Engaging With Culture:Difficult TopicsMarcel LeJeune

What is Culture?

the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time

the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization 

Evangelizing Culture

“The Church, in the very fulfillment of her own function, stimulates and advances human and civic culture.”

-Vatican II, GS 58

Evangelizing Culture

“An evangelized popular culture contains values of faith and solidarity capable of encouraging the development of a more just and believing society, and possesses a particular wisdom which ought to be gratefully acknowledged.”

-Francis, EG

Healing Culture

“It is imperative to evangelize cultures in order to inculturate the Gospel….In countries of other religious traditions, or profoundly secularized countries, it will mean sparking new processes for evangelizing culture, even though these will demand long-term planning. We must keep in mind, however, that we are constantly being called to grow. Each culture and social group needs purification and growth. In the case of the popular cultures of Catholic peoples, we can see deficiencies which need to be healed by the Gospel: machismo, alcoholism, domestic violence, low Mass attendance, fatalistic or superstitious notions which lead to sorcery, and the like.”

-Francis, EG

Called To Evangelize All Cultures

“The concept of culture is valuable for grasping the various expressions of the Christian life present in God’s people. It has to do with the lifestyle of a given society, the specific way in which its members relate to one another, to other creatures and to God. Understood in this way, culture embraces the totality of a people’s life. Each people in the course of its history develops its culture with legitimate autonomy. This is due to the fact that the human person, “by nature stands completely in need of life in society” and always exists in reference to society, finding there a concrete way of relating to reality. The human person is always situated in a culture: “nature and culture are intimately linked”. Grace supposes culture, and God’s gift becomes flesh in the culture of those who receive it.”

-Francis, EG

Each Culture Adds To The Church

“In the Christian customs of an evangelized people, the Holy Spirit adorns the Church, showing her new aspects of revelation and giving her a new face. Through inculturation, the Church “introduces peoples, together with their cultures, into her own community”, for “every culture offers positive values and forms which can enrich the way the Gospel is preached, understood and lived”. In this way, the Church takes up the values of different cultures and becomes “the bride bedecked with her jewels” -Francis, EG

Modern College Culture in U.S.A

The questions we now face:

What is the state of modern college culture in the USA?

What can we do to infuse the Gospel into this culture?

How can we bring the truths of faith to bear on this culture?

What values, notions, and experiences within modern culture on campus, can be highlighted as valuable and good?

The Bad of Modern Culture

Hyper-sexualization

Addiction

Divorce and broken families.

Pornography and selfishness.

Materialistic, Hedonistic, Subjective, Utilitarian + Relativism

The Good of Modern Culture

Bacon

Medical Advances

Tech Advances

More Open to Different Kinds of People

Travel and Communication have made the world more connected

Sustainability within environment

False Devils

“Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice.”-G.K. Chesterton

Defense

We cannot expect to change the culture if we merely focus on what is wrong with it!

To be in the world, but not of the world means we need to be able to redeem that which can be redeemed and build on those things that are still good.

Yet, we still must be wise and prudent about the good and bad within culture.

Never start with behavior!

Probably the topic that we struggle with most right now - MARRIAGE

Told we hate others when we oppose same-sex marriage. We need to frame it as standing for, rather

than against.

Never denigrate the person who you are engaging.

Always be respectful.

Never start with behavior!

Order in Evangelization

There is a “best” orderl in evangelization:

1. Beauty

2. Goodness

3. Truth

This does NOT mean we don’t answer questions or teach. It means there is a “good, better, best” time and place to do it.

Sexuality

Sex outside of marriage.You can’t convince a college student that

sex outside of marriage is wrong before you deal with the fact that they excuse porn.

You can’t deal with active gay lifestyles until you deal with our identity.

Transgender issues (amongst others) are merely a reflection of our other problems.

Life

Life issue we will see come to the forefront rapidly - Right to die

Again – we can’t start with merely being right on these issues. We must start with relationship.

Life issues cannot be won in our culture until we get to the root causes:

What is the purpose of life?

Who are we?

Is my value from who I am or what I do?

Church Scandals

Never try to rationalize or excuse the sins of our leaders.

Think of your reaction when you hear of a terrible scandal. Do you show anger or remorse? You should.

Gaining common ground will give you credibility.

Contraception

This is a root cause of many of our issues today.

It is also a good starting point in explaining the purpose of life and sex.

BUT – it is best for those who already are disciples. Some (but very few) non-disciples may respond to the truth of the matter. But, again – you can’t start with behavior.

Encouraging and Questions

Remember that very few modern people have a good understanding of Jesus or the faith.

They don’t recognize beauty, truth, or goodness.

We must be encouraging in order to be attractive to them.

Ask the Right Questions!

The Leaven

“She (The Church) serves as a leaven and as a kind of soul for human society as it is to be renewed in Christ and transformed into God's family.”-GS 40

The Church Transcends Cultures

“Since in virtue of her mission and nature she is bound to no particular form of human culture, nor to any political, economic or social system, the Church by her very universality can be a very close bond between diverse human communities and nations, provided these trust her and truly acknowledge her right to true freedom in fulfilling her mission”-GS 42

The Beauty of The Catholic Church

Art, Music, Architecture, Literature, etc.

Education

Healthcare

Social Justice

Science

Civil Rights / Law

Fair Trade

Developed Western morality

Lives of the Saints

etc

The Right Questions

QUESTIONS FOR ALL:

Tell me about what kind of role faith played in your family growing up, if any?

How would you describe your idea of Catholicism (or Christianity)?

Who do you look up to? What personality traits are most attractive?

How do you handle the rough parts of life?

What are you passionate about? 

What do you think beauty is?

What do you think goodness is?

The Right Questions

QUESTIONS FOR ALL:

What brings meaning to your life?

What makes you happy?

Would you like to continue our conversation?

Would you be interested in learning more about God, Jesus, The Bible, the Catholic Church, etc?

Do you pray? If so, would you mind describing it for me? If not, have you ever prayed in the past?

Do you believe a relationship with God is possible?

The Right Questions

QUESTIONS FOR NONBELIEVERS (atheists, agnostics, etc):

Can you tell me about the god you don't believe in?

If you have heard of Jesus, what do you know about Him?

What do you mean by describing yourself as ____?

What do you think Christianity adds to the lives of others?

Do you believe in any kind of universal or higher power?

Have you believed in God in the past? If you did and don't any longer, why did you stop believing?

If you did believe in a god, what kind of god would you believe in?

The Right Questions

QUESTIONS FOR NON-CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS (Hindu, Muslim, Mormon, etc):

What are the different ways you pray?

Can you describe what you find most fulfilling about being _____?

Tell me about God? How do you describe God to others?

What do you know about Jesus?

Is there anything about Christianity that you find attractive?

The Right Questions

QUESTIONS FOR NON-CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS:

Could you describe what you believe about Jesus?

Is your faith something your practice every day? 

How would you describe your relationship with Jesus?

Is there anything about Catholicism that you find attractive?

What do you know about the Catholic Church?

The Right Questions

QUESTIONS FOR CATHOLICS:

Can you describe what it means to be Catholic, in your experience?

Do you have a personal prayer life? If so, how do you pray?

Is God someone you would say you have a personal relationship with?

Have you had any kind of moment when you felt particularly close to Jesus? If so, can you tell me about it? If not, have you ever wanted to?

1. Work on yourself first. The only thing we fully control are our own personal decisions. So, if we want to have any influence over culture or see any positive changes happen, we need to work on our own lives first. The only way to do this is to abandon yourself to God's grace.

2. Evangelize, evangelize, evangelize. When we get to heaven, I believe the first question we will be asked is "who did you bring with you?" Jesus' mission statement is "go and make disciples". If we call ourselves His followers, we can't avoid evangelizing - it is a core part of our identity in Christ.

12 Ways To Transform Culture

3. Pray. Then pray some more. Any true transformation will take place in the hearts of others because of God's grace being operative in their lives. Pray for them. Pray for yourself. There is no spiritual power without prayer. Your relationship with Christ is found in prayer.

4. Support those groups which are doing good work already. If you know of groups which already exist and are doing great work in transforming culture, then invest in them. Invest your time. Invest your money. Don't let another opportunity pass you by to put your money where your beliefs are. Also, don't be fooled into thinking we can change culture through politics. Rather, politics is a reflection of where our culture already has gone. Finally, we must also affirm what is still good about our modern culture and try to support those things as well.

12 Ways To Transform Culture

5. Focus on building young adult leaders. Young adults are not the future of the Church - they are already part of it, so we need to make sure they not only stay in the Church but help the Church grow and thrive. We can assure this happens by forming them and loving them. They will also be the primary evangelists (either for Jesus or the culture) of the next generation.

6. Learn from how others have transformed culture in the past. The negative changes in our culture didn't change overnight and neither will the positive changes. We need to focus our efforts in media, education, fine arts, entertainment, etc to offer positive alternatives in these areas.

12 Ways To Transform Culture

7. Dream big. Too many Catholics are fine with the status quo. This is not how God feels. He dreams big and so should we. The entire world needs to be transformed. Where do we start? By taking the next step. I might add that we need to support our leaders when they do the right thing.

8. Use all available tools. The internet, new media, tech, etc. These are at our fingertips now. Use them. Remember how the Industrial Revolution was driven by new technologies. The changes can be either negative or positive. The Church must always answer the "should we" and "how should we if we do" questions when it comes to progress.

12 Ways To Transform Culture

9. Stick to the basics. Most modern people are basically un-churched or de-churched, even if they go to church sometimes. This means they know little (if any) about a personal relationship with Jesus. So, stick to the basics. The best place to start is the Gospel message. Can you communicate it clearly and effectively?

10.Invest your time, energy, and talents in helping others. The best way to transform culture is to make sure you are helping those you have influence with. Family, children, spouses, friends, co-workers, etc. These are the people you stand the best chance of helping make positive changes. Those small changes can lead to cultural trends. So, don't underestimate them.

12 Ways To Transform Culture

11. Don’t Dumb Down the Message! Doesn’t help when we keep the faith the one thing that is dumbed down in our society. Evangelize by being clear, articulate, and smart – with the full arsenal of our tradition. A dumbed-down Catholicism will not serve. 

12. Lead With the Beautiful. Less threatening. We are a beautiful religion. Truth/Goodness make people defensive. You can come to learn to love from beauty. To the goodness of the faith, then to the truth. Look at what Pope Francis is doing by leading with the beauty of a holy life, then lead them to the good and the truth.

12 Ways To Transform Culture

The Beautiful

Pope Benedict XIV (that is the 14th, not the 16th) had placed above the entrance to the so-called "Christian Museum" (mid-18th c.) to indicate its purpose: "Ad augendum Urbis splendorem / et asserendam Religionis veritatem“"To add to the splendour of Rome and to assert the truth of the Christian Religion".