Author's note: I wrote this a long while ago. By the site tracker at Blog-city, this was THE most popular post I had and it wasn't that easy to find, except for my bumping it very infrequently. I hope you enjoy it. I hope you share your thoughts.
Christians are challenged by the Great Commission, the charge of Christ to share the peace, love, and joy we have found through Him.
Now, some might point out that many Christians haven’t gained all that. True. But many have. Whether right or wrong, I try not to “witness” when I’m feeling distraught about my faith. What kind of a witness would I be for a friend if I went before the court all depressed or angry or agitated?
That’s not to say that I’m in perfect synchronicity with life and God’s will at this moment. I am sort of muddling through on a whole host of fronts. However, the general tone of my existence lately is of peace. Writing these articles is reaffirming to me.
So, if I go to…I don’t know…Cambodia (first place that popped into my head and I had a couple of friends from there), and start witnessing, what would I expect?
First, I would not expect them to give up their gloriously beautiful culture. In fact, I had a friend from China who converted. Amazingly, she came to me. I’m not sure I’d be the first person on my list to seek for spiritual advice, especially coming from Buddhism to Christianity. But anyway, there was someone else she sought out and me, and I fully expected her to keep much of her way of life.
She wanted to worship my God though, and I did not discourage her from that pursuit. To my knowledge, she learned as much as she could about Christianity and even Judaism. I believe she forsook Buddhism, but she remained Chinese, and as long as I knew her after that, kept her culture.
I think that conversion to Christianity need not affect many aspects of the culture of a society. Obviously, idols that are/were worshipped may pose a problem for some. For instance, I would not keep a statue of Buddha in a sacred place in my home. However, I think Jade is pretty, and the Buddha’s are sometimes fun to see, like at a restaurant.
Maybe that is a mark of the 21st century. Perhaps we are too pragmatic for our own good. I don’t know, but unless my Chinese friend struggles to worship Buddha when she does not want to, I would not recommend that she get rid of them.
Why do I think she might be wise to get rid of the Buddha idols if she struggles with worshipping them? Well, because by conversion, she says, “I reject Buddhism. This idol is a lump of gold and may have been contained in an ore deposit with the same gold used to make this necklace I am (or someone else is) wearing. I reject this golden idol. As for Buddha, I believe that God is supreme.”
You may take offense that I see it this way. If so: I didn’t force nor coerce my friend. She came to me, asking me questions. All I did was be her friend, and honestly, I could have been a better friend at times. She made her choice. Are you, who might not condemn her as a Buddhist, going to condemn the same woman as a Christian? Would you condemn me for caring about her even though she was a Buddhist and having accepted her friendship and offered mine, over the course of several years before her conversion? What about when I sought her out on her cultural practices? What about her teaching me to write my name and some other words in her language, Mandarin?
As missionaries, I think Christians are required to respect other cultures. I do not think anyone can FORCE everyone in a population to convert. If so, the Inquisition would certainly have done it, and yet, there were many who silently resisted, as in any oppression. The tactics might be effective in the short-run, but there comes a time of accounting.
On another point, I think God appreciates the beauty of some practices. What if a Christian adopted the praying three times a day. Perhaps the Christian would not face a particular direction, but just stopped EVERYthing and prayed, three times a day. How many Christians pray on their knees? Some do. I don’t nearly as often as I used to.
What about glorifying God through dance as the Native Americans? What about earnestly praising God for a meal animal, and being grateful to the animal for laying down his life so that we could have food?
The devotion of some groups exceeds that of many Christians.
I keep referring to some atheists, but I want to address anyone else who says that Christians have destroyed cultures. Christians aren’t the only ones, certainly. But do we not recognize Christianity as a cultural aspect in itself? Would you demand that it be wiped out, completely? If so, why? Would you tear down the ancient cathedrals and monasteries and other buildings of antiquated Christendom?
Would you destroy the Qumran scrolls? (Judaism, yes, but also a part of the Christians’ heritage.)
More complete thoughts to come... 10/23/05.
Posts
4 comments:
"I would not expect them to give up their gloriously beautiful culture."
I think this is something that many Western Christians overlook. The gospel truth is timeless and non-negotiable, but cultures are malleable and need to be spoken into.
Hi, Ariel. I want to make sure that we're on the same page.
I don't think we disagree. The gospel does not change; there is no equivocation on who to worship. You either have God or you don't, and you can't have God and another god.
That doesn't mean you can't have many of the same things surrounding you. Art, food, etc. The Bible doesn't say we must all live in tents and hewn-stone houses, but many seem to want to take what they call the gospel to that extreme.
I think Paul makes it quite clear that we are no longer bound up by laws. We are free. There is no earthly conformation we must take on, only the transformation offered through Christ.
Regi G
Wanted to add an additional thought:
What I said before is not intended, in any way, to suggest that we get to do whatever we want to do, whenever we want to do it, or that a culture is always healthy to us, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually.
Many times, a culture is not healthful, but that is how it is with any group of people. There are aspects of culture that actually harm us.
Culture can be like the Law in the Bible. It inhibits us, declares that we are unworthy, etc. I suppose culture can be compared to the Law, as it is "man's social law."
But there are things about culture that can be enjoyed, that can teach lessons, that can bring comfort. God is from whom Christians draw comfort and things become cold to us, but that doesn't mean that God can't speak to us through comforts.
Often, ministry is based in providing comfort to others. As with anything, culture can be used to speak to us.
Regi G
Hi Regi, I almost forget where we were in this discussion, but I think we may agree. :) When someone comes to know Jesus, they don't have to leave their native culture and become "Jewish" or "White suburban" or whatever. The church has often got this wrong, no?
However, some aspects of culture will be discarded in light of Jesus. No more drunked orgies, for example! Other streams of culture will be retained and enjoyed--or redeemed, in the name of Christ.
Post a Comment