Christianity and Culture

The Southern United States has been coined "The Bible Belt". Citizens in this part of the nation go to church on Sundays and Wednesday nights, and believe in God and Country. You can still hear a howdy neighbor and receive a friendly wave as you drive through town. It's a great place to raise your children,and the "Golden Rule" is still the standard, but what does this have to do with the Bible? The danger with the Bible Belt is the potential if not the actual culturalization of the Christian faith. When Christianity becomes part of the routine of society, rather than it's very heart, it's moral and spiritual impact are lost. The Gospel should transform societies and has, but it should never be absorbed by them.

This may have been a similar problem that was addressed to the Ephesians in Revelation 2: "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

This is the danger of going through the motions. Even if the tradition is virtuous, tradition is not the goal of the Christian faith. Christ is not to be part of the cultural dynamic, he is the cornerstone from which the culture is developed and expressed. Church on Sunday's is a Christian tradition going back two thousand years, but to beleive this is Christianity, or that attendance on Sunday and Wednesday makes one a Christian is to be misled.

Paul preached to the Corithian's that if they gave their bodies to be burned, or had all knowledge, but did not have love, they were nothing. A society can have all the marks and traditions of the Christian faith, but still be ultimately far from the mark. Christ called the cultural Jewish leaders of his time, "whitewashed tombs, full of dead men's bones". They had all of the outward signs of the true religion, but did not recognize the one who was before them. Tradition without love and truth will save no one, and although it may create a great place to live, it will not impart eternal life. TOTT