How should Christians view the surrounding culture? Do we go to war with it? Do we insist that it be "christianized"? Do we live in an uneasy truce with it?
Two classic books can help us think through these questions. In 1951 Yale professor Richard Niebuhr wrote a book outlining five positions Christians have historically taken on the issue. Thirty years later, Fuller Theological Seminary missiologist Charles Kraft wrote a book to say that the religion vs culture debate was not unique to Christianity. He reduced Niebuhr's positions to four, combining two of the categories. Here's a listing of the Christ and culture positions presented by Niebuhr and Kraft.
Richard Niebuhr's 1951 book - Christ and Culture
Charles Kraft's 1981 book: Christianity in Culture
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