“I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world anymore than I am of the world.” (John 17:14)
Historically, Christians suffered persecution by the Roman Empire after the death of Jesus Christ. Christ’s message was highly controversial, going against cultural norms of the time and transforming the lives of those who believed. Even in the face of great adversity, Christians were responsible for spreading Christ’s teachings to the world. As illuminated by the above verse, the concept of being ‘in the world, but not of the world’ encompasses the need for Christians to maintain an almost dual identity of personal faith and living in mainstream culture. The charge of expanding the kingdom of God on earth as modeled by Christ is, however, not met without its fair share of struggles and debate.
Bottom-Up vs. Top-Down
The debate surrounding the issue of faith and culture takes two forms in the Christian community. Many live by telling individuals about the message of Christ as the savior of the world, beginning from the “bottom up.” In approaching integration this way, Christians believe in the ripple effect that direct contact with individuals will lead to those individuals also spreading Christ’s message. On the other hand, in taking serious the fact that Christ came to redeem the world and reconcile it with God, some Christians take a “top down” approach to infuse Christ’s message with culture as a whole. With this view, the power of large institutions and markets in shaping culture is emphasized as they have a huge trickle down effect to a larger number of people. By tweaking the morals and values behind products, consumers will indirectly be affected by a specific message.
Transforming culture was how Jesus taught ‘as he went’ throughout his life, by his message and by healing the sick. Likewise, Christians are called to share his message ‘as they go’ about daily activities within society. By seamlessly integrating beliefs with vocation (i.e. being a doctor, lawyer, CEO, politician, etc.), Christians exist in a tension between God’s truth and the reality of culture around them. Personally, I wonder what becomes most important: a focus on sharing my faith by being in direct relationship with individuals, or becoming an influential leader that has a broader scope and vision to share the message of Christ globally. To some, it may seem that all Christians have a secret agenda to personally convert all of humanity. A more accurate view of Christianity is that Christians seek to generate the message of brotherly love, faithfulness to God, and Christ as Savior to all individuals. What each person does with this information is ultimately in God’s hands.
Christ’s Great Commission
At the Buxton Initiative, I have the rare privilege of expressing my faith without worry over whether it is appropriate or necessary. However, Christians that hold other jobs may feel the need for covert expressions of faith as a result of intolerance and a need to conform to the general culture of the work place. The same trend can be seen elsewhere as society becomes increasingly relativistic in its view of religion. The Great Commission disregards political correctness by instilling the need to extend his message beyond the faith community to all people everywhere, regardless of their faith. Jesus Christ states this Commission in the New Testament: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20, paraphrase)
This call by Christ has been taken to extremes, especially among evangelists that get a bad reputation for being pushy and inconsiderate of the belief systems of others. Christ, however, calls his followers to love and respect all people, tell of his teachings, but ultimately that he is the only one able to turn hearts to follow him. I, too, find I am constantly needing to remind myself to balance a desire to spread his message and to also appreciate the beauty and truth found in other faiths.
Not all religions have the same view of such a direct relationship between faith and culture. Many believe it is too great a task and perhaps beyond the scope of religion to control markets and businesses, even if in an indirect way. After all, we do live in a country that agrees on the separation of church and state. Of concern to Christians is when this becomes a separation not only of religion and politics, but also of morals and politics in an effort to avoid tying mainstream culture to a specific belief system.
Is There a Separation?
To a Christian, such a separation is somewhat irrelevant as it becomes less about domination of a religion and more about spreading the important message of Christ to as many people as possible. There are still questions that remain: Is it realistic to incorporate faith with culture in a way that doesn’t overextend religious groups? When does a faith community move from a unique, contained community that celebrates tradition to what almost seems a business group specializing in creating a better product?
I am grappling with these issues daily, as my answer to the two aforementioned questions would be ‘yes,’ and, ‘perhaps both.’ I know the truth by which I live, and as any person of faith, seek to act in a way that reflects that faith to the best of my ability. Some prefer to conform to mainstream culture, some are indifferent, and some faith communities draw a strict line where cultural integration is concerned. As we look toward the future, Rizwaan, Sarah, and I have begun to incorporate what we have been learning about our own and each others’ faiths as Fellows. How are we to incorporate what we have learned to make a difference in society? In what ways can we impact a society that seems to evermore be going secular and relativistic?
It is a daily struggle for Riz, Sarah, and I to reconcile our faith traditions with mainstream, secular culture. Yet, at the end of the day we still arrive at the agreement that it is important to integrate our faith into all parts of our lives if we are to make a dent in the mountain of prejudices built upon fear and suspicion. In this way, perhaps the call of Christ is to be genuine with our faith in a way that is honest and respectful of others’ beliefs. After all, isn’t diversity of faiths what makes our culture so vibrant and beautiful?
