Church and Culture (2)

When we discussed the first part, one Pastor asked, “can a belief in other things equally be considered as a culture?” The question was so important that I deemed it right to answer it in today’s article. Thus, the nature of the question demands that we clearly set out what is meant by the term culture. Culture is the way of life of a community or group. Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization” (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, n.d.).  In its broad sense, culture encompasses beliefs, language, food, customs, and many more. Culture defines people, and it also varies from one people group to the other. It changes and advances. Thus, culture is not static but evolves as time goes on. The social, political, and even religious beliefs of people show the makeup of their culture. One can see the trait of a person and may identify his or her culture. The language a person speaks, the particular food one eats, attire one wears, and beliefs usually help others to trace a person’s culture.

 Every society has its own culture because there exists cultural diversity all over the world. There are some generally accepted norms and beliefs in the world which is not confined to a particular society. Nevertheless, cultural variation exists all over the world and it shows uniqueness in the world. Thus, as one moves from society to society, one may encounter a different set of customs, beliefs, and practices. Even those practices and beliefs which may be similar may be considered differently by different people groups.

There is therefore a direct link between culture and religion (belief system). This is, religion in itself has its practices, beliefs, and values. Coming from this perspective, it becomes clear that religion has a cultural dimension because, it shows a way of one’s perspective, values, beliefs. The gospel of Christ is what makes Christians. One cannot confess or profess to be a genuine Christian and neglect the gospel which has been discussed.

The gospel calls people to faith in Jesus and a life of holiness. It calls men to respond to God’s gracious dealing with mankind in Christ Jesus. To this end, the gospel in its broader sense therefore prepares and trains believers how to think soberly, behave rightly, and rely on God alone. It shapes Christians. From what has been said, it is safe to conclude that the Christian community has their culture—they have their “set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices.”

As it has been seen that the gospel and Christianity at large have their own cultural dimension, it is appropriate to consider the tension of the cultural dimension of the gospel and the world at large and examine the conflicting point. In doing this, clarity would become easier. At the time where the Romans were still running the world, the church was birthed. The gospel spread starting from Judea and even reached the ends of the earth. Nonetheless, before it went into the hinterland, God’s Spirit empowered the fearful disciples of Christ to share the gospel to those who had come to celebrate Pentecost in Jerusalem. The gospel gradually spread in the Roman Empire.

The gospel reached the Gentile land even when the apostles were alive. However, the Second Century Church witnessed something different. Thus, the church was mainly Gentiles, and at this time, the Christian gospel seems to be offensive to the belief system of the Empire. As it was discussed the last time, the Roman religion was closely intertwined with Roman life, education, government, and the economic aspect of the Empire. One cannot separate religion from the Roman community. This was why Christians stood aloof in a lot of things in their time. Back to the question that Pastor Roland asked, I believe the answer is yes. A belief in other things can equally be considered as a culture because the belief system would define how the person lives, what he or she prefers, and sometimes, how he or she dresses. From these, one can conclude that believing in other things equally has cultural dimensions. Soli Deo Gloria

Michael Yaw Tano

tanomichael65@gmail.com

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