Culture Shock by Ingram

Culture Shock was written by Chip Ingram in 2014 for Christians about topics “we don’t normally discuss” because those are the topics that “polarize (11).” Ingram is the Pastor of a church in California and CEO of the NPO Living on the Edge, a discipleship ministry.

Chapter 1 for Ingram was spent, like Moore’s “Onward’, trying to convince the reader that America has definitely, probably permanently, changed for the worse. He chalks this up, through careful explanation and example, to the forsaking of absolute truth. This seems likely, considering we can observe the same America doing what it thinks is right, not what God says is right. Logic and intellect have now trumped any awareness or caring for the divine, real or imagined.

Why is this? A deeper reflection on the cause is underlined in the next portion. In the nearer past (millennia), Satan had Christians easily under his thumb using the ignorant system of the Catholic Church. Upon the reformation however, and in the invention of the press, people began to read/learn for themselves what God said, and that it did not match up to what they were taught. No sooner had this revolution begun though, then Satan again used one of man’s interests against him: the desire to know. The enlightenment began, and with it, a shift towards focus on reason. Whilst reason assists learning about God, it can trip those who focus on it solely. There were several more movements before this age, but this had begun the man-centered era. As long as we were put at the core, God could not be there. And if He’s not there, or anywhere, why would we obey/believe Him?
Ingram spends the first pages proving America has gone through a sexual revolution in the last century. From statistics to media, that fact is undeniable. Much of this has been caused by media. Even more has been caused by the churches shocking lack of teaching on the subject since the Reformation. Without moral society to keep debauchery at bay, sexual-ism fills the void solid Biblical teaching should have ages ago. Ingram debunks several myths about sex throughout, including that “God is anti-sex (53).” Another important one is that “Christians sex lives/view of sex is out of touch.” Surveys show that married couples have intercourse much more regularly than unmarried people. These two myths have several conclusions that can be applied later in the book, like “God prohibits all sexual relationships outside [biblical] marriage (61).”
Like other chapters, Ingram starts with the presuppositions of both sides and explains them further. Much of modern homosexuals opinions are based on the incorrect assumption that homosexuality is good and healthy. The likelihood of early death is much higher, and the number of public Homosexuals is much lower than they say. As befits logic, the information that contradicts that assumption makes up the Christians first few suppositions: Sex is expressed only in marriage between a man and woman, and anything outside that is immoral. One of the major failures of Christians is communicating these facts with love. Seeing homosexual practices as part of the larger list of unacceptable sexual behavior would probably help us in that. One other major theme Ingram hit on is that homosexual attraction is not the same as practicing it. Just like lust, pride, or anger, people/Christians must learn to react to homosexual attraction correctly.
Chapter 5 launches the discussion on Abortion. So that we’re all on the same page, Ingram carefully explains the presuppositions behind bother parties positions. Both originally centered on, and revolve around, the definition of what is in a mother before birth. If we, as Ingram does, use Harvard’s “Criteria for Death/Life”, one must agree that what’s in a mother before birth is indeed a baby. Once that was proven by science though, and Pro-Choicers presupposition destroyed, that had to change tactics. Now, the focus is not on the in-humanness of pre-infants, but the right of the mother to prioritize her health and values. Though still wrong, “choicers” continue to deceive large amounts of women, even ones who claim Christianity (63%!). There are many things we can do to combat this, but first we must be burdened.
Ingram explains our responsibilities through 6 precepts from scripture. Something as simple as the earth being Gods has some practical applications for our treatment of the environment. But Ingram doesn’t stop there, he also explores our exact role as co-regents of the planet. Something as clear as denouncing strip mining may need to be done by Christians. Considering the Earth Mother movement, Ingram also had to combat that foolishness with verses about our Father – “we must enjoy, not worship, the earth.” Ingram also touches on how environmentalism effects concepts like abortion. Care for the things in the earth should never be prioritized over the sacredness of humanity. In precept 5, its pointed out that God warned Israel off many things, supposedly for religious reasons, though they also kept them healthy and respectful.
I am glad Ingram defined the stance of two polar-opposite views, because Christianity is always about balance. And instead coming down hard, even in the middle, he shared biblical reasons we should land where we do. His 4 reasons/absolutes were: there’s two conflicting kingdoms, Christians are part of both, governments are to restrain evil, and the church isn’t the same as a Christian. These scripturally supported truths are enough to guide any Christian in their relationship with politics. However, Ingram applies them in these 6 ways. (1) Let the Church be the Church. How? (2) By Praying for the church. (3) Preach and teach Topically. “Teaching Gods values help individual Christians develop Biblical convictions about moral issues…(212).” (4) Live the life God meant you to. “…transformation of the heart always precedes lasting transformation of the culture (213).” (5) The government isn’t supposed to do the same things the church is. And (6), Don’t expect the corporate church to do
the peoples job.

Strengths and Weakness’s
I liked Ingram’s book for two reasons – his approach made it clear that he was attempting to bring information to the ignorant, and maybe conviction. His goal was not to cause tension between any parties. I also liked that his work was easy to follow – he laid out his arguments simply, and succinctly. But best of all, they were biblical.
As far as weakness’s, the only thing I don’t think was necessary was Ingram’s application on environment. It seemed like he was suggesting to get involved just so that you can say you are.

Relevance
I already shared much of what I learned from ‘Culture’ with my wife and Facebook Community because it was insightful and applicable. Something I was personally “convicted about was that I have done next to nothing, as a minister, to curb this movement. I plan to ‘prayerfully consider the part I need to take in preserving the sanctity of human life (Ingram, 161).’”

To listen to an Interactive-Style Lecture Series about Culture recently completed by the author of this blog, click here.