I have thought about this issue from the time I was an adolescent:  What does it mean to be in the world, but not of it?  How does that play out in a Christian's daily life?  Practically speaking, how far should we go to engage the culture and the political arena?

Reading other bloggers' thoughts about how we celebrate Christmas in a culture of secularism and materialism has brought it to mind again.

I am an engager by temperament and philosophy.  My goal is to bring our children up with an understanding of why they believe what they believe, not to mention the ability to communicate their faith intelligently to those who don't necessarily share it, or might even oppose them outright.  

The reason I never intellectually doubted my faith in all my growing-up years is because I came to see that Christianity is the belief system that makes the most sense.  It is the best explanation for the daily realities I encounter.  I want to pass that understanding to my children.

Obviously, following Jesus involves a great deal more than mere intellectual assent to truth.  It is a life-consuming pursuit requiring 100% love for and devotion to him as a person.  If it comes down to a choice, it's more important to me that my children want to pursue Jesus than that they are well-indoctrinated.  But I don't think that's an either-or proposition.  I think genuine faith requires mind and heart to be in harmony.  Their hearts cannot fully receive what their minds do not adequately understand.  A philosophically consistent worldview is an essential underpinning for faith.

That said, my children are still very young (ages 9 and under).  They are not yet old enough to think philosophically.  They still need protection from evil.  It's our job as mom and dad to shield and strengthen them so they can engage the world with vigor as they grow ready to do so.  They will learn by watching how we evaluate the messages the world sends.

For example, children's programming...  Most of it is relatively harmless, though time-wasting, brain candy, but subtle messages do come through.  I remember one show in particular--it must have been in honor of Earth Day--in which children went around thanking the sun, the flowers, the trees, etc.  I remember saying to my little daughter, "How silly of them!  Shouldn't they thank the One who made all creation?  He deserves the thanks."  She agreed, of course.

While I see the validity of shielding children, I've also seen what I consider extremism that bans everything not Christian-themed (or even some things that are not "Christian" enough!).  There is value in judiciously exposing children to matter that is not overtly Christian, especially as they get older.  For one thing, even if a work is not Christian it still may contain truth, for all truth is God's truth, as they say.  After all, there is such a thing as common grace, arising from the created order.  The universe is what God created it to be, and even an unregenerate heart can see that there are certain inescapable truths about life, the universe and everything.  "You reap what you sow," etc.  Oscar Wilde, for example, lived an immoral life, yet he was a brilliant writer and his children's stories are excellent illustrations of redemption. 

If you run across something that directly contradicts the word of God, it can become a wonderful teaching opportunity.  Or, if you encounter a mere difference of opinion about external matters (as covered by Romans 13-14), a parent can demonstrate the law of love to his children by being gracious to and considerate of those with whom we may not agree, making them and whether we might cause them to stumble our chief concern.  How badly we, the church, need this humble attitude demonstrated time and again in our midst!  What a blessing our children will be if they grow up to consider others better than themselves, rather than having to put forward their own convictions as unalterably "right" at the expense of another's conscience.

All of this requires a delicate balancing act, not only on our children's behalf, but on our own as well.  There may be worthy aspects to certain programming or literature that are too deeply marred by portrayals of immorality or self-centeredness to be worth our time.  I know I've had to ban some viewing that violated my conscience, given the scriptural injunction to think about things that are pure, lovely, good and true.

Yet I'm still more inclined to keep my subscription to the newspaper and write multiple letters to the editor, than to end my subscription in a huff because of its anti-Christian bias.  Or to do a write-up on a movie that I found objectionable, rather than boycott the film altogether.  I hope my children will do the same:  to engage the world rather than separate from it.  We're pretty much stuck here as strangers and aliens until the kingdom comes fully.  We might as well make the most of the relationships we are likely to have during our sojourn and keep injecting those life-changing ideas into the marketplace!  After all, in America we have opportunities unprecedented in all history to humbly but boldly "speak truth to power" (in the most Christlike sense of the phrase). 

The key word for me is "Christlike."  I haven't always been so in my engagements.  Sometimes I have strayed into belligerance or condemnation.  However, if the impulse to engage is motivated by love, I can't see how it can fail.  Jesus often had strong words for his opponents (most notably the religious), but his entire life, right down to the laying down of it, was motivated by love.  Zeal without love can be damaging to others; but in our Savior's case, zeal was always coupled with love.  (Plus, he had the advantage of knowing what was in a person's heart, so he always had the best prescription for them.)

I know I'll have more to say on this topic at other times, but I wanted to get a post in on it since it was fresh in my mind.  More later, perhaps!