Eileen Flynn, religion writer for the Austin-Statesman takes a look at Hipster Christianity, a term popularized by the recent book by the same name. Her opening paragraph might be a provocative for some:
I’ll be honest. I’ve occasionally felt like a square in some Austin churches. I don’t wear vintage clothes or ride a fixed-gear bike or have any tattoos. I don’t shun chain stores or exclusively buy organic, locally grown produce. And when I’ve attended services in the warehouses, bars and homes where these Christians often gather and where the church band sounds like something you might hear at Club de Ville, I couldn’t help but look around and think, “Man, when did Christians get so hip? When did church become cool?“
Flynn is appreciative of McCracken’s perspective. Getting to the crux of the critique, she ponders with him: “In their embrace of the social gospel, did they neglect the soul gospel?” In their efforts to be seen as radical, did they just wind up looking and acting like everyone else?” What do you think? Are you too hip to be holy? Does Hipster Christianity go too far?