The relationship of church to culture is a fascinating study that has caught the attention and analysis of serious scholars during the last generation. Ever since the “Word of God became flesh,” God has been interested in humans of different cultures throughout biblical history.
On occasion the church has been an ally or an enemy of culture. St. Paul wrote the Corinthians letters to deal with the challenges their culture presented to the church. Pastors, lay persons, ordinary human beings live in a culture and, depending on different perceptions of reality that guide them, adapt or reject the prevailing culture.
In a recent issue of Missiology, devoted exclusively to the treatment of “Mission and Contemporary Culture” (April, 2007), there are lucid expositions of the theme that challenge the reader and the serious student of Missio Dei.
One article worthy of consideration is “Church responses to culture since 1985,” by Professor Eddie Gibbs of Fuller Theological Seminary. He asserts: “The assumption of Western societies that immigrant groups would be gradually assimilated in the cultural melting pot are being challenged by those groups who ‘colonize’ in order to defend their religious-based values, some of them adopting a defiant stance in relation to the host culture.”
As an astute observer, clergy person, scholar and author, Gibbs analyzes the last half of the 20th century and the first years of the 21st. His analysis is very enlightening.
[blockquote]Ever since the “Word of God became flesh,” God has been interested in humans of different cultures throughout biblical history.[/blockquote]
But our modern culture now regards the Flesh as Word of God.
God has been interested in all human cultures since Biblical times. He was there when they were born. He was there when the first human attempted a clever remark.
From what I gather here and elsewhere, conservative Christian belief is accompanied by conservative views on society and politics as often as leftist social and political opinions go together with reappraising like soup and sandwich. Too little attention is paid to how unrelated the phenomena are in terms of Scripture, tradition, and creeds, even though their pairing is logical in terms of human cutlture and mentalities.
The confusion of God the Father with Country and Tradition has been around for a long time. Jesus’ message has been confused with rebellion against Society for a good while, too. My capitalization is deliberate.
Very few are able to see God apart from social and cultural filters. Most of us should be glad we have occasional moments of transcendence that disturb our confidence in immanence and address the “culture wars” as a secular phenomenon. I continue to capitalize with intent.