In ministry and mission, we rightly emphasise the importance of proper and careful interpretation of scripture. This is biblical exegesis. But how often do we sharpen our cultural exegesis skills, to critically analyse and interpret our cultural context?
“How often do we sharpen our cultural exegesis skills, to critically analyse and interpret our cultural context?”
Dr Kutter Callaway has one foot in both worlds. A double PhD in theology and psychology enables him to connect the Bible to the art of understanding our cultural context, particularly through the medium of film and television.
His work offers practical tools for reading culture through a theological lens.
Understanding Stories and Human Longings
There is a common assumption that popular media is negative, unhelpful, and unhealthy. Here’s an alternative Christian answer – embrace cultural media for gospel opportunities.
A large part of cultural exegesis is getting to know and understand how stories work. Kutter approaches it at a basic level, “we are looking for losses and longings.”
“Popular media is tapping into something humans desire, either something their desiring, or something they’ve lost. There is some internal impulse that they are pursuing that they think “yeah, this story connects with me, it resonates with me.””
“Popular media is tapping into something humans desire, either something they’re desiring, or something they’ve lost.”
Instead of rejecting popular culture, Kutter challenges us to “instead say yes, that longing you’re expressing actually originates in how God created you.”
“What are those desires, those impulses – to quote Augustine – where “our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you”? Where do we see restlessness in our society? What losses, longings, desires, and impulses can we see reflected in what our media is producing? And how might that be the starting point for saying, hey, by the way, if you followed that restlessness to its end, you might find something that’s unexpected?”
This is where some of the greatest opportunities for gospel conversations are.
Following Restlessness to Its End
Those surface longings in film, if you follow that restlessness to its end, might lead you to something unexpected. Those deep longings in someone’s heart are often the connection points where God is already at work in their lives.
The above para is a bit repetitive of the quote above it – maybe try: Pressing into the surface longings in film, following where that restlessness takes us, can lead to the deeper longings in someone’s heart. These are often the connection points where God is already at work in their lives.
“Those deep longings in someone’s heart are often the connection points where God is already at work in their lives.”
“This means that when we enter into dialogue with someone about a movie (or a book, TV show, Instagram reel, or any other kind of popular culture), we are simply joining a conversation that God has already started. Sometimes those conversations are overt enough to wake someone up for a radical encounter with God. In other cases, they are far more subtle, more like a gentle stirring from within. Either way, they serve as an open invitation to participate in the ongoing work of God’s Spirit in the world.”
The Doorways of Beautiful, Good, and True
As Christians, we are seekers of the Truth. However, sometimes we find the door is closed to those big conversations about truth, with people unwilling to hear or discuss big spiritual questions.
Kutter shares: “I reorder the verities and I say rather than saying to get to questions of beauty or questions of ‘what is good’, you have to go through the doorway of ‘what is true’. When engaging with our secular culture, contemporary people require you to go through the door of ‘what is beautiful’ before you can ever get to the conversation of ‘what is true’.
“Art and media give us a language, a resource, and an opportunity to engage in conversations about spirituality that are less loaded.”
“Art and media give us a language, a resource, and an opportunity to engage in conversations about spirituality that are less loaded.
“For most people who are used to going to see movies, they’re used to going to see ‘art.’ They’re used to engaging in unfulfilled, even spiritual longings and would often, say there’s something deeply, humanly meaningful about that.”
Themes that emerge from film can expose deep human desires and provide space for rich theological conversation.
Conversation Starters
Kutter shares: “I’ve had many I would say substantive, religious, spiritual, and then specifically Christian conversations with people based on a movie. Now the movie doesn’t do all the work, and rarely is it a one-off thing. If you want to see some sort of development of faith, usually it takes time – multiple conversations. But over time, maybe it’s just the start of an ongoing conversation that could start with a film.”
“I’ve had many I would say substantive, religious, spiritual, and then specifically Christian conversations with people based on a movie.”
“As soon as you start talking about a specific movie you’ve just seen, and start talking about story, and how it connects at a human level, spirituality starts oozing out of the conversation. It is striking to me how easily, not only film, but any well-crafted story can crack open those spiritual conversations that are deep and substantive.”
God at Work in the World
How can we be good interpreters of the world? If we race to conclusions about film and culture, we risk making wrong assumptions about the culture and the people we are trying to reach. We need to first understand our cultural context, keep our eyes open to where God is working in the world and discover how we might participate in that.
