Interpreting Your World: Five Lenses for Engaging Theology and Culture

by Justin Ariel Bailey

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2022

Overview

Whether we interpret Scripture or culture, it matters what we do, not just what we think or feel. How do we live with our interpretation, and how do we live it out? This book helps us understand how culture forms us as political actors, moves us aesthetically, shapes the rhythms of our lives, and connects (or disconnects) us from God and neighbors we are called to love. The goal is to be equipped to engage culture with greater fluency and fidelity in response to the triune God.

This short, accessible introduction to the conversation between theology and culture offers a patient, thoughtful, and theologically attuned approach to cultural discernment. It helps us grow our interpretive skill by training our intuition and giving us a slower, more deliberate approach that accounts for as much of the complexity of culture as possible. The book explores 5 dimensions of culture--meaning, power, morality, religion, and aesthetic--and shows how each needs the others and all need theology. Each chapter includes distinctive practices for spiritual formation and practical application. Foreword by Kevin J. Vanhoozer.

Key Features

• Helps to be equipped to engage culture with greater fluency and fidelity in response to the triune God
• Helps to understand how culture forms individuals and connects (or disconnects) from God and neighbors people is called to love
• Explores 5 dimensions of culture--meaning, power, morality, religion, and aesthetic--and shows how each needs the others and all need theology

Contents

• The Meaning Dimension: Culture as Immune System
• The Power Dimension: Culture as Power Play
• The Ethical Dimension: Culture as Moral Boundary
• The Religious Dimension: Culture as Sacred Experience
• The Aesthetic Dimension: Culture as Poetic Project

Product Details

• Title: Interpreting Your World: Five Lenses for Engaging Theology and Culture
• Author: Justin Ariel Bailey
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2022
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 176
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Christianity and culture; Christian philosophy
• ISBNs: 9781540965066, 9781540966056, 9781493437832, 9781493437825, 1540965066, 1540966054, 1493437836, 1493437828
• Resource ID: LLS:NTRPRTNGYRTCLTR
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:58:49Z

About Justin Ariel Bailey

Justin Ariel Bailey (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is assistant professor of theology at Dordt University, working at the intersection of Christian theology, culture, and ministry. Having served as a pastor in a number of diverse settings, his work as a professor explores the ways that culture shapes the practice of Christian faith, as well as the ways that the Christian imagination shapes believers to participate in culture.