Tilting at the Windmills of Culture

Overview

In his great literary classic, Miguel de Cervantes gave us a wonderfully comedic picture of the legendary Don Quixote, who was a romantic in an age when Enlightenment logic was taking over the world. He was chivalrous at a time when individualism was robbing graciousness from society. He was an oddball who couldn't see or hear well and was ridiculed as an out-of-touch misfit.

But when he dreamed of doing great deeds, was he wrong? Were his exploits mere madcap, or was Cervantes trying to tell us something about ourselves? Is there a way to be a "fool for Jesus" that allows us to be prophetic without becoming either lost in the whirlwinds of our time or defeated into Christian isolationism? Frederica Mathewes-Green explores this in her article "Loving the Storm Drenched."

Table of Contents

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 40:15–24; Matthew 5:1–16; Romans 13:1–7; Galatians 5:22–23; Philippians 2:12–16a; Colossians 1:9–17

LEADER'S GUIDE

• Identify the Current Issue

• Discover the Eternal Principles

—Teaching point one:God continues to shape human society and history, even in a fallen world.

—Teaching point two: There are different theological perspectives on how Christianity can influence culture.

—Teaching point three: Regardless of our theological perspective on the big issues, Christian morality requires that we faithfully serve those in need.

• Apply Your Findings

• Recommended Resources

ARTICLE FROM CHRISTIANITY TODAY

• Loving the Storm Drenched, by Frederica Mathewes-Green (2006, 12 printed pages)

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