[dropcap]T[/dropcap]oo often Christianity is tied to the culture – commonly to the ambition of the Christian left or right. But it is exactly at this point, regarding the faith’s relationship with culture, that Christianity is virtually unlike any other religion in the world, said a respected writer. While most religions in the world are closely tied to a culture, Christianity transcends the culture. To become a Muslim or a Hindu is to adopt the whole culture: what to eat, how to dress, every part of your life…adopting laws along with that. Christianity, in contrast, is for all cultures. Revelation 7:9ff show how Christianity is for every nation, every tribe, every people and language. This is a clear indication of the uniqueness of Christianity from the rest of the world’s religions.“The fact is that Christianity is not about a particular view of a culture or particular view of morality because morality is universal. Christianity is about Christ. It is about forgiveness. It is about a God breaking into our sinful cultures and sinful lives and redeeming us. People don’t even realize this is what Christianity is about,” said Dr. Gene Edward Veith. He again warned how we have to be very careful not to lose that gospel to political or cultural issues, as valuable as they might be. The culture is very significant but not ultimate, and we must not confuse the two. In scriptural terms, Christians, because of their new birth in Christ, are to be a new people, God’s people, with a new way of life which is in harmony with God’s nature and purposes. Paul puts it simply in Colossians 1:13, “For He has rescued/delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought/transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Paul also
describes the concrete change in behavior involved in the transfer of kingdoms: “You must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their lives” (Ephesians 4:17, 18). Spiritual ignorance, stemming from a rejection of the truth, alienates people from the life of God and issues in a corrupted way of life (See also in Romans 1:8-32). This is not, of course, to say that non-Christians or non-Christians cultures lack all goodness or that Christians cannot learn from them. But there is an important spiritual principle here: the form a human cultural takes depends on its spiritual relationship with God. If a culture does not explicitly acknowledge and obey the one true God, it will contain distortions of true righteousness.
Just as Plato felt a need in his day to distinguish true justice from its many counterfeits, so is there a need in our day to distinguish true Christianity from its many counterfeits. Perhaps one good way to do this is to follow Plato’s lead – that is, to seek out a clearer, more precise definition of what Christianity “is” by first determining what it is “not.” Christianity, unlike culture, which can only instruct us in how to interact with others in our society, answers our deeper need: to know that we possess intrinsic value. One of the greatest stumbling blocks is the long-standing misconception that Christianity and Western culture are inextricably bound together. It is true that the Biblical precepts owe a great debt to the lasting and excellent Western and European cultures but it does not mean that these cultures and Christianity are two sides of the same coin, per se. One of the greatest innovations in modern missions indeed was inspired by the recognition that the gospel of Christ transcends the narrow confines of race and culture. Gone are the days of the Victorian missionary who would bring to India and Africa a gospel laden with British cultural values and prejudices.
The recently held Kohima Baptist Youth Fellowship (KBYF) Spring Carnival was a celebration of creativity. It celebrated Christ who has come to redeem all peoples, irrespective of tribe, race, tongue or cultures. The colorful display of Red Indian clothing and paintings clearly was a celebration that Christ indeed transcends the narrow confines of race and culture. While, it is indeed important to note that the various tribes, races or cultures have elements rooted in pagan, non-Christian worldviews, we cannot underestimate the power of Christ to transform these cultures.
