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book for parents and those who work with youth. Gives some great perspective on today's cultural issues and the ideas behind them. Really good suggestions on equipping your self and kids how to live out their Christian faith. Like the balanced views of the authors and that we seek not to escape or assimilate.

[Rebecca Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical and helpful book for parents and teachers attempting to understand what culture is, how it comes from, and how we, as Christians should help the children and teens in our life to navigate culture. Lots of resources and advice. This book is very helpful.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today's World
Author: John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle
Format: Hardback
Topic: Christian Living
Scope: Contemporary Living and Influence in the Culture
Purpose: To equip Christian leaders, parents, and students with the tools to successfully navigate the culture. This means they will be able to flourish as Christians even when much of the culture seems to be against them.
Structure: The book is separated into four sections.
1. Why Culture Matters. This section defines culture and gives reasons why Christians should care about culture and what happens in it. (Chapter 1. What Culture Is and What It Does to Us, 2. Keeping the Moment and the Story Straight, and 3. A Vision of Success).
2. A Read of the Cultural Waters. Here the authors explain some of the underlying trends in our current culture and how we should think about them. (Chapter 4. The Information Age, 5. Identity After Christianity, 6. Being Alone Together, and 7. Castrated Gelding and Perpetual Adolescence)
3. Pounding Cultural Waves. These are the individual things that are *trending* in our culture right now. In other words, a lot of this is about what people argue about on social media. (Chapter 8. Pornography, 9. The Hookup Culture, 10. Sexual Orientation, 11. Gender Identity, 12. Affluence and Consumerism, 13. Addiction, 14. Entertainment, and 15. Racial Tension)
4. Christian Worldview Essentials. This section finishes the book with essential skills/tools needed for Christians to prepare themselves to engage and mold the culture. (Chapter 16. How to Read the Bible, 17. Why to Trust the Bible, 18. The Right Kind of Pluralism, 19. Taking the Gospel to the Culture)
What it does well: *This book defines and explains culture well. Culture is something we all think we know, but is incredibly difficult to explain. Stonestreet and Kunkle navigate this obstacle commendably. In defining and explaining their view of culture they enable the reader to understand their prescriptions throughout the book.
*This book is not full of alarmism. Many books of this type from similar sorts of authors are pessimistic and "sky is falling" tomes. This is not true here. Throughout the work the authors do not shy away from pointing out what they think is going wrong in the culture, but there is always an undertone of hope. In fact, the hope they have often moves from being an undertone to downright, in your face hope. It was incredibly refreshing to read a book on culture by Christians that wasn't condemning of the culture. Instead they want to redeem and restore it.
*The authors avoid being overly partisan. It is clear these authors are conservative both theologically and politically. However, they are quick to criticize some sacred cows of their own camp. Two examples come quickly to mind. First, in the chapter on racism they are quite critical of the common conservative retort "All lives matter" to the Black lives matter movement. Stonestreet and Kunkle rightly explain that "yes, all lives matter-including preborn ones-but we ought not give the impression that we aren't carefully listening to the concerns of those specific fellow image bearers who believe their value is being dismissed"-290. Another example is when the authors attack much of the method people use for reading the Bible. They rightly criticize reading the Bible by wrenching verses, stories, and even whole books from their context. It is not a magic book and we should spend time actually reading and studying it, not finding prooftexts for our pet issues.
*Also, this book is hugely practical. This should go without saying because the title is A Practical Guide to Culture. However, this book has its finger on the pulse of culture in ways many similar books attempt but never reach. Stonestreet and Kunkle give "action steps" for everything they write about.
*Lastly (though there is a lot more done well), this book is permeated with scripture. It almost oozes with scripture. There are at least 164 direct references to scripture and many more indirect references. This was very nice because it would have been easy to write this book without the counsel of scripture. However, the authors were not content with the easy job. They wanted to show they have wrestled with this subject in light of God's word.
*There is a lot more that is done well, but to explain more is beyond the scope of this review.
What it lacks: *This book is not as nuanced as Niebuhr's Christ and Culture or Carson's Christ and Culture Revisited nor as academic as Myer's Understanding the Culture, but to be fair it isn't meant to be. This is a practical guide to culture and it reads that way.
*One thing I have a small problem with is the discussion of "calling" at the very end of the book. The authors define calling in a common way that I wrestle with. They see calling as the intersection where our vocation and our worship or mission are most effective and most gratifying. Now, I would hope people are effective in their mission and gratified in their work, however, I am not sure this is the biblical definition of calling. As I read the Bible, it looks like we all have the same calling and we can fulfill that calling in any place as long as it isn't inherently sinful. Also, the authors quote Frederick Buechner in saying (in a roundabout manner) that it is unlikely we are fulfilling our mission and worship if our "work is writing TV deodorant commercials." Now the authors may not agree with Buechner wholesale here, but I think it is entirely possible to write deodorant commercials for God's glory.
Some quick highlights: "Too many Christians have a tendency to react to what is loudest and noisiest in our culture, which often means overreacting to what isn't ultimately important and underreacting to what is."-21
"...culture's greatest influence is in what it presents as being normal. Clearly, not all that seems normal ought to be, but what is left unexamined is also left unchallenged."-28
"Culture tends to shape us most deeply by what it presents as normal. We are creatures of cultural habit. Our loves, our longings, our loyalties, and our labors can become products of the liturgies our culture imposes. We live according to them but rarely think through them. Unintentionally, we become culture shaped rather than intentional about shaping culture."-39
"Telling us 'That's bad, so stay away' didn't work"-42
"Asking 'Where do I draw the line?'-called the line approach to culture-is too simplistic to be helpful. First, not everything labeled Christian is good, and not everything labeled secular is bad. Much that is labeled Christian-movies, songs, leaders, schools, churches, ministries, and organizations-fails to reach basic levels of excellence and honesty. And much that is labeled secular accurately portrays fallen humanity, displays artistic genius, and brings good to the world. As Gregory Thornbury, the president of The King's College, is fond of saying, ''Christian' is the greatest of all possible nouns and lamest of all possible adjectives.' It's meant to describe a person, not a thing."-45
"We often think of compromise when it comes to beliefs and behaviors, but a particularly subtle temptation is to compromise in our methods."-70
"The ignore-controversial-subjects-and-they'll-go-away approach to raising kids won't do. In the information age, plenty of voices are willing to talk with our kids if we aren't."-82-83
"The issue of trust is complicated only if kids think that so-called Christian authorities are untrustworthy."-83
"...if we don't know whom it is we are educating and whom they should become, education devolves into a disconnected hodgepodge of classes, skill acquisition, test taking, activities, and degrees. Now think of fashion, business, public policy, health care, biomedical ethics, or even youth groups. We won't know what to do in these areas if we aren't first clear on who humans are. And it's clear we aren't clear about that."-102
"Instruction is necessary, of course, but discipleship happens not when we talk at our kids but when we walk with them through their struggles to a place of commitment."-110
"Our kids learn their tech habits from us."-120
"In many ways, adolescence is now-and this must not be missed-the goal of our culture. Somewhere along the way, we ceased to be a culture where kids aspire to be adults, and we became a culture where adults aspire to be kids, or at least adolescents, forever."-133
"Rules can provide wise and appropriate boundaries, but following rules shouldn't be confused with Christian maturity. Rules can't show us the heart of a person. While rules may help limit the bad influences and temptations 'out there' they leave unaddressed the problems 'in here,' in the human heart."-138
"Can we Christians stop not talking about sex, please? For too long, we've let other voices direct and dominate the cultural conversation on sex. Much of the church's contribution has been to shout 'Don't do it!' from the margins of society. We've given the impression that Christianity has a negative view of sex. But God's story offers so much more than a simple no to unsanctioned sex. For every prohibition, there is a beautiful, life-giving yes!"-173-174
"The goal for Christians isn't to be blind to color but to embrace the distinctive qualities and uniqueness of God's image bearers."-290
"Rather than reject God's exclusive plan, we should be grateful in the way a diseased patient rejoices when a cure is found. The redemption and restoration we have through the exclusive means of Jesus' death and resurrection are cause for celebration. That's why it's called the gospel-it's good news."-327
Recommendation?: I highly recommend this book. Stonestreet and Kunkle have clearly explained their view of how Christians can navigate in today's culture. They do this by advocating to challenge and influence the culture, not by withdrawal or wholesale acceptance of culture. This is a book that is useful for anyone who cares about their own influence or their kid's spirituality. I can only hope that it is updated every few years to keep up with the issues in the culture of the time.

[Aaron Stoltzfus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first encountered John Stonestreet through the “Understanding the Times” curriculum in high school which opened my eyes to the many worldviews around us.

John and Brett do an incredible job of addressing tough subjects in such a wise way. Many conversations about culture are depressing because of the values in our surrounding cultures that are increasingly opposed to Christian values, and the lack of ideas for how to address those values. Rather than being depressing, John and Brett provide excellent clarity into the problems in our surrounding culture, and provide helpful ways to engage with (not isolate from!) the people around us.

Excellent read, and one that I want to come back to especially as my children grow older. Don’t forget, God created the world and proclaimed it good. All is not lost.

[Madelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.75 stars

We read this book over the course of several months for our Sunday School class. I liked it overall and the fact that it delved into really difficult subjects that Christians should think about. But some of the book was a really surface-level view. I get that it has to be condensed for length, but still wish some parts had much more depth.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite helpful overall, though I always bristle at the "you need to push the boundaries yourself so you can teach them to your children." Disagree. The Scripture teaches me and my children those boundaries.

Yet learning to discern Scriptural boundaries from my fabricated ones is quite helpful.

[Ruth Uhlemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. The first 3rd is not terribly practical, but important for building the case of why Christians need to be better at being in the world not of it.
The second section is really where it starts to shine and gives excellent, practical advice for helping kids deal with different cultural issues.
I highly recommend to Christian parents

[Alex Monseth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an EXCELLENT read. So it good. It will be a resource I go back to continually as a soon to be new parent and youth pastor.

[Erin King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved their perspective and the way the material is presented is very practical.

[John Dobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is recommended for parents and perhaps grandparents who are involved closely with the raising of their grandchildren. I found it interesting on several levels. There are basically three sections. First is an explanation of the way culture influences our thinking. The middle section examines in detail various areas of culture to which we should pay attention ...pornography, sexual orientation, gender identity, media, addiction, affluence, racial tension, and more. (At this time the four chapters on sexuality are available for Kindle as a separate purchase). The last section is about the place of the Bible in shaping our worldview. On the plus side, these chapters all offer practical advice about how to talk to our kids about these various challenging areas. These authors offer a solid conservative Christian perspective, without the mean-spirited criticism sometimes associated with that view of things. The authors seem well informed and have done their homework. On the negative side, the first section is really hard to get through (for me), as I felt it was a LOT of information in a short area without the authors telling me why I needed to know that to get to the section ahead. I liked the presentation of the various areas of cultural concern and that there were practical suggestions for talking to our kids, but I think it would have been more helpful if they had included strategies for when our kids reject the initial approach - as I think adolescents often will. In that sense, it seemed a bit 'Pollyanna'. Just do this and it will all work out. The last section on the Bible does not - to me - seem to be necessary to the book. If you are not a conservative Christian, you will not have read that far anyway. But the information in it is somewhat helpful ... apologetic of the Bible ... available in greater detail elsewhere. My final criticism is a personal one and not consequential to the book. Since there are two authors there is a continual referencing to who is writing at the moment. There will be statements followed by (John) or (Brett) ... and that made me wonder if the authors were in conflict over those statements and only one of them wanted to claim them ... or what? It was distracting. If you are going to write a book together, good. Just do it. I still gave it 4 stars because I consider my negative review points to be mild. I think it will provide a great conversation starter for parents. And for those parents who seem to be lost in the culture of their children, I think it will be eye-opening and helpful.

[Stephen Sorensen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is aimed at Christian people who are angry and scared of "the culture" they find themselves brushing up against throughout their lives. Incompetence or malice were undoubtedly major drivers behind the content produced by the authors, but it's hard to say whether the prior or the latter was more influential than the other. Granting intellectual honesty, and not entertaining purposeful deceit in their approach, my general take is that the authors spent more time learning about the worries of their target audience than they did learning about the culture they were attempting to provide a navigational guide for.

"Much that is labeled Christian ... fails to reach basic levels of excellence and honesty" is an ironic quote from the book as it applies to the book itself. Here's an example of the sloppy rhetoric, "...many students struggle with ideas simply because they don't know how to think". As if they've ever had a student incapable of thought. Imagine working in youth ministry for most of your career and this is how you talk about the children. Replace the word "think" with any other action, "they don't know how to ride a bike", meaning if they attempted they would simply fall off. If unable to think, the authors would have us believe these students are just sitting their with clean slates, not a thought behind their eyes. The authors were careless with their speech here and in many other places.

The quote continues, "...Brett and I are constantly surprised at how unfamiliar they often are with basic logic and how quickly the silliest ideas and arguments sideline them. Of course, this is often the case with many adult Christians too!" In this they admit their own failure to teach the kids basic logic, to give them the tools necessary to engage with what they consider silly ideas and arguments, falling short of excellence. They then ironically say many adult Christians do this too, as they do throughout their book.

For example, another quote, "Books by design, are linear. The Internet is not. A book takes you from page 1 to page 2, then 3, and so on. ... On the other hand, start on page Google, and you go wherever Google determines." This says more about how they engage with books and the internet than it does about how books and the internet can and should be used. In the classic book How to Read a Book, it becomes clear the best way to read a book is not page 1 then 2 and so on. Some books aren't structured to be read that way even if not following the advice of How to Read. In fact, I started this Guide partway through the middle just to get a sense of the intellectual depth. Then proceeded to skim and then read more closely. On the other hand, the internet operates on the linear language known as binary. Maybe the authors are more familiar with fictional books, which are typically, but not always, read from start to finish. This could explain their shallow understanding of how to navigate a wider scope of literature. And maybe they do lack the knowledge on how to use the internet, maybe they do have a Google that takes all control from them and doesn't allow them to navigate freely. Maybe they don't know about other search engines or other ways of using the internet, like Jstor, Internet Archive, Tiktok, Youtube, or literally any other place that requires internet to access.

More examples to bolster my point are them listing CS Lewis as an ancient voice, them favoring Wikipedia when scholarship is readily available on the topics they're discussing, and them saying their wives would kill them if they described their wives as smart while forgetting the only other time they mentioned their wives was to say that both of them were out of their leagues. The book is riddled with shallow, inconsistent thought and a watered down rhetoric of how they truly feel.

They disavow racism but then say we should abandon the slogan "Black Lives Matter" because it can be "politicized and can be misunderstood" and "because they're often used to shut down debate and conversation". No effort was made by them to articulate the debate and conversations that have been had and promoted through the slogan "Black Lives Matter".

Overall this is a pseudointellectual book written for an angry and scared audience who are hopeful for a way to combat "the enemy", I mean "the culture", that they see themselves facing. The authors posture themselves as critical thinkers for an audience who doesn't know any better, for as they've said, they're in constant shock at how bad so many people in their lives think. The book offers no suggestions on how to think more critically, something they say is really important but their actions show they don't really care about. They want people to think like them, and they're upset that those who do think critically don't think like them. I feel for their audience as those who lack the tools to think critically are the most vulnerable group for authors like this to take advantage of, whether the authors are doing it out of incompetence, or out of purposeful manipulation.

I do value critical thinking and so encourage people to read up on the 300+ cognitive biases and fallacies that have been mapped out, and to make sustained effort to see which of these are most prominent in your life, as some of them will be prominent.

For book recommendations on how to think better, Levitin's Field Guide to Lies a short read that does an ok job as an introductory book. Levine's Duped is the best on lie theory and why we're predisposed to believing people are being honest and trustworthy. Greifeneder's The Psychology of Fake News is a fun read with many perspectives on critical thinking and not getting duped.

If the authors do genuinely value critical thinking and excellence in speech and thought, this will be one of their favorite reviews and they'll do better in their future publications and interviews. If not, they've been exposed and they'll do what they can to ignore this or spin it in a way that allows them to shirk responsibility.

[Lauren Terwilliger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was extremely informative, quick to the point, and integrated quotes and Scripture and current culture references in a way that made it a page-turner I will definitely be reading again!

Each chapter gave a clear outline of a topic, provided thoughtful questions with answers backed by Scripture and/or scientific research, and concluded with discussion questions that would make this easy to use in a book club discussion or small group setting. Action steps, further resources to dig into and hopeful outlooks at the end of each chapter balance the gravity of the challenge we are up against (as parents who want to pass Biblical values onto the next generation) with the hope we have in preparing our kids for a future where they can make a difference.

Excited to read this again and again as my kids age and are aware of cultural influences both in our country of origin and our current home country.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendous book. You want good advice on what to teach your kids so they'll be ready to leave home one day? Then this book is for you. You want to know how to teach your kids these things? Then this book is for you. Do you want to know why you should teach these things to your kids? Then this book is for you. Do you want your kids to be ready for the world intellectually & spiritually? Then this book is for you. You'll have no regrets, only gratitude when you pick up this book & read it & use it, & you'll save your kids a lot of heart ache & confusion in the future if you take the time to parent as you should.

[Rand Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good survey, but not the level I would have expected from these two.

[Chris Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great place to start in understanding culture in general and Western culture in particular. It equips us to be faithful Christians in our culture and to start shaping it in light of the gospel. The authors make sense of the presenting cultural issues of our day in a coherent and convincing way, getting to the underlying heart issues and cultural influences.

The ocean provides a helpful analogy to culture. Like the ocean, culture has both seen and unseen elements. Cultural undercurrents are invisible, but powerfully pressure us to conform to their collective assumptions about the world. Cultural issues are like waves: seen, heard, and felt. Understanding both is critically important to successfully navigating culture, and these two headings are used to structure and organise the first two sections of the book. In the third section, we consider the Christian worldview, putting culture in the context of the gospel rather than the other way round.

We start with the undercurrents, as they tend to be presuppositions outside our critical reflection, and we need to understand them to come to grips with any specific cultural issue.

What Culture Is and What It Does to Us

Culture refers to what people do with and make of the world. Unlike animals, we do more with the world than merely trying to survive in it, having conceptions of God, truth, morality, humanity, and history that shape how we live. Underpinning this is our worldview, which, whether we are consciously aware of it or not, informs our actions in the world and our interactions with others. It consists of our deeply held beliefs about God, morality, and the nature of reality. Understanding worldview is, therefore, crucial to understanding culture.

Culture includes things that are good, bad, morally neutral, and morally complex, and is not fixed, static, or monolithic. People and culture are also distinct, as people both make and are shaped by culture, but cannot be equated with it. Two important concepts are objectification and internalisation. The former happens when people externalise their values, imaginations, innovations, and ideas on the world around them through what they do. Ideas and their consequences become part of our normal way of living together, reinforced by artefacts and institutions.

The second is the process whereby culture shapes us. We internalise culture as we settle into its routines, lifestyles, and habits, and as we consume its products, ideas, and assumptions about the world. As we live in a culture, we become committed to its vision of life unless we are intentional otherwise. Culture shapes us most deeply by what it presents as normal, as we are creatures of cultural habit, living according to the liturgies imposed by our culture but rarely thinking them through.

In short, we make our cultures, and then our cultures shape us.

The Big Story and Approaching Culture

Once we understand what culture is and what it does to us, we need to understand how to approach it by considering the function of Scripture as God's revelation of himself, his plans and his actions in the world. Scripture is objectively true and describes the big, overarching story of reality, the world, humanity and history. No matter how chaotic, grave, disturbing, broken, or troubling our cultural moment may be, the context of the larger story of which it is a part reveals its true meaning.

The question "Have we lost the culture?" implies that there was a time when we had the culture. In reality, while some cultures are morally better than others, there has never been a thoroughly Christian culture. Winning and losing are not determined in this cultural moment, as we belong to a larger story summarised as creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. The cultural moment we live in hovers between redemption and restoration, and we must live in it and allow it to shape us. A better first question with which to approach culture than "Where do we draw the line?" or "Have we lost?" is "What is our salvation for?"

A Vision of Success

As Christians, we must take responsibility for our culture and avoid the old Gnostic heresy of dividing reality into the physical, which is evil, and the spiritual, which is good. The real division is not between the physical and spiritual (both created by God and declared to be good), but between the Creator and the creation. Though fallen, God's creation still proclaims His grandeur, kindness, and goodness.

Christian faithfulness involves our habits, attitudes and affections as well as our doctrine and lifestyle. It is not enough to sprinkle Christian truth on lives shaped more by the cultural moment than the gospel, and we must not underestimate the power of culture to form our deepest allegiances and identities. In the church, we must avoid the prevailing worldview of moralistic therapeutic deism, which declares that God visits our world, not that we live in God's world. It declares that God serves our agenda and helps us feel good about ourselves, demanding nothing of us but existing to help us in whatever way we wish.

The Information Age

Ideas influence the way we think and live in the world, shaping entire societies and driving the course of human history. In a world of competing ideas and competing authorities, we need to learn how to think critically to assess them and recognise truth. In our day, we encounter more ideas than ever, many of which are difficult to understand and require intricate and sustained reasoning. Additionally, our culture no longer defines tolerance as treating others with respect, even if their views differ from ours. Rather, tolerance means embracing the views of the majority culture, and not doing so is intolerant, as we are pressured not to think, but to conform.

We need to strengthen our powers of discernment so that we can recognise the truth amidst the lies, half-truths, propaganda, and trivialities, and see all of life through the truth. This also shows the importance of developing a biblical worldview. Our worldview is "the framework of basic beliefs we have, whether we realize it or not, that shapes our view of the world and for the world," acting as a lens by which we identify and evaluate every idea we encounter. Our view of the world is our explanation of reality, including:

Origins: Where did everything come from?
Identity: What is a human being?
Meaning: What is the meaning of life? What is our purpose?
Morality: Who determines right and wrong? What is wrong with the world, and how can it be fixed?
Destiny: What happens when we die? Where is history heading?

If we do not take time to answer these questions critically in our hearts and minds, we will answer them passively by how we live, how we make decisions, and how we relate to others. Our worldview shapes our values, which shape our behaviour; our actions reflect our core beliefs about life.

It is very important to talk to our children about their worldview, so that they can critically interact with the culture around them. Some basic steps to help with this are:

1. Talk about worldview early and often.
2. Explain non-Christian worldviews.
3. Strongly encourage your kids to read good books.
4. Discuss ideas whenever possible.
5. Ask good questions.

A few simple but important questions (for kids and all of us) are:

What do you mean by that? The battle of ideas begins with the battle for definitions.
How do you know that is true? Assertions require arguments.
What if you are wrong? This question gets at the consequences of ideas.

Identity after Christianity

Another important aspect of our culture is its vision of human identity, now taken for granted as an absolute truth: self-centred and self-serving autonomy. The modern pantheon of idols includes Self, State, Sex, Science and Stuff. These all influence our culture's conception of identity, but none more so than sexuality and gender. Rather than sex consisting of morally assessable behaviour, it is now who we are. Religious belief is mere personal opinion, but sexuality is definitive, absolute, and unquestionable. In today's culture, sexuality is identity. Part of the tragedy in this is that our culture wants to retain the fruit of human dignity and worth, while rejecting its roots.

Our culture leaves us in perpetual uncertainty about life's big questions (e.g. origins, identity, meaning, morality, and destiny), constantly barraging us with new ideas and information, tempting us to seek pleasure and self-fulfillment while offering us a dizzying array of choices about what to believe, how to live, what to buy, where to go, and what to love. We are told to question everything, to explore every alternative, and to keep an open mind on everything from politics to religion to gender. Social media, porn, and affluence offer relationships and pleasure without commitment. All of this leaves our kids incredibly unstable, prone to deception, disappointment, and cynicism.

The only antidote for this confusion is discipleship, knowing what to believe, how to behave and who we are as redeemed image bearers of the Creator. Three areas that contribute to the formation of our identity in discipleship are story, questions, and community.

Being Alone Together

It is increasingly clear that when people go online, they are doing more than expressing themselves; they are exploring alternative selves: "Our social-media profiles are highly edited constructs of our lives for friends and family to browse (and perhaps to envy). We don’t struggle online. We posture."

As we live life indirectly, with our experiences, conversations, and relationships mediated to us through our various devices, we lose touch with our world, with one another, and even with ourselves:

"The tendency today is to become curators of our own online museums for our carefully selected and polished moments. In doing so, we may think our personal brand of approved images and sound bites are the real us. Because we can only truly know ourselves in community, we lose touch with ourselves when we lose touch with others. Online life also sells us the false impression that we can separate who we are into public and private realms." This is an interesting paradox, as on the one hand we overshare constructed versions of ourselves, while on the other hand we value privacy above accountability.

There are several lies communicated to us in our tech-shaped culture:

Lie #1: I am the centre of my own universe.
Lie #2: I deserve to be happy all the time, reflecting the three chief virtues of modern society: convenience, efficiency, and choice, with the best life being one that is faster, easier, and on our own terms. Patience, prudence, and perseverance are discounted.
Lie #3: I must have choices. When we mistakenly believe that choices are prerequisites to happiness, two things result. First, rather than seizing the opportunities in front of us, we will always be looking for the next better thing. Second, addiction to choice leads to ungratefulness.
Lie #4: I am my own authority. One of the illusions of the modern world is that we are in control: "Digital reality is infinitely customizable. When so much of life is lived online, it's only a small jump to thinking that's the way all of reality should be as well."
Lie #5: Information is all I need, not teachers. Information does not equal knowledge and wisdom.

Perpetual Adolescence

The final undercurrent examined is the tendency to make adolescence the goal of our culture. We have ceased to be a culture where kids aspire to be adults, and have become a culture where adults aspire to be kids, or at least adolescents, forever. Our culture has largely abandoned robust moral concepts like sin, moral responsibility, and virtue, and teaches that a successful life is not a good life but a happy one, giving us no tools or encouragement to grow up.

The best way to encourage maturity in the next generation is by the cultivation of virtue: "We’ve told a whole generation to go find themselves. What if they find themselves, but when they do, they're jerks?" Freedom cannot be sustained without virtue; we cannot trust ourselves unless we are trustworthy; we must be the right people if we are to do the right things.

In the context of these cultural undercurrents, the book goes on to examine a number of cultural waves.

Sexuality

Under this heading come chapters on pornography, the hookup culture, sexual orientation and gender identity. Our culture combines moral indifference with an insatiable desire for instant gratification. Today's sexual orthodoxy proclaims so-called sexual freedom and insists that all consensual sex acts are good. Anything that interferes with or restricts sexual expression is, therefore, inherently bad.

To resist these trends, we must give the culture a better message, starting with a robust biblical anthropology that reflects our identity as image bearers. The gift of sexuality belongs only within the context of a husband-wife marriage. The exclusivity and commitment of marriage are the best context within which to care for children, and marriage is the best environment in which to cultivate the love, safety, security, and trust needed for sexual intimacy to flourish. Marriage is about self-giving, not self-interest.

Gender is another major area of confusion for our culture and is worth considering at greater length. The assumptions that sex is "assigned" and not a biological reality, and that gender is chosen and not innate, are deeply embedded in our culture. This highlights two cultural lies:

Lie #1: Rather than being a fixed trait rooted in biology, gender is seen as a social construct that culture creates. The problem with this is that there are only arbitrary stopping points for such social construction.

Lie #2: We should validate people's thoughts and desires so they will flourish. Absolute autonomy is seen as the path to one's authentic self, and is our culture's new vision of human dignity. Unrestrained by any external limitations, one can never be defined by anyone except oneself. Human dignity is grounded in the autonomous will of an individual, and this path of unfettered choice is the path to flourishing

In light of this, our culture's response to opposition to this narrative becomes clear. Anyone who denies people their ultimate right to choose reality is labelled a bigot. Since dignity is derived from self-determination, standing in someone's way or merely disagreeing with their choices strips a person of dignity. Tolerance is no longer sufficient; we must be affirming. Dissent indicates bigotry; bigotry is animated by hatred, therefore, all bigots must be silenced.

The alternative to all of this is to affirm that human wholeness comes not by denying reality but by conforming to it: "Affirm the goodness of what transgender people are seeking: wholeness. However, help them to see that the solution isn't mutilating their bodies but transforming their hearts, minds, and souls. In every conversation, be extravagant with showing grace and kindness. Remind people that your motivation is love, not hatred."

Affluence, Consumerism and Entertainment

Idolatry lurks beneath our culture's rampant materialism and consumerism. This approach to life says that I am the centre of the universe, and everything exists to meet my needs and satisfy my desires. Seeking our identity in our stuff validates our worship of self: "Reinforced by media, entertainment and the endless stream of advertising, we devour goods, services, and even people in an attempt to satisfy our souls."

The reality is that happiness is not found in the unbridled pursuit of affluence, pleasure, and personal satisfaction, but rather in a life well lived, characterised by wisdom, virtue, and character.

Linked to this is entertainment, which is often used to cure boredom, avoid responsibility, or anesthetise the pain of our inner emptiness. Through entertainment, we divert our attention from reality and escape into triviality and voyeurism. Ironically, an entertainment-driven culture neuters the arts' true power as we are perpetually distracted. This is a worrying sign for any society: "When a population becomes distracted by trivia, when cultural life is redefined as a perpetual round of entertainments, when serious public conversation becomes a form of baby-talk, when, in short, a people become an audience and their public business a vaudeville act, then a nation finds itself at risk; culture- death is a clear possibility."

The common factor running through these cultural waves and the others considered (addiction and racial tension) is identity: who are we, and what are we for? This leads into the final section of the book, where the authors discuss how to start to build and strengthen a Christian worldview. This involves reading and trusting the Bible, fostering the right kind of pluralism, and taking the gospel to the culture.

The Bible also sets Christianity apart from all other worldviews and religions, as it is a revealed worldview. Christianity's source of authority was established by God, who has revealed Himself in creation, in the Old and New Testaments, and ultimately in Jesus Christ: "God exists, contrary to atheistic or secular worldviews. God is personal, contrary to Eastern religions and New Age pantheism. God has spoken, contrary to postmodern skepticism. God has spoken by Jesus Christ, who is revealed in the Old and New Testaments, contrary to Judaism and Islam."

The Right Kind of Pluralism

Christians can and should be pluralists in the sense that we live in a religiously diverse culture and need to be ready to make a case for the Christian worldview while recognising the inherent dignity of all people. Religious claims are not mere individual preferences, so we cannot accept the idea that no religion can claim to be true over and above another.

Taking the Gospel to the Culture

Like the exiles, we must learn to live well in this cultural moment, and there are several legitimate ways Christians can deal with the ideas, institutions, trends, fashions, and habits of our culture: celebrate (what can we protect, promote and preserve?), create (what is missing that we can contribute?), confront (what evil can we stop?), co-opt and correct (what brokenness can we restore?)

Some Christians mistakenly think that change will come only when we acquire the levers of cultural power. God has called some to high places, but He has called all of us to be faithful where we are, in our spheres of influence. This book is a thoughtful and edifying resource that helps equip us to do just that.

[Nile · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be mandatory reading for Christian parents of young children. Enormously practical and helpful for understanding what worldview is, how it matters, and how to train your children in living and embodying a Biblical worldview.

Practical Guide to Culture Outline
1. Why culture matters
2. A read of the cultural waves
3. Pounding cultural waves
4. Christian worldview essentials

1. Why culture matters
1. What is culture?
1. 29: culture comes from the Latin word cultura which means agriculture. In its most basic sense, culture refers to what people do with the world: we build, we invent, we imagine, we create, we tear down, we replace, we compose, we design, we emphasize, we dismiss, we embellish, we engineer. as Andy Crouch says culture is what human beings make of the world. (Maybe read more from pg 30)
2. 36: we absorb the ideas of of our culture. Culture is built on ideas, though these ideas often fly under our radar. What is true? What is good? What is worthy of our love and devotion? Ideas in a culture spread through champions which create artifacts that become part of our experience and shape our culture. (Ideas are abstract but artifacts like songs, art, movies, news, policies apply them in a lasting way).
3. 39: By default, we become shaped by our culture, rather than intentionally shaping our culture. Culture tends to shape us most deeply by what it presents as normal. But the Lord Jesus calls Christians not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds in Romans 12:2. What are some unnoticed cultural norms that impact us as parents and our kids?
2. Recognizing culture
1. 26: like fish immersed in water, we become so immersed in ways of thinking and patterns of living, that we become unable to recognize them. Few things shape us like the issues ideas, habits and influences of our culture.
3. The moment vs the story
1. 43: LOTR Gandalf falls in Moria - moment of despair and hopelessness. Story: Gandalf returns to lead the army in Sauron’s defeat. 48: for the Christian, winning and losing, is not determined in this cultural moment. We belong to a larger story. When we allow ourselves to be shaped by this story, we will approach culture with a better question than where to draw the line on various issues.
2. The story in four parts
1. Creation: in the beginning, God created the heavens in the Earth. God created this world, called it good, created us in his image, and gave us a mandate to be fruitful and multiply and fulfill the earth, and subdue it. To have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the Earth.
2. Fall: in the biblical story, we are the antagonist. The problem to be fixed isn’t out there as if we were bystanders to the brokenness in God‘s world. The problem is in here too.
3. Redemption: this is the point where most world views greatly differ. Since the Christian version of the fall includes the inner fallenness of man, we must be wary of those who claim by human ingenuity or effort that they will fix the world and bring about a utopian society. Redemption ultimately culminates in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The word made flesh in Christ death is defeated, not only for us as individuals, but also on a cosmic level.
4. Restoration: many evangelicals stopped their worldview with redemption. But the story that began with creation ends with a new beginning where the garden is restored. We can live in Hope knowing that God will make his home with us. We’re all wrong will be made right, and all lies will be exposed as untrue.
3. Think of something you’ve seen recently in culture like a movie or a TV show. Talk through the four elements of the story in that.
4. What is our salvation for?
1. 62: there are two reactions that tempt the church in every generation. The first is to flee from culture; to withdraw into the safety of the church, take care of our own, and avoid the darkness. The second is to simply avoid controversial issues; to focus on God‘s love for all people. The Christian faith, however, is incarnational. God did not send laws, prophets, angels, or a book to fix his broken world. Instead, he himself came in the person of Jesus Christ. 65: christ didn’t save us from being human, he saved us, so that we would be fully human again.
2. 69: it can be tempting to see the cultural elites and lose hope. Too often, those of us not placed at the so-called top of culture forget to steward the local culture that we can influence like families, churches, schools, community groups, soccer teams, and city council. These places matter too.
3. What are some ways that we can influence the local culture around us?
2. A read of the cultural waves
1. 80: Ideas may seem abstract but ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims.
2. 82: we cannot control which ideas our kids will be exposed to, or when they will be exposed to them. In the information age, plenty of voices are willing to talk with our kids, even if we are not. Must never give our kids the impression that questioning is doubting or the doubting is sinning.
3. 84: we must never give our kids. The impression that questioning is doubting, or that doubting is sinning. Seekers will become mockers if they are not allowed to wrestle with their doubts in their questions.
4. How to shape worldview 92
1. Talk about world view early and often
2. Explain non-Christian world views
3. Strongly, encourage your kids to read good books
4. Discuss ideas whenever possible (songs, movies, news, etc.)
5. Teach them to ask good questions (what do you mean by that? How do you know that’s true what happens if you are wrong?)
5. 102: christianity’s most important contribution to the world is its vision of the human person, human dignity and equality. These are concepts taken for granted today, but they grew out of a Judeo Christian doctrine of the Imago Dei. Today, many make sexuality, culture, state, science, stuff, or other preferences into identity and worth as a human. Tolerance is no longer accepted because it denies them of their intrinsic worth. Affirmation is the new standard and differing opinions are not allowed.
6. 108: the Christian worldview says that we are redeemed image bearers called back to their full humanity as both messengers and agents of the risen Christ, who is making all things new. Unfortunately, many kids are taught the Bible, not as a story of reality, but only as disconnected sets of stories versus and lessons.
3. Pounding cultural waves
1. For each of the following, consider what good to preserve, missing to contribute, evil to stop, and brokenness to restore!
2. Porn 156 we have a pornography epidemic in our culture. It says porn is a harmless expression of human sexuality and that Porn is a personal matter and it’s really no one‘s business what people do in their private lives. The problem is not that it shows too much of the human, but too little, stripping people of their humanity, worth, and the beauty of God’s design for sexuality. We must wake up to the problem of porn and confront yourself first. Be preemptive with your kids by exposing the darkness, initiating conversations, painting a vivid picture of the lifelong consequences, and always be ready to respond with grace and forgiveness as an ally in the battle against lust in the lives of our kids (boys and girls). - Why do you think porn has such of foothold in our culture?
3. Hookup culture 175 young people must know that sex is good, that’s why it must be protected and cultivated. We cannot separate, sex, marriage and babies. The reason to stay sexually pure and say no to hookups is so that they can say yes to God‘s, big, bold, beautiful plan for sex. Recapture the wonder of God-ordained and God-glorifying sexuality for our young people. Become your kids’ authority on sex, and never shut down any question they may have. Emphasize the yes and the good as well as the no and don’t let your kids navigate dating alone. Share your stories of love, dating sex, and make your marriage a beautiful model for your kids. Pray and trust God for them. - what is missing in culture’s shallow view of sex?
4. Sexual orientation 195 God‘s story does not start with thou shalt not, but with God saw that it was good in Genesis 1:10. The primary emphasis of his story is not homosexuality and its sinfulness, but the way he designed males and females to become husband and wife. This one flesh Union is God’s true, good, and beautiful plan for humanity.
5. Gender Identity: 216 Have compassion for those struggling with gender-identity issues and talk to your kids about what it means to be male and female without overemphasizing cultural expressions. 206 Don’t buy the cultural lies
1. Gender is a social construct. Culture’s definition of gender offers no non-arbitrary stopping point. What is the limit of self-identification (gender, height, race, skills)?
2. Culture demands we validate peoples’ thoughts so they can flourish. Culture says not affirming someone in their right to choose their own reality makes you a bigot. However, an anorexic girl has an incongruence between reality and self-perception and it is imperative to help her see the distorted view of herself to treat the emotional and mental health. Only in the case of transgenderism are body altering solutions offered for a psychological incongruence. Human wholeness comes not by denying reality but by conforming to it.
6. Affluence and Consumerism. 226 Depression and anxiety are higher than ever and most troubled adolescents come from affluent homes. Why do you think that is? God did not design us to be takers but makers, we will exhaust ourselves consuming. Keep your own self-indulgence in check and teach your kids to say no the urge to get more things early in life. Teach your kids to budget, involve them in financial decisions, and give generously together.
7. Addiction 241 Drug and alcohol abuse are huge problems in today’s culture. Addiction results from emptiness in the soul, not what is put in the body. Drugs and alcohol can only anesthetize, they cannot satisfy empty souls. Talk to kids early and model self-control. Explain why substances are harmful and teach from real life examples where possible.
8. Entertainment 261 Entertainment is loaded with ideas that shape culture, it is not just obscenity that is the concern. We were made to cultivate God’s good world and too much entertainment will distract us. When watching TV/Movies, pause and ask questions:
1. Main storyline?
2. How are characters portrayed? Who are the heroes? Are they perfect?
3. What is the problem / what is the solution? Contrast with biblical solution
4. What is the good life? What would make them happy?
5. Is religion portrayed? How?
6. Is sex/gender/race portrayed? How about those who oppose?
7. Individual freedom, self-actualization, identity?
9. Racial Tension 280 Culture tells us our identity is linked to our race, but the concept of race has no genetic or scientific basis. There is only one race, the human race. However, we must not fall prey to either the lie that racism is nonexistent or that it is ever present. We must intentionally expose ourselves to other cultures and celebrate God’s diversity of creation without letting the culture control the conversation on race.
4. Christian worldview essentials
1. How to read the Bible 298 Christianity is a revealed worldview and we must immerse ourselves in scripture, not just books or sermons about the Bible.
2. Why to trust the Bible 310
1. Cosmological argument: universe is evidence of a first cause, a creator who must be all-powerful, have great intelligence, and be timeless and immaterial.
2. Fine-tuning argument: the unbelievable mountain of tiny details that, if altered, would make our universe of life on this planet impossible demonstrate a divine creator.
3. Moral argument: love and kindness are virtues because they are grounded in God’s character
4. After seeing the power and character of God, it is rational that he would reveal himself to his creation. The Bible is God’s divine revelation.
3. The right kind of pluralism 321
1. In our culture, the only view of God is the one that claims to be the only true understanding, all religions lead to the same place. However, opposite ideas cannot both be true at the same time in the same way
2. Christianity is objectively true. We must be prepared to give evidence for the existence of knowable truth, God’s existence, Jesus’ resurrection, and the Bible’s trustworthiness
3. We should study other religious views and expose our kids to them early and prepare them for pushback from culture
4. Taking the Gospel to the Culture 335
1. What good can we celebrate, protect, promote, and preserve?
2. What is missing that we can contribute?
3. What evil can we stop?
4. What brokenness can we restore?

[Aaron Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stonestreet, J., & Kunkle, B. (2017). A practical guide to culture: Helping the next generation navigate today's world. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.

"Some Christian parents ... send their kids into the culture headfirst. Others think total protection is the answer, prohibiting their kids from ever dipping a toe in the cultural waters until they're out on their own." - p. 11

Ravi Zacharias: "In some cultures, people love their neighbors; in others, they eat them." - p. 24

Culture is made of: ideas, consequences, champions, artifacts, institutions. - pp. 30-31

The authors claim a surfeit of Roman females due to parents committing infanticide through exposure, and therefore, Roman men converting to marry Christian women, spurring Christianity's explosive growth in the second century. Hard to believe. - p. 41

Bible is divided into four parts: creation, fall, redemption, restoration. - p. 46

Gnosticism claims the physical world is evil, while the spiritual is good. Ministry jobs are good, while everything else secular exists to support that. But God made the world to be good, and salvation has enabled us to redeem parts of our fallen world. - p. 56

We are not called to withdraw from the world, or avoid controversial issues. Rather, Jesus exhorts us to live in the world, as He did, in holiness.
"I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. (That they know you)" - Jn 17:15, 3
"When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked role, the people groan." - Pro 29:2
"Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply here, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find yours." - Jer 29:5-7
- pp. 57-58

"We must talk about certain things, including topics we'd rather avoid. The kids... will grow up, fall in love... Who'll they fall in love with? Are they free to act on all their romantic feelings, even if they're same-sex attracted? Should they attend a friend's same-sex ceremony? What if they're hired for one? Not to clarify cultural issues of our day with the next generation is a dereliction of duty." - p. 62

Moralistic therapeutic deism believes God exists to help people, to make them feel good. God visits their world, and demands nothing of them. This is not Christianity. - p. 65

Worldviews include the following:
1. Origins: Where everything came from?
2. Identity: What is a human?
3. Meaning: What is our meaning and purpose in life?
4. Morality: Who determines right and wrong? How can we fix the world's wrongs?
5. Destiny: What happens when we die? Where's history headed?
- p. 85

Good questions to ask:
•What do you mean by that? (Definitions)
•How do you know that's true? (Substantiation)
•What if you're wrong? (Consequences)
- pp. 88-90

"When [NBA player] Jason Collins announced his sexuality, he was assured that was who he is, but [analyst] Chris Broussard (who questioned the idea of a sexually active gay Christian) heard that his Christian faith amounted to little more than personal opinions he should keep to himself.
[Photographer] Elaine Huguenin cited deeply held convictions about participating in a same-sex commitment ceremony, but according to Justice Bosson [who ruled on the case], she had a civic duty to celebrate her clients' sexual behavior.
We used to talk of sex in terms of behavior, but now it's who we are. The overwhelming message to kids today is that Christian faith isn't as important as sexual inclinations and attractions. Religious belief is mere personal opinion, but sexuality is definitive, absolute, and unquestionable. In today's culture, sexuality is identity."
- pp. 91-95

"Human dignity and equality are concepts taken for granted as givens today, but they grew out of the Judeo-Christian doctrine of the typical vision that God created humans specially and uniquely, and endowing them with eternal value... Today, many want the fruit of human dignity while soundly condemning its roots." - pp. 96-97

James Marcia's four stages of identity formation:
1. Diffusion: no identity
2. Foreclosure: someone else's identity (2nd-generation Christians)
3. Moratorium: exploring but not committing to any identities (too open-minded)
4. Achievement: committed after wrestling with big questions
- p. 103

"Too many find themselves off at college or out in culture facing basic challenges to Christianity they never knew existed. They then assume Christianity cannot hold its own in the marketplace of ideas. The first time they confront arguments for same-sex marriage and naturalistic evolution or against the Bible and the resurrection, they should be with us in an environment where they can find answers. In other words, kids must be taught basic apologetics. But they shouldn't be left to wrestle alone." - p. 105

Three characteristics of young people who find stable identity in Christ, in Steven Garber's Fabric of Faithfulness:
1. A coherent life centered in the deepest convictions about what's is real, true, and right
2. Deeply influenced by mentors who are committed to walking with them through life
3. Belonging to a community that embodies Christian life together
- pp. 105-106

One reason for the high church dropout rate of teens and young adults is the tendency of churches to age-segregate members. this means they miss out on mentors and therefore fail to learn what it means to be part of a community they desperately need. - p. 106

"We're designing technologies that will give us the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship." (Sherry Turkle's Alone Together) - p. 111

Technology lies:
1. I'm centre of my universe: And a disappointing world.
2. I need happiness always: We hawk convenience, efficiency, choice.
3. I need choices: Instead of taking immediate opportunities, we want the next best thing, fostering ingratitude.
4. I'm my authority: This is our world, not God's.
5. I need information, not teachers: Information isn't knowledge and wisdom; grey hair was wise, but now someone out of touch.
- p. 116-9

Recommended device-free zones:
1. The car: safer, captive audiences
2. The dinner table: healthier family, successful long-term
3. Bedrooms: private, intimate
4. Vacations: build deeper relationships
- pp. 120-121

The cinematic history of the adolescent knucklehead:
1980s: teenagers like Ferris Bueller, Marty McFly
1990s: Adam Sandler
Now: Jason Sudeikis, Hangover, adults trying to shirk grownup responsibilities
- pp. 127-128

Worsening of perpetual adolescence:
1. Kids' innocence stolen earlier but they lack the tools to grow up.
2. Marriages are delayed, making it harder for women to withhold supply of sex.
3. They're rarely told that they're wrong or that their feelings aren't reliable: "Don't judge me and I won't judge you."
- pp. 128-129

Aristotle's habits to produce ethical citizens:
1. Love: whatever we are habitually intimate with
2. Longings: imagination
3. Loyalties: devotion of attention
4. Labors: dedicated and focused work
5. Liturgies: order of worship (church calendar)
- pp. 134-138

CS Lewis' Men Without Chests (Abolition of Man):
Head = reason
Belly = desire
Chest = morality
In Chronicles of Narnia's Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Eustace Clarence Scrubb knew lots but could apply little, and so had to practice, repent when wrong, and get help.
- pp. 139-143

Lies of the hookup culture:
1. Everyone's doing it: Percentage has dropped steadily from 1991.
2. Dating is dead: Old-fashioned is good.
3. It's consequence-free: STDs, depression
4. It won't affect future: poor marriages, divorce
- pp. 164-167

Scripture warnings against illicit sexual activity:
1. Sexual immorality (1Th 4:3-4)
2. Lust (Mat 5:28)
3. Adultery (Heb 13:4)
- p. 171

Parents' steps:
1. Be their authority on sex
2. Welcome their sex questions
3. Emphasize yes & no
4. Navigate dating with them
5. Encourage healthy dating: group (not alone) dating, public places, curfew, non-exclusive, parental consent
6. Teach boys to be gentlemen
7. Share our stories
8. Model a marriage
9. Pray & trust God
- pp. 172-176

Cultural lies about sexual orientation:
1. Christians treat LGBTs terribly: Westboro is a minority
2. Gays are born that way: action isn't attraction, twin studies, ex-gays, developmental & environmental factors
3. Gay lifestyle is healthy: little monogamy, STDs, emotional & physical harm
- pp. 182-188

God's story about homosexuality:
1. Violating the creational norm (Mat 19:4-6)
2. Sin (Rom 1:24-28)
3. Self-identity instead of God-given (Gal 6:7-8; 1Co 6:9-11)
- pp. 189-192

Steps to counter affluence & consumerism:
6. Give kids allowances based on household chores
9. Create a family giving box
12. Expose kids to poverty
13. Practise gratitude
- pp. 226-231

How to read the Bible:
Letter: Who wrote this for who and why?
Poem: Appreciate the poetry
History: context, date, recorder
- p. 298