by Ben Llewellyn-Taylor

For most of my life, Christianity defined my experiences of meaning-making in this world. I was raised in the church, came to my own beliefs in high school and college, and shaped my understanding of the world around mine and others’ interpretations of the Bible.

When I began to understand that my worldview was shaped by more than just Christianity, I wondered if it was dangerous to my faith to allow “outside”—that is, “non-Christian”—influences in. After all, outside influences were made out in my faith communities to be a no man’s land of sin and corruption. While all of my youth group friends in high school were listening to Relient K and Switchfoot, I was mining the lyrics of Manchester Orchestra and Bright Eyes. Of course, I also listened to the heavier Christian bands, but I felt far more rebellious wearing a Say Anything tee to…