By far the best book on Culture from a Christian perspective ever written. Building on existing classics (not the least of which is Christ and Culture by H. Richard Niebuhr, summarized within this book), Crouch lays out a clear view of how Christianity has largely mishandled culture in the past by Critiquing, Condemning, Copying and Consuming culture, and argues instead we should CREATE culture. He offers a 'New Vocabulary' when it comes to culture, using sociological language to bring a light a "New way of reading a very old story": the Biblical mandates to create (Gen 1:28). Asking a provocative set of questions, and a guide to creating 'cultural artifacts' that reflect the gifts God has given us in a positive and faithful way. I highly recommend this book! I've only scratched the surface of the amazing content of the book, There is far more to be said, and it's worth reading it multiple times to absorb its wisdom (It is one of the very few books I've repeatedly re-read). This book was so vague and ambiguous, that I had to force myself to keep plodding through it to try to figure out what this guy's worldview was. I am extremely disappointed with it, and his "the Bible's authors [speaking specifically of the Genesis account of creation] didn't intend for the details to be historical", going on to advocate the "scientific theory of the big bang" was just the cherry on top. Ugh. I am fed up with weak Christianity...
What do You think about Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling (2008)?
I haven't actually started reading this yet... My roommate stole it and won't give it back! :)
—mikey
Best book I read in 2008. Lots of original thinking rather than echoing the same old, same old.
—abc123xdc
Eh...kind of boring. George Veith has better stuff on this I think.
—edemer
One of my current favorite books on culture and society.
—lord_viruscide
