Customer Reviews

Culture Making

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In Part 1 of 3, I found the author at odds with my understanding of what culture is. I almost put the book down. Then after perservering through chapter two I realised that in his mind Culture = Environment. It is critical to understanding to be precise in the use of terminology. My dictionary gives meaning to the word culture I had not considered. In addition to "the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively", culture includes, "the customs, civilization, and achievements of a particular time or people." However, I think it is too great a stretch to see culture and evironment as the same thing; culture includes human achievements, and environment is physical surroundings which humans have to live in. Crouch gives the interstate network of highways as an example of culture. This is too inclusive and only creates confusion. In chapter two the courthouse in included as an example of culture: "The courthouse is just one of a host of spheres of culture." No, it is one of a host of spheres of environment. It is a domain. A courthouse may include many manifestations of culture within it. Something may be culturally significant but that doesn't qualify it to be included as an example of culture. Crouch confesses that he draws heavily on sociology in Part 1. (He asks that he be forgiven by sociologists for his "ham-handedness".) This approach is certainly stimulating and challenging. And perhaps, too ambitious. On the subject of technology and sociology I recommend author Jacques Ellul. There are some gems to be found here, however, for the patient reader. An example is the section, Culture Is More Than Worldview. If only this was the start of the book but we are now 60 pages in. Parts 2 and 3 expand on the distinction between what we believe and value about culture (worldview) and what we create (culture). The first posture is ultimately passive, while the other is active. This is an idea I can run with. It mirrors what God's Spirit has been saying in these days. It is a posture of freedom, to borrow Crouch's phrase, to look, listen, and create, to the glory of God.