Part 2 - Review of Culture Making by Andy Crouch
(Continued from Review - Part 1) The next section is a biblical survey of these aspects of creating and cultivating. Ending with the scene of the heavenly city in the book of Revelation, Crouch speculates that the city is furnished with human cultural goods - things humans have made. This is an insight I had never considered. The translucent gold "clear as glass" is not natural gold, but the work of a craftsman. The stones adorning the city are not raw minerals, but crafted jewels. The "kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it", which refers to human goods made through the ages. Crouch relates this to Isaiah 60 "the ships of Tarshish bring your children" and "the nations shall bring You their wealth". Crouch wonders if the ships of Tarshish might share the harbor with America's Cup champion yachts. Crouch's personal list of "the glory of the nations" includes music of Bach and Miles Davis, green-tea creme brulee, fish tacos, Homer's Odyssey, the iPod and Mini Cooper automobile.
Perhaps Crouch is right in that some human goods will persevere for eternity. Our works will be tested by fire and those done for God's glory will last, while others will be consumed. It's interesting to consider what may stand the fire as a way to determine what goods are truly helpful and glorious now. The iPod enables me to hear glorious music or biblical texts. But it also cuts me off from sounds in nature and isolates me from my neighbor - who will start a conversation with someone with plugged ears? The Mini Cooper may be a fine car, but do cars themselves glorify God? They enable us to go a long way in a short time - but is that something God wants us to do? Should we be more willing to stay home and stay in our local neighborhood so we know our neighbors? If we stayed on our block more, we'd be forced to know our neighbor, depend on each other, and may even learn to love one another. Isn't this the biblical command?
So I don't doubt that some human goods will persist in the New Jerusalem, but my sense is it will be a fairly small pile. When the angels are crying "Holy, Holy, Holy", will anyone really step away from that to plug their ears with Miles Davis on the iPod? I hope not. But will we and the angels join together in Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus"? I hope so.
to be continued in part 3...
See it at Amazon: Culture Making
iPods: like books?
Found your review via Google, and appreciate your thoughtful take on the book.
I wonder if your response to the idea of iPods in the new earth would be different if you considered the way an iPod is like a book. After all, we don't view books as bad just because we can use them to isolate ourselves from others. We might look askance at the fellow who brings a book to read at a party, but most readers know the pleasure of immersion in a book while in the next chair is a loved one similarly engaged.
It seems that the best community is not 24/7 engagement with one another. Perhaps this is also true of the new earth? The constant praise described is not, I think, intended to suggest that God's people will turn their ploughshares into trumpets.
iPods can be helpful
James, Thanks for your thoughtul comment. I agree that the iPod, like all technology, can be helpful if used carefully and thoughtfully. The tendency is for these gadgets to be abused and lead to corruption rather than blessing. But it's not the gadget's fault directly. Apple and other media providers understand humanity's virtually insatiable appetite for the "latest" and "newest" songs and films. They make their money off this tendency. However, this is not a healthy human characteristic and it's not helpful that media companies exploit it. The iPod's popularity is due mainly to its enabling the masses to tie more directly into the flood of media. Some use it for scripture, time-proven classics, Shakespeare, etc. but the phenomenon is due to millions downloading the week's new hits and latest sitcoms.
In heaven, will there be books and media? There will certainly be the Book of Life and others mentioned in scripture. However, with the Word of God Himself available in unveiled glory I don't think anyone will bother with parchment or headphones. Certainly I would think there will be times of private reflection as well as "public" celebration, but the object of that reflection isn't likely to be works of man. We do see only dimly now, so these are just my thoughts, nothing I would attempt to defend vigorously.