Thursday, March 5, 2009

Are "Christian Hipsters" Christian?

Via Vinegar and Honey, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised to learn about "Christian hipsters" at Andrew Sullivan's. So, who are these folks, and more importantly, what do the stand for? Not much, actually, at least in terms of Christian moral traditionalism:

A "Christian Hipster" as described in this article merely describes a person who both believes in Christ and explores the world for themselves, rather than taking their Pastor/Mother/Father/Dobson's opinion as unquestionable. I don't resent being lumped in with what should be a larger portion of American believers. I revel in it!
Mother/Father? Geez, and that's not all: "Are You a Christian Hipster?"

Christian hipsters don’t like megachurches, altar calls, and door-to-door evangelism. They don’t really like John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart or youth pastors who talk too much about Braveheart. In general, they tend not to like Mel Gibson and have come to really dislike The Passion for being overly bloody and maybe a little sadistic. They don’t like people like Pat Robertson, who on The 700 Club famously said that America should “take Hugo Chavez out”; and they don’t particularly like The 700 Club either, except to make fun of it. They don’t like evangelical leaders who get too involved in politics, such as James Dobson or Jerry Falwell, who once said of terrorists that America should “blow them all away in the name of the Lord.” They don’t like TBN, PAX, or Joel Osteen. They do have a wry fondness for Benny Hinn, however.

Christian hipsters tend not to like contemporary Christian music (CCM), or Christian films (except ironically), or any non-book item sold at Family Christian Stores. They hate warehouse churches or churches with American flags on stage, or churches with any flag on stage, really. They prefer “Christ follower” to “Christian” and can’t stand the phrases “soul winning” or “non-denominational,” and they could do without weird and awkward evangelistic methods including (but not limited to): sock puppets, ventriloquism, mimes, sign language, “beach evangelism,” and modern dance. Surprisingly, they don’t really have that big of a problem with old school evangelists like Billy Graham and Billy Sunday and kind of love the really wild ones like Aimee Semple McPherson.
These guys sound like "Christian leftists" (or "moral pussies," frankly). Notice how pretty much the entire "hipster" spiel mounts its attack on Biblical literalism and right-wing theological traditionalism, especially of the post-Reagan-era variety.

The problem here is that when folks move away from contemporary evangelicalism or charismatic ethical doctrines, "Christian hipsters" shift from eternal moral standards and ethical rationalism to a loose self-reverential standpoint. That is to say,"Christian hipsters" are opposed to a moral hierarchy of ecclesiastical goodness, and are hence less rational since their theology is based on subjective wants rather than on objective standards of righteousness.

Or, if you're not a "Christian hipster," you're a "Christianist."

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