Challenge your friend, be generous to your foe: Part one of a series on cultural dialogue

Catholic Review ^ | 2/22/14 | Dr. Bianchi

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The cultural chasm between religious individuals and American society is swelling. On a personal level, I feel distant from the current trends in politics, television, movies, and music. It’s becoming harder for individuals with Catholic sensibilities, for instance, to tune into the Grammys or scan across Yahoo’s headlines without feeling lost.

Amidst the vast difference between my own beliefs and the accepted principles of secular culture, I have been contemplating how we can dialogue with people on the other side. How do we avoid hiding in our own little clique of likeminded individuals? How do we cut through all the angst and biases? How do we share the message of Jesus with others when our basic premises are so different? Over my next three blogs, I am going to share some my thoughts on this daunting task and also critique what I see as a failed approach used by many well-intending Catholics.

I often find myself losing several hours hopping from one blog to the next, and the predominate trend is that authors praise the actions of their target audience and sham members of the opposing side. These types of articles are popular, and the success of online media is measured in clicks. I know that I get a huge boost when I write an article condemning the liberal policies of Obama, the biases of the media, or the crazy antics of Miley Cyrus. Additionally, stories that praise people in our inner circle, such as a feel good story about a Catholic athlete, do just as well.

People like, no love, these types of blogs. There is nothing inherently wrong with them, and looking back, I tend to write in this style pretty frequently. Yet, it’s a problem if this is the ONLY type of content that is generated.

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Jeremiah was that type of blogger.