What does the kingdom of God have to do with coffee or sociology or pop culture or diverse publics, including the realm of the stranger? Nothing if the kingdom of God is simply a human projection bound up with privatized affections. But if the kingdom involves Jesus breaking into history and revealing the eternal God in the various quarters of society, then everything. After all, the Bible records that Jesus turned water into wine when they had run out at the wedding in Cana; in fact, it was said of his brand that the best was saved for last. So, if Jesus was concerned for good wine, why wouldn’t he be concerned for good coffee? In his eschatological kingdom, which he inaugurates in his person, the best is indeed saved for last.
Sociology, including sociology of religion, has a vital place in understanding people groups and movements, including the spiritual dimension. Still, the kingdom of God cannot be reduced to a sociological feature within culture. It always intersects and can even be integrated in some manner with the various domains of what makes a society tick. However, the vertical or eternal dimension can never be confused with the horizontal or temporal sphere without undermining both realities. They must remain distinct and yet inseparable, for the kingdom of God to have a bearing on the advance of human civilization, including such spheres as pop culture.
As stated above, the kingdom of God should never be associated with privatized affections. In fact, affections are often very public, shaping a variety of social phenomenon, including pop culture. Our public witness to Christ in what is often termed apologetics must account for the realm of desires and how they shape culture. We must keep firmly in mind that the revelation of the eternal God in and through the person of Jesus on center stage in history serves as the basis for reasoned discourse in the public square on such matters as the desires of the heart. Without this firm basis, what is to keep us from reducing truth claims to mythological constructions that we project onto ‘God’?
This last question is by no means trivial. For one, mythological projections fail to provide adequate support for integrating theology with other disciplines that illumines and develops the respective sciences in a manner that also accounts for greater coherence in pursuit of knowledge of what is real. Moreover, given that God has entered history not only as host but also as guest and stranger, we have the firmest basis imaginable to care for the alien and person in need. As a result, our missional and public theological pursuits must account for the stranger whereby we clothe them and not leave them naked and hungry in the public square. In doing so, we also account for the eternal God revealed in Jesus Christ.
The various articles and exchanges in this issue of Cultural Encounters engage in theological cultural pursuits involving the interface of missional and public theology (George Hunsberger and William Storrar), theology and sociology (Eric Flett), apologetics, pop culture and desire (Theodore Turnau), T. F. Torrance’s Trinitarian theology’s bearing on various domains (Paul Molnar, Gary Deddo, Chris Kettler and Alan Torrance), and the kingdom of God’s import for cultural creativity, including the making of a good cup of java (Katelyn Beaty). Here you will find seasoned scholars and practitioners wrestling with weighty and complex issues that bear upon faith in a public manner. Whether or not you read this issue of Cultural Encounters in the privacy of your room with a cup of coffee in hand or in the public marketplace of ideas, where many sell concepts just to make a profit, be thinking of what difference this issue’s ideas make. Consider what difference they make for the various disciplines and cultural artifacts as well as diverse peoples and publics in view of the fact that the eternal God (and not some figment of our imagination) is reconciling human history and the world to himself in and through Christ Jesus. Everything looks different in view of him.
—Paul Louis Metzger, Editor