Occasionally I pick up an article or see a movie which will surprise me with unexpected twists. Perhaps when you discover that this article is not about a wonderful classic car, this will be the first of several hairpin turns for you in this article. Fasten your seat belt.
These reflections start with the Tlingit Indians of North America who believed that lightning was caused by a thunderbird's blinking eyes. Since our beliefs differ so dramatically from the Tlingit's, it is easy for us to recognize their beliefs as being cultural. Whenever we encounter ideas, values and practices which differ from our own, do we not label them as being "cultural?" Do we not describe something as being cultural because it differs from our practices and ideas?
There is another interesting element about culture. When we talk about culture, we often limit what we have classified as "cultural" to being descriptive of a group of people. As such most people do not regard such cultural descriptions to be prescriptive for how we should believe and act. We would say regarding the Tlingit Indians that they believed in thunderbirds, but that is no reason why I should feel compelled to also believe in a thunderbird.
Now here's a lightning bolt of a question. What is cultural in the Bible?
On a popular level, perhaps it is common for us to classify all of those practices and beliefs which differ from our own as being the cultural husks. IF we do this then our definition of culture is "what is different from me." But different from whom? What about those things which I believe and do which are also cultural?
Perhaps we might expand our definition of culture to include behaviors and ways of thinking held in common by a group. IF we accept some version of this as being culture then suddenly all of my shared Christian beliefs and practices fall within the category of being cultural. Not only this but all of the early church's beliefs and practices are also cultural. Unfortunately, this can be quite upsetting since many Christians disregard cultural ideas and forms within scripture to have no prescriptive value for us (that is, they do not feel that they are compelled to believe and do the same things).
What a quagmire! If I believe that any cultural element (ideas and forms held in common by a group) within scripture is merely a husk and should not be taken as normative for me, then suddenly it would appear that the slippery slope has encompassed the whole range of scriptural practices and thoughts leaving me without any prescriptive guidance. But we know this can not be true. Is there any responsible way out of this mess? Is something wrong with this reasoning? Brace yourself for a hard right turn.
First of all, although both the Tlingit's beliefs and our biblical beliefs can be described as being cultural since both are held in common by a group of people, there is a categorical difference between their belief in thunderbirds and our belief in one God who has raised Jesus from the grave. Why? Because there actually is one God who did raise Christ from the grave. This and many other teachings and forms within scripture are not just cultural beliefs of a group of people. Furthermore, because God has revealed his will to us through scripture, his message can carry normative and prescriptive truth. Regardless of how "cultural" some aspect of His message might appear to us, if God intends us to believe and practice something then it is normative. But just because something might be true or God might intend us to conform to a certain believe or practice will not necessarily make it appear any less cultural if our current beliefs and practices are quite different.
Second, my purpose for scribbling down these roller coaster thoughts is to suggest that caution needs to be exercised in denouncing something within the Bible as being "just cultural" and then lightly dismissing its applicability to our lives. As our culture continues to move away from a Christian foundation, many ideas and practices within scripture will increasingly sound foreign and strange to our culture's ears. But just because God's word might appear to be "merely cultural" to this world does not nullify the prescriptive nature of any message which God has intended to be normative.
What is needed is an accurate objective means to distinguish between what God would consider to be a cultural application of His message within scripture and what God intended to be prescriptive in form and content even though it may appear to us to be just cultural. Put another way, this task will require distinguishing between the incidental practices of the New Testament church verses their obedient conformity to the prescriptive will of God. For example, most people will probably agree with me that on the one hand the descriptive manner in which the early disciples traveled from city to city in fulfillment of the command "go into all the world" is not normative for us, while on the other hand the description of the early church's manner of assembling on Sunday in order to obey the command, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me" is normative. Acts 13:4; Matthew 28:19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:25
While I am not proposing here how to distinquish between the two, I am suggesting that the razor separating the incidental from the prescriptive can never just be "it seems cultural to me." Such perceptions will probably reveal more about my cultural biases, values and practices than what God's Word actually declares. After all, for some people even the belief in one God who raised Jesus from the dead will appear to them to be merely a cultural belief. In other words, should not our understanding of scripture be author-centered and not reader-centered?
The next time that you hear someone say, "oh that's not important; it is just cultural," stop and think: "What is God communicating through this text? Is God calling me through the text to conform or does this text have another message and purpose? Does another principle in scripture legitimately relieve me of the responsibility of following this teaching or is the attempt to dismiss it achieved by taking something out of context?" Why should I take the time for such a pause? Because God's message is what matters, not my culturally formulated knee jerk reactions to scripture.
Having arrived at an adequate if not accurate understanding of the text's message, may our attitude be not my will but God's will be done. Accordingly, Jesus will truly be the Lord of our lives.
Barry Newton, Copyright © 2001
Other articles which may be of interest:
For The Same Reason (Thoughts about being a restorationistic people)An Initial Foray Into Hermeneutics
Resisting the Tide (When tolerance, fffirmation and inclusion become everything)
Sims, Animals & Biblical Teaching: Wielding the Power to Shape (How some might change the message of the text)
Seeing Clearly in the Brambles (Interpretation)