After reading chapter 8 of Imagine, I honestly feel a little bit confused. But I think it is just because I am not very familiar with artists like U2 or Bono. I think that Turner is trying to get his readers to understand that no matter what your talent or your passion is, you can still impact people and point them towards Christ. Turner uses examples of songs and lyrics from U2 and Bono, both groups/artists that portray music in the rock world. Most people would hear the term "rock" and immediately assume something other than religion or Christianity. The stereotypes that come along with rock music in our world today do not typically include things about life lessons and redemption. So I think Turner wants us to realize that we can accomplish our goal of getting others to Christ, no matter what our talent is. And it does not even have to be straight up CHRISTIANITY or whatever the case is. It can just be something like a "hidden message" or something like a metaphor. Just because music (or whatever your talent is) does not scream the word Jesus, that does not mean that there is not a lesson to be learned. You have to open up and be willing to see abstract ideas that are not placed directly in front of you. Be willing to search for things, and be willing to follow where they lead you.
I think the biggest thing that impacts me in chapter 8 is when Turner writes "Christ showed particular concern for the weak, poor, bereaved, alienated, exploited and marginalized, and it is right to expect to see that concern reflected in the art of his followers." I think this impacts me because it is not necessarily directed towards one person or one type of work. This quote goes for every person that sees a need to make the world a better place. It is calling those who want to make a difference - whether Christian, atheist, gay, married, single, old, young. It just shows that Christ paid special attention to those who were less fortunate than he was. He did not care about personal background, popularity, wealth, etc. He only cared about the fact that they were in need of something. And he wanted to do something about it.
I think what we can all take away from this quote is that if we call ourselves true followers of Christ, we can't just sit back and watch the world stay the way that it is. We have to get out and be active and try to make a difference as much as we can. Jesus focused on those who needed something - whether it was clothes, money, a friend, food, healing, etc. - and that is what we should do too. If we want to help someone in some way, we need to put ourselves out there and do everything that we possibly can in order to get that person closer to Jesus. I'm not saying that we have to hammer Christianity into other's minds, but we do have to realize that whatever we do for the less fortunate, we are doing for God. And we can just hope and pray that the person we are helping can see that too.
I think the biggest thing that impacts me in chapter 8 is when Turner writes "Christ showed particular concern for the weak, poor, bereaved, alienated, exploited and marginalized, and it is right to expect to see that concern reflected in the art of his followers." I think this impacts me because it is not necessarily directed towards one person or one type of work. This quote goes for every person that sees a need to make the world a better place. It is calling those who want to make a difference - whether Christian, atheist, gay, married, single, old, young. It just shows that Christ paid special attention to those who were less fortunate than he was. He did not care about personal background, popularity, wealth, etc. He only cared about the fact that they were in need of something. And he wanted to do something about it.
I think what we can all take away from this quote is that if we call ourselves true followers of Christ, we can't just sit back and watch the world stay the way that it is. We have to get out and be active and try to make a difference as much as we can. Jesus focused on those who needed something - whether it was clothes, money, a friend, food, healing, etc. - and that is what we should do too. If we want to help someone in some way, we need to put ourselves out there and do everything that we possibly can in order to get that person closer to Jesus. I'm not saying that we have to hammer Christianity into other's minds, but we do have to realize that whatever we do for the less fortunate, we are doing for God. And we can just hope and pray that the person we are helping can see that too.
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