Culture or Faith?

General Christian Theology
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Bootstrap
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Affiliation: Mennonite

Re: Culture or Faith?

Post by Bootstrap »

Ernie wrote:
KingdomBuilder wrote:Obviously one could argue the point that Christianity is indeed a culture (or at least subculture), but what I'm talking about is the deliberate clinging to ethnic and social cultural aspects.

Our identity is supposed to be in Christ- not the geographical region of Europe from which we came, not our traditional occupations/ past times, not our ancestors language, and most importantly, not solely with people who share these aforementioned things with us.
Deliberate clinging to ethnic aspects is something very human. People groups all over the planet do this naturally. The NT writers encourage us to mature out of this.
I agree. And this is the danger I see when people treat building a culture as a goal of Christianity. In the New Testament, I think it is more accurate to say that building unity across cultures was the goal that was stressed.

Perhaps living out our faith does build a culture - but what does that culture look like, and how is it different from ethnic cultures? I think this is a good summary of how the New Testament calls us to live:
“True evangelical faith is of such a nature it cannot lie dormant, but spreads itself out in all kinds of righteousness and fruits of love;
it dies to flesh and blood;
it destroys all lusts and forbidden desires;
it seeks, serves and fears God in its inmost soul;
it clothes the naked;
it feeds the hungry;
it comforts the sorrowful;
it shelters the destitute;
it aids and consoles the sad;
it does good to those who do it harm;
it serves those that harm it;
it prays for those who persecute it;
it teaches, admonishes and judges us with the Word of the Lord;
it seeks those who are lost;
it binds up what is wounded;
it heals the sick;
it saves what is strong (sound);
it becomes all things to all people.
The persecution, suffering and anguish that come to it for the sake of the Lord’s truth have become a glorious joy and comfort to it.”
If that's not what we look like, our nice religious cultural markers are irrelevant. If that is what we look like, we don't have to wear the same clothes or have exactly the same practices. Putting faith in our external religious culture looks an awful lot like what Paul called "confidence in the flesh" in Philippians 2.
Philippians 2 wrote:Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Mennonites, Evangelicals, and other Christian groups all have our own versions of confidence in the flesh, closely linked to our religious culture. I think most of us have a pretty good idea what a "Mennonite of Mennonites" or "Evangelical of Evangelicals" looks like, and what it looks like to have "confidence in the flesh" in these traditions.
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Josh
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Re: Culture or Faith?

Post by Josh »

Ernie wrote:But ironically those who are dedicated to not being too cultural are often those who set up a different culture that is just as exclusive of anyone who doesn't think like them.
I agree. In my experience, Holdemans are quite conscious of the need for a Christian culture to exist whilst at the same time realising what is a Christian culture will vary from place to place.
Since setting up a culture is part of being human, my vote is to make the culture as good as we can, rather than try to convince ourselves that we don't have one or believe in one.
I agree with this, too. I think it's educational to look at a plain church that has sizeable congregations with indigenous ministers and see how they deal with applying the same overall church doctrine and practice to very, very different cultures.
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