Culture: A Wall Around the Family
The Battleground
Families are the sacred social institutions that God created to give shape to the beginning of each person’s life. While children are being formed and shaped by the family, the family is being influenced by culture. Culture is the environment that surrounds the family. It determines what is normal and acceptable. It sets limits. It contains the images, ideas, and language crystalized by past and present generations in art and stories. There is no escaping culture and no preventing it from effecting a family because it is the thing that connects and flows between all families and all people. Follow this metaphor a little further…
GOODNESS
If culture is the environment that surrounds the family then a culture without goodness is a swamp. Without goodness, the ground can suddenly swallow you up, predators lurk in the shadows, and disease can spread from the smallest wound, it becomes incredible to believe that anyone would step outside their comfort zone to help others. Simply growing up in a culture that magnifies evil and often portrays it as good is psychological abuse that leaves children untrusting and cynical.
TRUTH
Culture without truth is a forest without light. In the pitch black where every tree appears the same, it is so easy to get lost. People drift apart without realizing it. They cling to what little light they have, even if it is not enough to live by. Children and adults alike become easily mislead by anyone who is willing to manipulate them with half truths.
BEAUTY
Culture without beauty is a desert without water. We were made to be nourished by the authentic beauty of God and His creation but when the culture of the world distorts and manipulates what should be beautiful to serve it’s purposes then beauty becomes a mirage. People wander far and wide, gasping for beauty but when they arrive at what they were seeking they are no more fulfilled, just thirstier and ready to gulp down whatever substance is offered to them, even if it hurts them.
THE WALL
Without a culture built on the fullness of truth, goodness, and beauty, families will suffer in the wasteland. But a culture that cements those things in stories, artistry, customs, and buildings will be like a strong wall around a great city. A city wall provides both protection from attack and a vantage point to see what lies beyond, as well as gates and roads to venture out, to reach more people, and bring them into the life of the city. That is what tektōns are building.
No Easy Task
In a war for the culture, the creative class is the warrior class. Tektons are creative catholic men who live by a code of honor. We are going to build the wall, no matter what. But we could use your support.