Friday 6 February 2015

Greg Forster on Christian Joy and Cultural Influence


Greg Forster, Joy for the World: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It (Wheaton: Crossway, 2014).

Greg Forster covers similar ground to others on cultural engagement, but is distinctive in naming ‘joy’ as Christianity’s central contribution to society – where joy is ‘the state of flourishing in mind, heart, and life that Christians experience by the Holy Spirit’. Looking first at how we are formed through an integration of doctrine, devotion, and stewardship, he then explores three areas – sex and family, work and the economy, and citizenship and community – reflecting on how Christians can bring the gospel to bear on every dimension of life. As Forster says: ‘Seeking to have an influence in our civlization does not imply captivity to the culture. It just means we’re answering the call to be good disciples within our spheres of influence.’

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