Culture & Theology

Culture is something always present and always changing, it is something we create, yet it daily shapes us. People who are made in the image of God interact with the world that God made and culture is what results. So where there are people there is culture and where there are fallen people there is fallen culture. Culture is like the air we breathe, we take it in and we send it out, only sending it out a little different that we received it.

Our culture, then, is a collection of ideals and beliefs, values and assumptions that make up a kind of master plan for living and interpreting the life which we collectively and individually live. We take in culture from past generations, live in it, adapt it and adapt to it, and then pass it on to generations to follow.

It is only natural that this “air we breathe” is going to affect our understanding of, belief in, and practice of theology. This is why in Franke’s definition of theology it is stated that theology is a “contextual discipline”. Not only do we receive God’s inspiration in our cultural context, but we also realize that is was given in a different ancient context. This is the hard work of the task of theology, to provide “critical and constructive reflection” so that we and others can “live as the people of God” in our immediate and global culture.

I do not think that we are ever able to completely separate our thinking or theology from the culture in which we were raised. At the same time I believe that there are some understandings of truth that can be universal to all people. However, we must be very careful to not arrogantly assume that we have the final understanding of those universal truths.

I came across an example of how the gospel so intertwined with rational thought through a modern dependency on technology and science has left many disillusioned in its aftermath. In the book titled God’s Breath: Sacred Scriptures of the World, the authors seek to return people to spiritual thinking instead of religion based on rationality. They observe, “As we arrive at the end of a century dedicated to the external world – when technology and science has made an effort to explain everything and promises to solve our problems – the gaps and weaknesses of this wholly secular endeavor are beginning to show. People are turning with new passion to what they call “spirituality.” (emphasis mine) To make it clear, I reject the philosophy of what this book offers as the answer to the current condition of humanity:

“For millennia seekers of truth have found God in a handful of sacred texts. Now God’s Breath gathers together selections from seven of the world’s major wisdom traditions. The title comes from a Zen saying, “To understand God is to listen. Listen to Jesus and Muhammad and Buddha, but don’t get caught up in the names. Listen beyond them; listen to God’s breath.” (from back cover)

However, I believe they have rightly identified the condition of our culture and are seeking to answer it from a faith voice rather than a humanistic path. I do think that we can show the Bible of the Old and New Testament as a superior document to all the others and preserve it as the document that is truly God breathed. I am not sure that this is the question that many in the emerging culture are asking though.

So here is the critical and constructive task ahead of the church. How do we answer the truth questions which are being asked in our time through the lens of post-modernity instead of the view of modernity?

I must state again that this is no easy task, because theology surrounds us daily; inside and outside of the church, theologies are spoken and lived out and are both accurate and inaccurate. Phyllis Tickle writes in God-Talk in America that “more theology is conveyed in, and probably retained from one hour of popular television, than from all the sermons that are also delivered on any given weekend in America’s synagogues, churches, and mosques.”

We need to make theology something more common in the market places, and train people how to think through a theological process or grid. I am suggesting that the task of learning and doing theology is like developing a filter through which we breathe in the air around us. We don’t live in a vacuum (although many in the church try to live in their own bubble) and we have to come to terms with the fact that our culture affects ALL areas of our life. It shapes our pace of life, our agenda for life, our priorities, our relationships, and our spirituality. This air filter that I am suggesting is a world-view that is grounded in the biblical texts, historical traditions of the church, ever adjusting to the pollutants in the spiritual air around, but allowing one to breathe and live and make a difference in their culture. Bill Romanowski says that “a worldview describes the way the world is, while also providing a model for the way the world ought to be.”(Eyes Wide Open)

I see that there are three options on how to deal with the air around us:

1. Stop breathing, otherwise known as attempting an isolation mentality. This leads to a death of suffocation and a loss of impact on those around you.

2. Breathe deep, poison and all. This also leads to a death, not from suffocation, but from deadly toxins which take your life resulting in a loss of impact on those around you.

3. Breathe deep through a filter. This is called redemptive interaction. To look into my culture, interact with it, and redeem our cultures commonality through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe this is what Jesus was speaking about when he taught us to be salt and light to the world.

Mark 12.28-34

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

So much in this small passage! And it’s not simply good things, but things that are “important”, “most important”, “greatest”, and “more important”. I noticed a lot of grand words like “all”, “most”, “no other” and nothing greater. Of course running in the background of my mind is the work of Scot McKnight in Jesus Creed, having taken a class with him and heard much about how this is crucial to the life of a follower of Christ. The beauty of this interaction is that Jesus reaches to Deuteronomy and Leviticus and brings them forward to his current day in such a way that silences all other questions… “from then on no one dared ask him any more questions” (v.34). Did they not dare ask him questions because of his answer or his indictment to the teacher/scribe?

With all this however, the phrase and concept that occupied most of my thoughts is, “you are not far from the kingdom of God.” Jesus makes a statement of preposition in relation to the kingdom of God. I thought through other prepositions and wonder if they can describe how people are existing in relation to the kingdom of God…in, around, near, away from, part of, far from, out of, above, under, etc. It seems then, to be “not far from” the kingdom is to understand that love is the greatest commandment…so possibly to be in the kingdom of God is to move from understanding the wisdom to living it out, actually acting and thinking in the way of loving God and loving others. Moving from a understanding and knowledge concept into a being and living mode. This all led my heart to 1 Corinthians 13.13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love.”

So I asked the question, “who is far from the kingdom of God?” Possibly those who think that offerings and sacrifices are most important, or those who think that obeying the law is most important, or those who value human wisdom and philosophy as the highest pursuit, or those who keep records of wrongs done to them…I think I could go on and on with listing the pursuits of humankind OTHER than love. Of course this demands a GOD understanding of love rather than a humanistic understanding of love, a commitment to God and others beyond all self-interests and human wisdom.

…Good old Golden Rule Days!

Life has been very crazy here in the Moore family…but sometimes crazy is good. I have described it to several friends as the “perfect storm” of life coming together all at once…nothing of a tragic nature though, so we can be thankful for that!
One of the exciting things is that Addie returned to school to 2nd grade and Emma went to school for the first time in Kindergarten! It has been a great transition back to school schedule and seeing the excitement of the girls. Addie is well adjusted to a full day of school after making that step last year to 1st grade. Part of the excitement is that Emma gets to ride the bus home with Addie. Also, Emma is taking off in reading skills already.

Isabelle is not without her new things as she is back in pre-school twice a week and now is doing her speech therapy once a week and learning very quickly. She is saying many more words, and beginning to use some without being asked. Someone passed her in church on Sunday and said “Hi Isabelle” and she responded back “Hi” with a little wave! That hasn’t really happened before like that. A big help in our communication with her is that she is using “yes” and “no” very well. Sometimes she may be confused by the question and the default response is “yes”. One day when she wasn’t obeying in something continually, I asked her “do you need to have a spanking?” and she looked at me with bright eyes and said “yes”! I just laughed with her! She says “eease” more (which is Please) and other new words.
Below is a picture of her friend Sawyer taking her on another car date! Last year Sawyer had trouble getting her in the car, this time it appears that he’s having a tough time with the conversation! Click here for her last date last year.

And lastly, I have started another round of classes at Biblical Seminary. This trimester I have decided to try two classes. I am taking Missional Theology on campus and Greek 1 online. I commute once a week to the Philadelphia area and am able to carpool with another student from our area. I chose to do the online greek because I have taken 2 years of greek in my undergraduate work and have a familiarity with the material. Even with that familiarity it is a lot of work!
Despite the craziness and the loads of work, I am really enjoying the challenge of studies at Biblical Seminary. I chose this seminary because of their unique pursuit of training ministry leaders very practically to minister in the culture in which we live. In fact their mission is:

“To prepare missional leaders who incarnate the story of Jesus with humility and authenticity and who communicate the story with fidelity to Scripture, appreciation of the Christian tradition, and sensitivity to the needs and aspirations of postmodern culture.”

The school is taking much criticism these days from some alumni and others that have been afraid of the direction of the emerging church movement that the seminary is involved with. I find it very stimulating to study there even when things are said that I am uncomfortable with, it causes me to think more deeply about what I think and believe and why. The professor of my Missional Theology class, John Franke, has been one of the people that the critics are most critical of…all I know right now is that I have a lot of reading to get done before I see him in class today at 1:30!!! Better GO!

Wow, we just came back from 16 days in New York City on a mission experience in evangelism, community service, and discipleship training! Part with NYGO and part with Citivision. It was a stretching and tiring time.

One of my highlights was studying the book of 1 John with the teens. Each evening we got the team together and the students led a study/discussion on a portion of the letter. I used to struggle with John’s writing in this book because of the black&white language that he uses when talking about those who are or are not children of God. But in studying it this time I understand more of John’s purpose of offering assurance to those who claim to follow God. That the things he talks about …primarily LOVE… are all markers that should be evident in increasing measure in those who claim to be followers of Christ! Instead of something that I am bound by I now understand the things John talks about as something that is true in me because of the Spirit of God living in me through faith in the Son of God…I am becoming more and more one who is characterized by the love of God and love of others. There is truly an exciting freedom when we understand the gospel for what it is instead of a new law or list of rules that I have to work at conforming ourselves to.

Fun times were had by all! We had a few treats while in the City… one was Mandy and I getting to ham it up with Elton John! hahaha!

I am here today at my Galatians seminary class at biblical seminary. It is an alternate format class with Scot McKnight, we meet 3 times, each time Thurs - Fri.
Anyway, last night in class Scot said a phrase that hit home with me. We were talking about the language and theological systems that we use to explain God, salvation, eternity, etc. Then he said the phrase… that these were all plain tin cups trying to hold the living water…our systems or vocabulary trying to hold the fullness of Christ and the deep mystery of the triune God relating with his creation. Our focus should not be as much on the tin cups, but rather pursuing to drink deep of the living water! This is definitely right up the alley of drink and flow…drinking deep of Christ and flowing to others. We can’t reduce understanding of God, the living water, to our little containers. Let’s pursue the living water all the more while seeking to enlarge our containers to drink of him more deeply!

I am loving the class, and wishing that I could dive into the stuff more.

Much thanks to JR & Megan Briggs for giving me a place to stay last night, saving me much time and gas to drive from Philly to Lancaster and back again!