Essay Example on Christianity: Shaping Culture with Purpose and Intent

Introduction

Christianity is the only religion that shapes the existence of culture by condemning the practices of the world done by the outside community of believers. For instance, if an individual decides to become a power play, then Christianity turns out to enforce its purposes and intent. Christianity has endured for many years and has permitted the western culture to form ideals such as individual rights, free trade, and democracy (Hick, 2010). However, Christianity remains distinct because it is solidified from the philosophy of the west of European culture. The issue of religion and Christianity must be addressed to elaborate more on the relationship between the two.

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The only way I can address the issue culture is by defining the conscientious Christian to consider the right relationship between religion and culture. In today’s Christian world, there is an interlocked political arena that makes leaders form political saviors because religion is tangled with political agendas. In the Christian communities, the key leaders, however, stand and pray for leaders (Hick, 2010). Wrong or sound, such actions show how Christians see their religion as a cultural influence.

In my faith, this causes a crisis because many believe that teaching and activism are good companions. When an individual has a personal relationship with Jesus, (who happens to be the Son of God that died for our sins), their thinking about the world activities changes completely. The reason behind this transition is that political and social events are principles where most institutes operate under. I like helping others because of injustice and also to fulfill my obligations in the practical and ethical criteria. I believe that expressing my faith is by speaking out against the current relationship between culture and religion. Before I elaborate more on what I mean, I will share a few observations that show the signs of bad relations between the two concepts.

The unhealthy relationship between culture and relationship only occurs when people perceive that religion must be done in a certain way but not because of what preachers and the bible say (Homan and Lemmon, 2016). The reason why Jesus asked his followers to go to a private room and pray is also the same reason why he praised the mite of the widow. Jesus also honored the sinners he found in the temple than the pious Pharisee. Jesus believed that his word would culturally impact people even though he spoke about personal transformation.

The lavish display of religion to some people appears as insecurity rather than confidence and conviction. Anyone that stands as a new image before God must not have external validation from people concerning his faith. There is also a reason why Jesus never wanted us to use religion to mandate cultural needs. The idea is that motivation should come from New Life when creating a new story (Homan and Lemmon, 2016). In my view, people don’t understand the religion, and this is what we need to do to make them shackle through the religious mind when dealing with culture.

Usually, if religion makes someone happy, then religious beliefs represent most people. We are all told to walk a narrow road, and faith is the one that will guide us through this journey. According to the bible, Jesus asked the rich ruler to leave everything to follow him. However, not everyone heard the teachings of Jesus instead turned away from him. Our strength is derived from devotion, and it’s the simple things that connect us to God.

The confidence that Jesus had in God changed the whole world to show that he had nothing to do with Christianity. When one uses their strength to believe that the religious belief they follow is accurate and correct, then their culture will be shaped (Homan and Lemmon, 2016). The idea is different when one forms a devotion that Jesus is the same person that led many religious leaders.

Many Christians believe that they should not use alcohol as refreshments. It is also unhealthy for them to think that prohibition requires them to go back in time for things to change. Ethics, in this case, is vital to all men. We all have to use modes and methods communication that will reach everyone to persuade them about the relationship between religion and culture instead of condemning them to act against their religious beliefs.

I hope to live a life that can lead people to God and inspire them about why Jesus should be their savior. I also pray that the world would be shaped by grace and love when they have a relationship with God instead of believing in human life and religious understanding. However, these hopes, prayers, wishes, and dreams will only come true when people distinguish between freedom and faith (Homan and Lemmon, 2016). Therefore I pray for justice, religion, and truth. We can all be rational people, and if we use our religious beliefs accurately, they can become great tools that can change the world.

Position Paper: Relationship Views on Culture and Christianity

A Christian is an individual defined by the message or gospel. Practically Christians are people that believe in the bible because the scripture tells them to love their enemies because they have the spirit of God in them (Roeber, 2017). Christians are also advised not to repay evil with evil but rather pray for people that prosecute them. Christians are also individuals that are washed by the precious blood of Jesus (1 Peter 1: 18-19), and they are not supposed to live for themselves but for the one who delivered them.

Christians use the bible to guide them because its information is known to be derived a thousand years ago, where people lived holy lives (Roeber, 2017). The scripture, in short, is not culturally-based, preferably containing cultural settings that elaborate more on the Lord Jesus Christ. Culture, on the other hand, is a way of life people created whose dynamics make them adapt to modes of mingling and interacting with many people.

A suitable example in the bible is the Samaritans in Israel. When they went to war with Israel during the Babylonian time, they defeated them and took them to captivity. After that, they brought people to occupy the land of Israel (Matthew 10:5–8). Later they began intermarrying, and a new race emerged that were half-Jews. A new culture was also formed because of cultural and intermarried integration between the two groups.

When Jesus came to earth, he discovered that there was a gap between the Samaritans and the Jews. Jesus also realized that all of them were not worshipping in one place even though they prayed to the same God. Both Jews and Samaritans could not enter the same house or use the same things together because it was considered illegal (Matthew 10:5–8). On seeing this, Jesus bore the culture by making them understand that they cannot seek the face of the same God, yet they do not do fellowship together (John4:4-30).

This statement shows that culture is reflected in the mode of dressing, how they communicate through technology, art galleries, art, and language literature. Such activities also highlight the achievements and customs of people (Roeber, 2017). Many people also use culture in the adaptation, transmission, and creation of the gospel. People use religion to define their lives because it came from intersecting societies and ancestral past. The only way to make a person overcome their cultural barrier is by accepting the Lord Jesus as revealed in the bible.

The reason why the New Testament in the bible was written was to send the message of Jesus Christ to everyone. This is why the Jewish people expected a military Messiah that would go to Israel and restore the nation from the glory of Palestine due to the Hellenistic and domination culture. The culture also influenced the New Testament because they wanted to unpack the culture of the Christian community from the heretical and Gnosticism teachings.

Since many things inspired, the New Testament writers wanted to send a message that prevailed against the culture. For instance, people that practiced immorality, magical arts, witchcraft, and adultery were accepted by God only if they repented. In short, spirituality and culture come from different spheres but interact with one another. Spirituality stands with God, while culture belongs to human activities.

Every culture has something good and evil, so measuring someone’s character is through God’s word. Unwanted practices are only dealt with the people of God (Goodloe, 2000). Christ is the one that has a legislature that instructs holy people how to carry themselves. A suitable example in the bible is the Canaanitish people who had the norm of sacrificing their children to Baal. This was seen as idol worship, and the adverse effects it came with was prostitution.

When one belongs to the Kingdom, it means their lives must align with God ordinances and authority that only pleases him. Any person born again in God’s Kingdom does not expect they should not abide by the laws of the land so long as it does not contradict their faith (Goodloe, 2000). Therefore as much as they follow what God says, they are unable to force people instead use their good to influence everyone.

In this world, we have various cultures, and the local people influence most of them. The democratic societies in which we live have created laws that contradict God’s word or what was said in the message (Goodloe, 2000). One example is same-sex marriage and how many states have legalized the act. This has impacted Christianity because the bible does not permit the same sex to marry instead of the opposite sex (1 Corinthians 7). The text does not expect people of the same sex to marry because God created both females and males as companions.

Today people have also adopted culture to aborting babies to promote promiscuity. However, the bible strongly cautions that “thou shall not kill,” and yet people murder as if they are the creators (Exodus 20:13). The worst part is that abortion is legalized in most countries. Human beings have also embraced the culture of drinking alcohol. The adverts of alcohol have also been created, which has made people develop the culture of drunkards. Through the word of God, Christians are convinced that they should not drink but remain sober-minded.

The bible says that God gave us the spirit of power and sound mind but not of fear. Various communities are still attached to ancestral worshipping. Most of them believe that ancestors are the only mediators between the gods and them. They need to make the ancestors happy to be blessed. Due to such factors, there is a group of Christian fraternity (like that from South Africa) who have mixed their cultural and Christian beliefs (Harrel, 2014). They have created a syncretistic religion because of incorporating Christian and traditional ideas.

The majority of South Africans also worship both God and their ancestors (Harrel, 2014). For instance, they claim that Jesus is the ancestor that comes from the white people, and since they are black, Jesus might not understand them well, and so they seek to worship the ancestors. However, Christians advocate about one pledge and God, and no goes to him unless through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). The bible also adds that Jesus is the truth, way, and life (John 14; 6). Any good culture is the one that is direct and does not contradict the scriptures of the Lord. Every believer must not be influenced negatively through their cultural practices to hinder them from progressing and growing as Christians.

How Faith Informs Culture and How Culture Challenges Faith

Culture is a principle that should be straightforward to list the existing elements in the present world and to confront or challenge the Christian faith (Reti, 201...