Evangalism and Images

Jesus is the master of Parable. His use of images in presenting stories to many people allowed people at many differing levels of faith understanding to understand a message based on their knowledge. His use of pastoral and religious images allowed people to connect with and understand the the kingdom of God; a concept that is quite alien and unobtainable to most people. In using evangelism today our first need is to understand what people understand of their picture of God and what images from daily life may give a picture of the kingdom of God. We need to understand the culture we live in. In Jesus' time the culture was rather more simplistic than today and people on the whole had a great understanding of the spiritual realm. Today, however in the western world there are many people who have no understanding of or deny any existence of things spiritual. Our greatest area we have access to is that of motion pictures, television and books. Movies such as "The Matrix", "Narnia", and "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" allow the conveyance of biblical and spiritual truths. Books although controversial such as the "Divinci code" allow conversations 'around the water cooler' that would not be possible.
On reflection the use of the current culture has its risks as this quote by Francis Shaeffer comments "looking for meanings in secular books, films and the arts is not the same as endorsing them as wholesome material for all Christians to read or watch. The purpose is not review for Christians, but holding up a mirror for non-Christians to find an element of truth in the books and films they already consume. Someone called by God to be such an interpreter may need to analyse material which includes content that is not particularly uplifting."