About Popular Culture

I am doing some reading about popular culture and found these quotes in Popologetics: Pop culture in Christian  Perspective, by Ted Turnau

If "religion is the opiate of the people", then immersive multiplayer 3D virtual worlds are hard-core Afghani heroin. (Bruce Stirling)

Anyway, I stopped going to churches and got into a different kind of religion. Don't laugh. That's what being in a rock 'n' roll band is. Showbiz is shamanism, music is worship. Whether it's worship of women or the designer, the world or its destroyer, whether from that ancient place we call soul or simply the spinal cortex, whether the prayers are on fire with a dumb rage or dove-like desire, the smoke goes upwards to God or something you replace God with--usually yourself. (Bono)

What does this mean for Christian mission in the West?

Violence and Religion

Is there a connection between adherence to a religion and the amount of violence you are willing inflict upon others? At face value, at interesting piece of research from the Pew Research Trust seems to suggest, yes (see the link below for the full report 91 pages long!) The report does report on violence of various religions upon people of other religious and on non-religious people. However, it also covers violence against religious people. Because of their relative sizes Christianity and Islam have the largest numbers of adherents having violence perpetrated against them.

I did read the whole report and did not find one reference to Christians perpetrating violence against other. Almost all were describing violence upon Christians. Turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39)

http://www.pewforum.org/files/2014/01/RestrictionsV-full-report.pdf