Knockoffs, part 3

Nobody cares about some old, strange Egyptian dude?? That’s OK. I’m accustomed to hearing crickets in the background of my life.

Knockoffs, part 1 – Sometimes it is a really bad idea for Christians to borrow and use stuff from the secular world around us.

Knockoffs, part 2 – Sometimes it is appropriate. Even God saw fit to include borrowed secular stuff in His word.

So how do we know when we should or should not borrow and use secular words, ideas, and products? Here are a few thoughts. But hang with me – my train of thought is getting ready to take a detour.

Howard Gardner is a brilliant scholar at Harvard and is most well known for his work in the area of “multiple intelligences.” He has many important things to say about how we should measure and develop intelligence as well as how we ought to be educating our children. Regarding curriculum, Gardner says specific topics make little difference. Rather, as a rule, we ought to focus teaching our children about issues of truth, beauty, and goodness. This isn’t the focus of Gardner’s work, but I remember hanging on those words as I read them years ago.

The true, the beautiful and the good.

I think that could serve as a pretty good standard to use in judging which secular material to borrow and which to leave alone. As we attempt to connect with and communicate the gospel to an unbelieving world – let’s borrow the stuff that is true, beautiful, and good.

Let’s find, understand, and apply truth wherever it is found. In my own field of psychology and counseling, there are too many findings supported by scientific data for me to just ignore. Even when non-Christians stumble across truth, we should recognize and make use of it.

Let’s appreciate and incorporate beauty wherever it is found. Artists and musicians may not give credit their Creator, but that’s doesn’t mean we don’t have to.

And let’s recognize, support, and participate in goodness wherever it is found. There are many worthwhile activities and organizations that we should value despite their non-Christian origins or lack of explicitly Christian messages.

I wonder if this strikes a chord with anyone or seems useful to anyone else but me. But it seems to be helpful in judging the appropriateness of some Christian knockoffs.

Like Christian breath mints. Are they true, beautiful, or good? I think not. But is it OK for me to appreciate Eric Clapton? Probably.

Rather than making my own list of secular things that are either true, beautiful, or good, I’d like you to offer your own suggestions. I’m nervous to make that kind of request – I wonder if I can hear the crickets warming up again. But I’m asking anyway… Can you think of secular things that are worth appreciating, borrowing, using, and participating in because they are true, beautiful, and/or good? (Extra credit will be given if you can give an example of each.)