Your God is Alive and Well and Appearing in Popular Culture

by John Wiley Nelson

Overview

Is it possible that American Christians hold to two distinct sets of beliefs and values without knowing the difference? One is a Christian set, which is openly affirmed every Sunday; the other is an American set, which is more hidden within the forms of our popular entertainment culture. Through mediums like Westerns, country music, and detective novels, John Nelson explains how we internalize our American values without even knowing it. This book is largely intended for preachers who, of all people, should realize how American Christians internalize both sets of values without understanding the contradictions. The purpose of this book is to help preachers and congregations alike recognize the differences in order to account for them in preaching as well as in the church's life in community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781725235366
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	02/05/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	218
File size:	23 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

John Wiley Nelson is retired and living in Cape Cod. He was formerly Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (1969-79) and Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, New Jersey (1979-98). He is a graduate of the University of Chicago (PhD, 1971). He is a singer-songwriter with eight albums of original music.
John Wiley Nelson is retired and living in Cape Cod. He was formerly Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (1969-1979) and Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Trenton, New Jersey (1979-1998). He is a graduate of the University of Chicago, Ph.D., 1971. He is a singer-songwriter with eight CD's of original music.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 11

Introduction 15

1 American Cultural Religion: The Creed of Popular Culture 19

2 Films: The Classic Wester?Ritual Affirmation of Popular Culture 30

3 Films: The Anti-Western Skeptics in the Community of Faith 56

4 Country Music: The Songs of Popular Culture 87

5 Popular Magazines: Instruction Manuals of Male and Female Identity 111

6 Television: Cultural Religion at Family Worship 137

7 Detective Fiction: Declining Hope for the Future 163

8 Implications for the Church 193

Notes 207

Bibliography 215

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"John Nelson brings first-rate theological scholarship to bear on American popular culture, unpacking operative belief systems in a way that is bound to stimulate the imagination of the working preacher."
—John McClure, Vanderbilt Divinity School

"Nelson is able to see into our lives in ways that illuminate our preaching and our life in religious communities."
—Don Mackenzie, UCC Pastor, Seattle

Editorial Reviews

"John Nelson brings first-rate theological scholarship to bear on American popular culture, unpacking operative belief systems in a way that is bound to stimulate the imagination of the working preacher."
—John McClure, Vanderbilt Divinity School

"Nelson is able to see into our lives in ways that illuminate our preaching and our life in religious communities."
—Don Mackenzie, UCC Pastor, Seattle

From the Publisher