#13 When Dave met a Goliath
On being a disciple that challenges culture
The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland was always on my travel bucket list, and when I visited it a couple of weeks ago, its mysterious coastal beauty did not disappoint.
This wonder of the natural world is located on the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It is famous for featuring about 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns that were formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago, making it one of the most bizarre terrains I’ve ever seen.
Jumping from rocky column to column is like dancing on a coastal playground. It reminds me of the old 80's arcade game Q*bert, where the orange alien jumps around a pyramid made of steps (for anyone under 40, you may want to Google the game now).
Perhaps what makes the area so interesting is how steeped in history, myth and legend it all is. One of my favourite stories is about how the Irish Giant Finn MacCool is said to have built the causeway as a bridge to cross over to Scotland and fight his rival Giant Benandonner.
The story goes that Benandonner had challenged Finn to a battle, and Finn, despite being clearly outmatched, accepted and made his way to Scotland. Upon seeing the size of the other Giant from afar, he ran back home to hide! Finn's wife, Oonagh, stepped in and devised a plan to trick Benandonner by disguising her husband as a baby. When the Scottish Giant arrived and saw the size of the "baby," he assumed that, if his child was that big, then Finn must be enormous and fled back to Scotland, tearing up the causeway behind him as he went! 🤣
Navigating the landscape of culture
As you walk around the Causeway, you are given a telephone-shaped audio guide to hang around your neck and hold to your ear at key points on the journey. The digital narrator acts as a guide to help interpret the landscape you are seeing, reminding you of the myths and legends but then sharing an alternative perspective. He then offers further ways to stoke your curiosity and encourages you to draw your own conclusion.
Having a guide totally changed our experience.
We all need to interpret the signs of the ever changing cultural landscape.
We all need to know how myths might influence us.
We all need to discover a new perspective.
This got me thinking - What if we could become a guide like this for others?
Challenging the myths of culture
On the beach next to the volcanic rock formation (AKA Finn MacCool's bridge), there is a large shoe-shaped rock called The Giant's Boot. Some people believe it is a natural rock formation, while others think it has a more magical meaning. According to myth, the size 93.5 shoe was lost by Finn as he fled from the wrath of the Scottish Giant. As you can see in the picture above, it is uncannily shaped like a pair of Nike Air Jordans!
For every local legend, there is a scientific explanation. The truth is that it is simply another rock shaped by shifting volcanic activity and moulded by the waves of the sea. However, the shoe story sounds better!
The audio guide was great at saying “some people say this”.... (it’s a boot) ”but there is another way of looking at it” (this is a rock). A good guide is always an effective myth-buster. This reminded me a little of the way Jesus taught his lessons.
“You’ve heard it said…”
“But I say….”
I believe we can learn something from this approach when it comes to debunking common myths about faith with those we are walking alongside.
Preconceptions, assumptions, and biases can greatly hinder people from discovering the truth of the gospel. While myths about stones on a beach may be harmless, beliefs about ourselves, our world, or our God that are simply not true can be far more damaging.
For example, there are so many giant myths that people hold onto about Christianity such as…
Christianity is all about following outdated rules.
All Christians are hypocritical and judgmental.
Faith and Science don't mix.
What a tragedy that someone would fail to connect with their creator simply because they never met a guide who was willing to debunk a myth!
But perhaps the most deceptive stories are the ones we believe about modern culture and the promises it offers us. Why? Because people are living their lives by these legends and placing their faith in them.
A cultural narrative can be defined as the “overlearned stories communicated through mass media or other large social and cultural institutions and social networks.” We live in a generation that has been sold out on “overlearned stories” that place fame, money, technological progress, power, or sex as offering the answer to the deepest need of the human heart.
These untrue stories are the real GIANTS in our land.
Buying into the stories that culture tells us is not a harmless pastime like believing a fairy tale; they consume our time, energy, and effort, filling every chapter of our lives.
In order to break this cycle, we have to translate the gospel in the light of how consumed people are by the culture they are so caught up in.
Unless people start to question the narrative they believe, they will rarely want to change or move out of it.
Taking down the Giants
The good news is whether we are talking about Finn MacCool in Northern Ireland or Goliath in the Old Testament, Giants are known to be large, loud, and liars, but they are always limited.
Pastor and author John Mark Comer advocates for an approach to sharing faith that takes the key messages propagated by any culture and tests them against the truth of the gospel. While talking about this in a recent podcast, he quoted a popular sociologist by saying:
“The best way to critique secular culture is to biopsy it.” I really like that word. Think of a biopsy. You just cut out a little piece and you hold it up under the light and put it under a microscope.
We can hold up an aspect of a culture’s version of the good news and see if it becomes fake news when exposed to the light.
As faithful ambassadors of Christ, part of our role is to debunk myths when we have the opportunity through building relationships, engaging in conversations, and making connections. Often, it can be as simple as inviting people to be curious and consider a different perspective.
You’ve heard it said….
But what about this….
Right now the gap between the church and culture can feel as wide as the North Atlantic ocean. What if instead of breaking bridges like Benandonner, we began to build bridges like Jesus?
One simple way to become a bridge builder is to become a storyteller.
As we finished our audio tour of the Giant’s Causeway the digital narrator spoke these meaningful words in his thick Irish accent:
“The Giant’s Causeway is a storytelling place and the greatest way you can honour the past is by continuing to tell the story.”
If you want to become a person who debunks myths and acts as a guide to help others navigate the ever-changing landscape of culture, start by telling your story.
“But perhaps the most deceptive stories are the ones we believe about modern culture and the promises it offers us. Why? Because people are living their lives by these legends and placing their faith in them.” 🤯 This is so true!!