Culture in Our Day

Culture is something that we all hold dear. We inherit it from the past, it enriches our present and it can inspire our future. The scale of human culture is a large part of what makes us distinctive among Earth's creatures. From a Christian viewpoint, our immense creativity is part of what it means for humans to be made in the image of God.

Culture can sound like something "high brow", for the elite. However it involves everything that we have and use as humans: our language and ideas, our values and patterns of behaviour, and it finds expression in a vast array of wonderful human creativity: poetry and story, art and music, crafts, science and technology, architecture and artefacts. So culture is all about living life and living it to the full.

One thing culture does is to create a collective memory, passing on the stories of our past. These help us see how other people thought and lived, and how they responded to life’s joys and challenges. So it can remind us that things have not always been like this. That in turn enables us to see that other ways of life can be possible in the future. 

The same happens when we engage with cultures other than our own, say on a foreign holiday, in conversation with neighbours from different backgrounds, or when reading literature or listening to music from around the world. All these open our minds to the possibility of seeing the world, and living in it, in a different way.

Culture can also helps shape our identity. At best, a secure identity can free us up to be enriched by the differences we encounter in others. However, when fear, arrogance or ignorance dominate, culture can also be used to define one group off against another. We see this in today's “culture wars”. The stories we tell – about the past or the present – are not always accurate, or may only reflect one version of events. However, we may find it deeply troubling when these are questioned, provoking angry, even violent responses. Some have even weaponised “Christian culture” in the service of a resurgent nationalism and xenophobia. 

Here are some thoughts on what Journey means to us at St Columba's.

Exploring Further

You will have your own ideas - here are some of our recommendations

EXTERNAL LINKS

Celtic Connections: Glasgow’s annual folk, roots and world music festival celebrates its connections to cultures across the globe. 

Edinburgh Festivals - from science to jazz, books to film, storytelling to art, and not forgetting the "Edinburgh Festival" and Fringe - Edinburgh is a festival city. 

FILM & TV

The Secret History of Writing - (2020) A fascinating three part BBC exploration, from pictograms and the origins of the alphabet through to the impact of computers. Video Link

The Story of Scottish Art - (2015) A four part BBC series by Lachlan Goudie, tracing the development of Scottish art from the Neolithic to the present day. Video Link

Also available as a second-hand book.

For three minutes about Neolithic art see: Video Link

Babette's Feast - (1987) A glorious version of a 1958 story by Isak Dinesen about the transformative effect of food and extravagant hospitality. 

BOOKS

A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor, (2010) explores past civilisation through the objects that defined them. Also available as radio podcasts from the BBC 

The Hare with Amber Eyes – A Hidden Inheritance by Edmund De Waal (2010). The story of the movement of a family collection of Japanese Netsuke (wooden and ivory carvings) over two centuries in Europe.; 

When I was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson (2012). Essays on the place of literature in life, the role of faith and the contradictions inherent in human nature; 

Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill (2010). An engaging advocate for wide-ranging reading revisits literary conversations, libraries and her own bookshelves.