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The Native Tourist
reformed/biblical observations on Christianity and culture

Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Authenticity
One of the blogs I check out with regularity is Port to check out the local Portland art scene (which is pretty active and - I am happy to say - very craft oriented).

This quote really resonated with me:

My greatest annoyance is with the art world's meaningless use of the word "Authentic." To me its like the yuppie approved packaging on overpriced ethnic dishes one can find at high end grocery stores. It almost guarantees it isn't the real thing but it's overpriced status intends to mitigate guilt while giving it a patina of legitimacy. To use Greenberg's term it's very middlebrow.

This applies to the use of the term in culture generally.

Many "postmodern" or "missional" churches have glommed onto this term thinking that they are making their churches more attractive to the 20 and 30-somethings that is their target audience.

Too bad they can't see through the shallowness of this word. Sadly authentic is rapidly becoming anything but authentic!