Book Review: Everyday Theology: A Primer for Cultural Literacy by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Charles A. Anderson, and Michael J. Sleasman, eds.
Everyday Theology, a new book edited by Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Charles A. Anderson, and Michael J. Sleasman, offers a fresh perspective on understanding cultural phenomena in the modern West from a Protestant Christian point of view. The book, which is intended as a primer for cultural literacy for Christians, provides guidelines for interpreting cultural texts and trends in a meaningful way.
Vanhoozer, a research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, defines culture as the significant products of human work, including everything from art and music to advertising and technology. He argues that culture communicates a program for making sense of life and must be interpreted as a meaningful text. Drawing on the work of anthropologist Clifford Geertz, Vanhoozer proposes a method of cultural hermeneutics that combines insights from various disciplines with a biblical-theological framework.
The book includes essays that analyze a variety of cultural phenomena, from grocery store checkout lines to rap music and megachurch architecture. It also examines trends such as increasing busyness, blog-writing, transhumanism, and fantasy funerals. By viewing culture as a system of meaning and interpreting it through a Christian lens, Vanhoozer and his coeditors aim to help Christians engage with the wider culture in a more empathetic and consistent way.
Everyday Theology represents a shift in evangelical thinking towards Western culture, moving away from the assumption of a basically Christian society towards a more missional stance. The book encourages Christians to live out their faith fully in everyday life and engage with cultural beliefs and practices in a thoughtful and critical manner.
Overall, Everyday Theology offers a valuable resource for seminary students and church leaders seeking to understand and engage with the culture around them. By providing a framework for interpreting cultural texts and trends, the book equips readers to think more deeply about the world they inhabit and respond to it in a way that is faithful to their Christian beliefs.