A Lesson from the Early Church on Engaging Today’s Culture | Dr. Larry Hurtado
What can we learn from the early Christians to help us engage the culture today? Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason interviews Dr. Larry Hurtado, author of “Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World.”
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://www.str.org/w/dr.-larry-hurtado-destroyer-of-the-gods-early-christian-distinctiveness-in-the-roman-world
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"…these early Christians of this period had to think for their lives." -Eric Osborne
"I think Christianity was good for Western Culture, but I don't think Western Culture was good for Christianity."
There's certainly some truth in that. Of course, there's always a danger of Christians being negatively influenced by the culture they are in. That Christianity became a major part of Western Culture merely added another potential wrinkle or dimension to that always present danger.
And while it could be considered a good thing for Christianity if that connection is lost, if Christianity was indeed good for Western Culture, then the severing of that link is bad for Western Culture, and is something worth lamenting.
In other words, a potential severing of Western Culture from Christianity ought not be viewed as a simple "good" or "bad" thing. It is a mixed bag. We should welcome positive elements, and lament negative ones.
"I think Christianity was good for Western Culture, but I don't think Western Culture was good for Christianity." Well said. I lament all the time I've wasted thinking of myself as an American, a liberal, a conservative (yes, I've been both), a white person, a Lutheran . . . anything other than a follower of Christ and a brother to fellow believers everywhere. For the Early Church, that was enough; and they changed the world without ever joining a cause, endorsing a candidate, or casting a single vote.