Separate but Equal?

Some of you may not be very familiar with evangelical sub-cultural. Others of you are very familiar I'm sure. For those of you who are less familiar with the protestant/evangelical world, let me fill you in. Those of you that are familiar may want to skip the description below.

In the land of evangelicalism/protestantism there is an 'underground' society. Well, maybe it's not so underground. But if you aren't of that persuasion you would know nothing about it. It involves 'christian' novels, 'christian' music, 'christian' jewelry, even 'christian' mints. (I don't capitalize christian because I wholeheartedly believe that an industry of any kind should not be called 'Christian' as only people can be 'Christians' in my opinion.)

A protestant child, teenager, or adult can live a live completely separate from the rest of the functioning world. Growing up I vividly remember my mom reading only 'christian' novels. As a young teenager I began to read 'christian' novels for people my age. I listened only to 'christian' music for the last two years of high school. I had subscriptions to 'christian' magazines. There weren't any 'christian' movies at the time, so I didn't watch any movies (it was against our 'religion'). Of course the music wasn't as good and the magazine was pretty lame, but I survived okay. I lived a life similar to that of my peers, but it was completely and entirely separate.

What's even more interesting about this subculture is that it almost always imitates American culture as a whole, especially in the music industry. You will almost always find a 'christian' equivalent for any band or artist. These often don't appear until a certain sound has become a hit in the general culture, but the 'christian' knock-offs always show up eventually. For some reason, the protestant/evangelical movement has to have it's own culture, separate from the rest of the world.

So what's the problem?

Aren't we supposed to be 'in' the world but not 'of' the world? I heard that particular argument frequently from my own parents. And I'm not going to disagree with it. I am, however, going to disagree with the common interpretation of it. As Christians we are not supposed to be 'of' the world. We are not supposed to have the same priorities and goals as those of the world. We are to be God-focused. Being 'of' the world means simply that our value no longer lies in worldly possessions or priorities. Our meaning is found in God. As far as I know, the fact that I buy a particular record because it's an amazing record, but happens to not be created by all 'Christians' doesn't mean that I'm 'of' the world. The fact that I marvel at art that was created by someone that doesn't call him/herself a 'Christian' doesn't nullify the fact that it's a beautiful work of art. God can found and appreciated even where He's not explicitly intended to be.

And what about being so not 'of' the world that you're hardly in it? My life paralleled that of my peers in many ways. Even so, there was almost nothing we could really talk about. We could talk about our surroundings and events that happened while we were at school together, but other than that I simply couldn't relate. I had a couple of dear friends, Maggie and Andi. I'm not sure what we ever really talked about, other than regular chatter. Don't get me wrong, I love them both dearly. But I always knew I was the odd man out. I didn't live in their world. I didn't come from the same context. It was impossible for me to understand what they were really dealing with because I lived in a separate world. I wonder what it would have been like if I had been able to relate to them and understand what they were going through. But how on earth could I have shared the love and grace of God with them when I couldn't relate to them?


This separateness often creates an environment of judgement and self-righteousness. If one is surrounded by things that are all 'christian' he or she must be really in touch with God right? If someone is so holy that he or she 'can't' listen to that 'worldly' music or read that 'worldly filth' he must be a better Christian that someone who does right? I'm sure no one would admit to trying to send that message, but that is the message that is often sent. Sounds a bit Pharisaical doesn't it?

God didn't call us to separate. (And believe me, we're the ones doing all the separating.) God called us to love Him, serve Him, and love His people. And I think the world would be a much better place if we had Christians serving and glorifying God in all areas of life rather than just in 'christian' industries. Then maybe people who aren't Christians would be able to experience God in their everyday worlds too.