Julie and I were discussing this last night.
Julie: “Why does every evangelical Christian listen to Coldplay? It’s shitty art!”
Me: “It’s innocuous, that’s why they like it.”
Julie: “But does innocuous mean you should listen to it? It doesn’t make you think or make you feel any way other than just kind of numb. All of my Christian culture friends have Coldplay on their Facebook profiles.”
I think she makes a decent case.
*For the record I don’t think Coldplay is outright shitty, I just think it is sort of uninspired yet highly listen-able. A bit like Christian culture.
Christian culture sends many emails and Christmas cards that are written as if they are from a baby. This is considered funny and/or cute. Here is an example of an average message that a Christian culture baby would write:
Emma wants to tell you…that she’s going to be turning 1! She (and mommy and daddy) are praying for a healthy birthday and thanking the Lord for this brand new year in the life He created!
Love,
Emma (and mommy and daddy)
Now I’ll be buggered if 11-month-old Emma can
1. type
2. pray
3. anticipate a birthday
But Christian culture seems to find it so absurd that it is funny. This is a hallmark of membership.
If you see someone with a Day-Timer there is a 76% chance that they identify themselves as an evangelical Christian. Christian culture uses Day-Timer brand products to organize their schedules and the brand has become a sort of speakeasy among them. In them you are likely to find times of Bible studies, people witnessed to, copies of “Bridge of Life” tracts, and prayer lists. Day-Timers are often seen with men at McDonald’s or a donut shop who have their quiet times there on a daily basis. (‘Quiet times’ will be further discussed in a future post.)
