The Heart’s Back Door: Brief Reflections on Worldview Apologetics, Imagination, and Cultural Engagement
Dr. Ted Turnau

The blog is mostly about worldview apologetics, which means essentially, how to get into the web of idols and false beliefs of a non-Christian, and deconstruct it, that is, blow it up from the inside, so that the non-Christian will be open to see the truth of the gospel. It is a very powerful intellectual challenge to unbelief.

But it has its limits. For one thing, it depends on having a non-Christian friend who can reason semi-cogently. Just as the most beautiful painting will not impress a blind man, so the most erudite and elegant reasoning will make no impact on those who just don’t get it. I notice this more and more among my students (I teach cultural and religious studies at a Czech university). They are much more likely to respond to style, feel, image, passion. They are not stupid. On the contrary, many are very, very intelligent. It’s just that they are not attuned to rational debate. They tend to think with their hearts rather than their heads. And a head-first approach often leaves them feeling threatened and defensive. It can become a dead end.

I think the same may be true of the peoples of Latin America. They are famous for their passion, joie de vivre, their intensity. I imagine that trying an intellectual approach can be a dead-end for many of them (especially in countries where “reasonable sounding” people have caused much harm and heartache in the past). That’s why I advocate turning to cultural engagement as an alternative to the standard worldview apologetic. It may be that culture, even popular culture, may be a more fertile field than simply rational argumentation alone. Appealing to the heart through imaginative cultural works may open doors that appealing to the head will not.

There is plenty of culture to engage in Latin America. Each of these countries has a rich cultural heritage, a rich tapestry of imaginative works that just beckons the worldview apologist. Just looking at Argentina alone [where Richard Smith lives], it can boast:

• amazing storytellers like Cortázar and Borges (the Argentineans who gave the world magical realism),
• a treasury of visual arts (including some influential graphic arts and work in comics),
• a thriving film industry (I’ve only seen Man Facing Southeast, Motorcycle Diaries, and Historias Minimas, but now I want to see La Historia Oficial and El Secreto de sus Ojos, too),
• television shows that extend far beyond telenovela territory into police procedurals (Hermanos y detectives, Epitafios), romantic comedy (Ciega a citas), adventure (Terra Ribelle), darker dramas (Entre caníbales), and even incorporating elements of magical realism (El hipnotizador),
• and a music scene that extends way beyond the tango into rock nacionale and folk giants including Atahualpa Yupanqui and Mercedes Sosa, whose nueva canción shaped Latin American folk music as a whole.[1]

These cultural works are carriers of worldview, but they work very differently from rational debate. They do not appeal primarily to the intellect (though many are intellectually intriguing). Rather, they appeal to the imagination, and through the imagination, to the heart. When these works are done well, they touch us and cause us to empathize, to feel and see the world from a different perspective. And the results can transform a person, and a nation.

Because these works are so powerful, and sometimes explore territories such as sexuality, crime, vengeance, and rebellion, Christians often draw back and cut themselves off from them. I believe this is a mistake. While we must be careful not to violate our conscience before God, we also must be careful not to isolate ourselves from the imaginative flow of our cultures. This is, after all, where non-Christians live and breathe and have their being. If we wish to understand those we are to love and share God’s love with, we must be willing to engage the culture. We must engage critically, from a biblical worldview perspective, to be sure. But we must also engage appreciatively, looking for what is good, what draws our hearts in, what resonates with truth and grace (it is there, if you’re willing to look for it). And be watching, listening, reading, and willing to talk about these things with non-Christian friends.[2] In short, consider popular culture a sort of mission field for engaging with the imagination of those who share your culture. So the question, then, is: Are Christians in your culture doing this well? If not, what can you do to help? What’s the next step?

Another question worth asking here is: Are Christians actually engaged not just critically, but also creatively? Are Christians in your country making the sorts of cultural works that would draw non-Christians in? Generally, Evangelicals have a very limited view of what culture is for: evangelism. Cultural works made by Christians must preach. But too often, these kinds of cultural works come across as pushy, sentimental, propaganda, not art. Rather, we need talented Christian writers, artists, musicians, game designers, etc. who can create cultural works that open spaces that invite non-Christians in, not push them out. Good art creates space for asking questions, for exploration, for discussion. It’s not a sermon, but a poem. Not a praise anthem, but a song of hope and lament and celebration all mixed together in a way intrigues the passer-by and arouses curiosity, and leaves him or her hungry to know more. It is a rare gift, and one that deserves to be cultivated within the Christian community.

In these ways, by critically and creatively engaging the cultural treasures around us (both elite and popular culture), we can stumble upon the key to the hearts of our non-Christians friends and neighbors. We can find the elusive back door to the heart, open it, and let the light flood in. And who knows how God can use those openings to expand his glory and his Kingdom?

[1] Unfortunately, piracy has really stunted the development of original video games in Argentina, so the country has yet to make much of a cultural contribution in this medium.

[2] If you want more details on how to do this, check out my book Popologetics. In Spanish, Pop-ologética. And I have short articles that might help here:  http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/advice-pop-culturally-perplexed/ and here: https://www.emw.org.uk/magazine-test/on-being-as-wise-as-serpents/.

My two new books are Oasis of Imagination: Engaging our World through a Better Creativity and Imagination Manifesto: A Call to Plant Oases of Imagination.