 Sometimes you come across the Gospel in unexpected places. Take, for instance, The Simpsons. Who would have thought when it first premiered that this television show, with its terribly dysfunctional family, would be able to proclaim the Good News? And yet, over its 20 season history (it’s now the longest-running primetime show ever), it has managed to do exactly that on more than one occasion. One author has even written a book, The Gospel According to the Simpsons, that explores just this side of what is now a pop-culture icon.
One never knows what might serve as food for theological reflection. In a recent book, theologian Kevin Vanhoozer invites us to try doing what he calls Everyday Theology. He and his students (who contributed to the book) find grist for the theological mill in the grocery checkout line, of all places! They find “despair and redemption” in the music of Eminem and “visions of hope” in the movie Gladiator. They analyze the role of blogging in contemporary life, as well as a recent trend called “transhumanism” that would blend human and machine (think of the human-form Cylons in Battlestar Galactica or the Borg from Star Trek).
Certainly God and the Gospel are not simply identical with our culture – the abundant life offered in Christ is not the “American dream” or the “good life” for which we envy our celebrities. But as those who are called to in – but not of – the world, we are tasked with what Mary Catherine Hilkert calls “naming grace” wherever it shows up in our world. Of course, I would also add that we are called to “name judgment” where and when it is appropriate to do so. But either way, cultural engagement and analysis are not optional for those of us who would follow the way of Christ.
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