Q3. Separating the Gospel from Culture

[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

[IvoryEagle]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Because we only see what we are accustomed to seeing and we believe that our language is the only language. Just as Americans rarely see the need to speak other languages.

Can you think of examples of this in Church history? Yes, as African Americans attempt to worship in predominantly white churches, the animation in response to the Spirit is seen as disruptive.

What is the danger? Offending the child of God as well as the people in the congregation who could grow from the Diversity. It also restricts God's work and quenches the Spirit.

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises? Work hard to see others through their eyes and their culture without sterotypical ideas and discrimation.

[csreeves]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

It is hard to seperate my beliefs than the beliefs of the way Christ wants us to teach others. the church at Antioch tried to impose their beliefs on top of Christ's true teachings. The danger is totally incorrect teaching and misleading the Gospel.

[Delivered]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices?

It should not be difficult to take the gospel to different peoples, for God is the same God no matter what culture we live in. He is the same yesterday as he is today.

The cultural practices of the Muslims who believe in Isa, Jesus, is not the same Messiah that Paul's culture was teaching, Paul's culture centered around the "TRUTH" that Yeshua, the Messiah of the culture of Israel is sufficient enough, while the Muslim culture teaches a different gospel, that Isa, the Muslim Jesus is the Messiah, the meaning of "Messiah" in the wrappings of the Muslims culture means that of "Prophet", the Muslim culture teaches that Isa, the Jesus of the Muslims was the forerunner to the Muslim Messiah, the prophet Muhammad, and that Isa, Jesus of the Muslim culture is not the "Son of God".

If Paul were here today he would "BOLDLY" speak out against anyone who would pervert the "TRUTH" - that the Yeshua of Paul's culture is not sufficient enough.

It is vitally important that we don't wrap our "FAITH" around any other gospel, (culture) but that of Paul's, we must be "BOLD" as Paul was, and not weak in hypocrisy.

What is the danger?

Paul in his cultural "BOLDNESS" tells us in (Gal 1:9) As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

[charisbarak]

As missionaries, we need to be culturally sensitive wherever we go.

There are many examples of this in history--actually, it was generally done that way. Now they've found out they have to change the way they minister.

The danger is offending those of a particular culture, nor does the gospel look as attractive when we impose our culture on someone else.

Now they are seeking missionaries in different countries who come from countries more culturally relevant to the people they're serving. Ultimately, the new believers in the country will one day relate beautifully to their own people.....

[Cocoa]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Because we are confident in our own culture and therefore are confident to teach and preach from our own cultural standpoint. Paul ate with the Gentiles, as he was walking in the Spirit and confident in Christ. Peter was confident with his Jerusalem culture and satisfied the flesh by walking in his fleshly culture, rather than Christ’s culture which loves all men and treats them as equal. Christ gives us confidence when we walk according to the Spirit so we have boldness as Paul did amongst the Gentiles.

Can you think of examples of this in Church history? White Australians removing Aboriginal children from their families to “educate” them in a Christian manner away from their families and lands.

What is the danger? Disassociation of the convert from their people group and so lack of ministry opportunity to the converts’ community. Danger of the convert misunderstanding that God loves them because they have abandoned their cultural roots and taken on the “works” of the missionary. Again, works versus faith.

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises? By walking in the confidence that the Spirit gives and not according to the comforts of our flesh.

[happysheep]

Well, because all said and done, we are products of our cultures. Unless we separate our own culture first from the truth of the gospel, we will continue to do the same. Because, christian religion is packaged in tradition and handed down to new believers. While missionaries take their culture with them, the other practice has been to just infuse the gospel into existing cultures. Both are wrong. The gospel is supra-cultural. We need to strip culture off missions and go with just the basic gospel, and here, yes, Jesus, Yeshua was a Jew. If that is offensive to some, they need to step out of their cultural moorings and accept him for what he is.

[Travis63]

Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices?

I believe many people do so because of learned behaviors and or traditional upbringings. In others word we inject what we are accustomed to and what we know, these are acceptable norms in our understanding. Somewhere in the middle we apply our values or the origin of what is conveyed stems from value system that we are living by.

Can you think of examples of this in Church history?

There are too many to list, the first thought comes to mind the Reformation, the Reformers as they broke away whereby we now have many denominations that fall under the auspice of Protestant. Puritans were blocked from changing the established church from within, and severely restricted in England by laws controlling the practice of religion. Since the Reformers basically every Protestant denomination has replicated the same at, they have protest to some principle doctrinal belief, hence we have countless Christian denomination. These denominations fall under orthodox, conservative, contemporary or a hybrid of sorts.

Note: Relating to the text of Galatians, meal time was very, very important, it was often a time of fellowship during the 1st century, having a greater valued than most believe in our day. So this posed a great divide, being uncircumcised and eating things some found unacceptable.

The noted portion of the Ceremonial Laws imposed causing the divide specifically here was circumcision. The overt opposition here was not being circumcised and eating together. I do not believe that the issue here was the eating of pork, but more so the belief that they were or would eat things that had been sacrificed to idols. By my saying this I am not saying that they did not eat unclean things, I am sure they did, and this would be offensive to the Jews, from their cultural upbringing this would make everything unclean.

What is the danger?

Instead of bonds being made, instead of being in accord, instead of unifying, biases, prejudices and division (cliques) clicks are formed. Instead of being diversely unified by way of infusion of multiple cultures often dissociation occurs. Through the process of dissociation a gospel moves forward with fragments of the TRUE Gospel. This is a subtle way obscures the Gospel Jesus alone and work yet creeps back into the picture. Circumcision may not be affront however believing that all have to be in exactness by way of abandoning cultural concepts that are not sinful to be accepted brings works affront. The same danger realized in Galatia under a different like.

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church's missionary enterprises?

We can avoid cultural faux pas by following the leading of the Holy Spirit, many only refer to the like fire with cloven tongues when relating to the Pentecost experience of Acts. Many upon hearing the word Holy Spirit think charismatic, where as the Bible shows greater things occurring. The Gospel move from one setting to another, it moved beyond gathering once a week a repeating the same experience among the same people. People from different ethnic backgrounds understood what was being said about Christ, the Gospel and believed. These people then shared the Gospel, the Gospel then moved from one location to another.

We can avoid cultural faux pas by living not according to the comforts of our flesh but by following the example of Christ. The Bible is great it has a lot of example for us, there are many example that warn us, that should not be duplicated. I believe if we follow the example of Christ we can't go wrong. By saying that I am not recommending that one disregard the Old Testament, because the Scriptures were approved by Him, He lived in the time frame whereby He lived according to the Old Testament. He lived according to the Fathers Will and the spirit of the Law. He was not opposed to all doctrine man extrapolated from the Written or spoken Word but He was opposed when it was misapplied, when it was not in accordance with the Spirit or the character of God.

[hanks]

Q3.

Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices?

Can you think of examples of this in Church history?

What is the danger?

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church's missionary enterprises?

We have to remember that very often religion is a part of a person’s culture, and these cultural habits are most difficult to change. We of course see our own cultural practices as far superior to those of others. Besides the spread of the gospel often goes hand-in-hand with other teachings, like teaching people to read and write. This makes it easy for our culture to be wrapped up in teaching the Word. In Church history there are many examples of forcing Western cultures on the local inhabitants; especially in Africa. Many African tribes have been forced to forsake their own cultures for our Western way of life. Some with disastrous results. However, I must say in Southern Africa there have been many positives among the different tribes. We have to careful in thinking our culture is very much superior to others. Our own culture has become so entangled with a humanist philosophy that we often believe that current thinking is Christian at its core. Again, a Christians in today’s Western culture is often labelled as a fanatic, a hypocrite, a bigot, or worse.

[JanMary]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices?

When we receive the gospel it becomes part of our own cultural experience, in terms of how and where we worship, and how we think of Jesus as He relates to us in our culture. When the gospel is shared, we tend to share it in our own context of experience.

Can you think of examples of this in Church history?

Yes, many. Suddenly we see pictures of the new converts dressed in Western logo tee shirts, with western haircuts, etc. They have received the gospel as a "Western Religion", rather than the simple gospel of grace by faith alone in Jesus. Part of the reason for this faux pas, may be that the missionaries see that barbaric and idolatrous practices must be exposed, which are very much a part of that people group's culture, and a "cultural exchange" takes place in addition to the sharing of the gospel

What is the danger?

The danger is in the "religious" aspect which is added to the pure gospel which dilutes the message.

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

The missionaries should be trained to stick to the pure gospel and present it within the context of the particular people group being evangelized. One of the special things about the church to which I belong, is that we have over 30 different cultures represented. On any given Sunday, we see believers dressed in their particular native "costume", all worshipping Jesus in unity and harmony. We had a "cultural exchange" recently where different groups were interviewed about their cultures. It was very eye opening for all, and one of the interesting things is that those who came to our Western society had the same kind of confusion when we didn't understand and behave as they were accustomed in their country. A Peruvian lady shared how in her country, it's a custom to invite people into your home, no matter how humble or how little you have, to share a cup of soup or a piece of bread, rather than talking on the phone to visit, and how in this busy society, since we are ignorant of her culture, those invited don't come when invited but would rather go out for a cup of coffee or tea.

[farmboy]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church's missionary enterprises?

We tend to make an all to common mistake of interpreting scripture in light of our experiences instead of interpreting our experiences in light of scripture. It seems like we tend to hide behind the mask of our culture instead of allowing who we really are to show through, simply a believer in Christ. Each has a culture system full of mistakes, yet that is our comfort zone (pride?), and we tend to think others should be the same.

It is our duty to present the Gospel and trust the results to God. How each applies the Gospel of Christ to their bondages is between them and God.

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

In my mind there is a real danger of inhibiting Christian maturity. We need to move on from the basic animal response/instinct of punishment-reward, toward doing what is right because it is right (heart). King David was a "scutter", but I think he had a heart for God. What gets us beyond this self-centered type of thinking is a true love/heart for God. True joy is an obediant heart.

[Highohfaith]

At the root of the gospel is the saving Grace of Jesus.. Why He went to the cross, what it means to be a Christian, how He died for our sins. How we must as Christians forgive as Jesus forgave on the cross. The cross He bore was far greater than anything anyone could do to us, yet He forgave those who tortured, humiliated and ultimately killed him! He followed the will of his Father to go to the cross. He willfully and dutifully accepted what His Father wanted. We are sanctified through love and grace not through law or by anything we can do. If we don't recognize grace and love hanging on the cross then I don't think we can call ourselves Christians. It's because of God's Love for us, that He sent His only Son to bring us into reconciliation with Him, and make a new covenant with His people through the blood of His only Son. Through that blood, we are unified, ( regardless of culture, creed or race) we are all brother and sisters in Christ.

It is hard to take the gospel into different cultures because we all have cultural religious beliefs ingrained in us since our birth, it's inevitable. Every country in the world has it's own culture, and wrapped in cultural mores are usually some kind of religious views. We must separate culture from those 'religious' views and teach the TRUE, unabashed, gospel of Jesus Christ., pure and simple, no politics, no culture.

I have a friend in Pakistan who has had to battle against all kinds of cultural beliefs to bring the gospel to the Pakistani people. A country racked with cultural beliefs, and religious stigma .But, his ministry is very, successful.Through scripture, He preaches Love, and Salvation, when one preaches the gospel as pure and simple Truth, Love and Grace, there are no cultural lines.

The clash between the Protestants and Catholics would be a good example in history where culture and religious views clashed. There are many, many others. Wars through centuries have been based on cultural and religious beliefs systems. As Christian our duty to God is to preach the truth of the gospel,according to GOD'S WORD. Without discrimination based on race, nationality, color, or culture. We must seek to cross all barriers! God's love is all consuming, it is everywhere, on every crevice of the earth and that has nothing to do with CULTURE! God's love crosses all barriers!

[ross_laoshi]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

If we have only lived within our own culture and are used to sharing the gospel in that culture with success, it's easy to make that mistake. I can't think of any specific examples, but I'm sure it's been done where one culture is very different to another, like some of the Amazonian tribes in the 1960's for example. Missionaries need to be properly trained and to study the culture and language of the people they are trying to reach.

[Lion of Grace]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

One reason it is difficult to take the Gospel to different people without wrapping it up in cultural practices is because we have been taught our way of culture and sometimes that makes us close minded that there are many different ways to live. To preach the Gospel doesn't have to include, changing the way others dress, speak, types of music, housing and even some traditions. Preaching the Gospel includes sharing the good news about Jesus with others, not changing culture. I was especially brought to mind also of the Native American Indian. They literally were forced to live like white men. In church history, there were all kinds of cultures that were made to bend and "become" like white Christians and their cultural way of life. Even today, I hear one church accusing another church of not being "Christian" because of traditions. That makes me sad. It's not the "tradition" that makes a Christian, it is faith in Jesus Christ. Usually those doing the "accusing" are totally blind to their own sins and false mind sets. The danger in all this is that eventually sides are drawn based on traditions or cultural practices and then the real truth of Jesus is lost in the fighting and discord. That doesn't reflect Christianity at all and the real cause for Christ is lost. People fall away in the confusion and hurt feelings or draw lines to where they belong, hating the other side and satan wins his battle to undermine the case for Christ.

I think Missionaries need to be trained well in the culture before going out to mission fields and I know they need to be grounded in their faith and selected carefully. I'm shocked sometimes when Missionaries come back to speak on their work being done, how often they make fun of the people they "supposedly" serve or how often they speak with a belittling attitude about them. These are poor examples of those "sent out" to love others, live among others in diverse cultures and share the true Gospel of Christ with them.

[manuelhankala]

Q:-3.....Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our cultural pratices? I think evey christain believer or minister of the Gospel , who put The LORD in his heart to reach to other people or to be (Soul Winner) from another cultures or Religions, he must first ask the Lord Holy spirit to Lead & Teach him, How he must reach these people.through Love them & give the spiritual truth of the Gospel and not try to impose his culture upon them, and fix their eyes upon The LORD, and His love for them, because The Lord JESUS CHRIST Came to saves all the cultures, Religions,tribes, ect,,And our Gospel is pure & holy above all cultures & Traditions. Let the Lord Changes any things in their cultures that is not in Line with the Gospel in His time, We Can not change the people,Lord only can change the people. .

Can you think of examples of this in church history?

I will say something here from my experience. The Lord gave me a great privilege To reach To Muslim people . One of them was his name Mohammad when I Talked to him About the Lord. he accepted the LORD JESUS CHRIST as his Lord & personal savior.( Frankly, after many months later) and after he was Baptisized(Water Baptism) He Told me that he want to change his old name (Mohammad) because it is an muslim name, to another new name or christian name . But I told him. this is not very impotant for the Lord. because the Lord is also came to saves the whole world, and this mean muslim people also. But he insisted, and changed his old name to Daniel.

What is the Danger? For the Case of this brother that I have mentioned above. when He want to go and visit his family in his country, and it is a muslim country, he will face troubles& persecution, if they find that he changed his name. its mean that he changed his religion.and this will cost him his life.

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church's missionary enterprises?

We can avoid this. by studying the cultures of every place that we go to Evangelize, and be sensitive to the Leading of The LORD Holy Spirit. And What & How He want us to teach &Walk with this kind of people that the lord put us with them. not apply our culture on them so quickly..But Wait for the Lord to show us How must we Walk with them .

Edited February 8, 2012 by manuelhankala

[Marloes]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

Sometimes it's hard to distinguis between what the Bible really says and how we interpret it.

A Biblical example is circumcision, and for centuries the roman missionaries taught people nonscriptural things.

The danger is it turns people away from God.

An example is a Dutch church that didn't allow people to bicycle on Sunday.

With such rules they turned many people away from God.

And we Dutch have an example this very week!

We have a tradition called 'Elfstedentocht', a tour on ice over 200 km (125 miles).

It's weather dependant and rare, and dangerous.

Last one was in 1997, but some weatherpersons thought the next one might be held next Sunday.

Now some christians were against it because that would mean that many people would have to work on Sunday.

Traditionally only a few professions work on Sunday over here.

However, I think it's cultural to keep other people (also non-christians) from having fun or working exactly this day.

[PriscillaM]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices?

It is hard because we can only operate from the level of learnt behaviour.

Can you think of examples of this in Church history?

The missionaries and former slaves.

Missionaries and the American Indians

Missionaries and Africans

Missionaries and muslims

What is the danger?

The cultural norms of these societies are called sin in some instances and placed as stumbling blocks to conversion.

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

But following the Bible instead of trying to force our rituals and beliefs on them.

The enunch said to here is water baptise me and he did.

[RodR]

It is hard to separate cultural bias from our presentation of the gospel because so much of our experience with Christianity is wrapped in traditions that are culturally biased. In the early days of missions, American churches were guilty of “westernizing” converts. The danger is in adding our own personal preferences to the simple gospel message and requiring something more than God intended. One way we avoid such cultural faux pas is by studying the culture and making an effort to preserve it while offering true freedom in Christ.

[PSGivens]

We are, as others have said here, a product of our culture and our learned traditions. Unfortunately, these traditions sometimes have a tendency to "trump" the gospel. We are so blinded by our own way of seeing and doing things, that we cannot understand other culture's response to the gospel. Many instances in Scripture of people sincerely coming to Christ would not pass the test in our own churches (didn't say the ABC's of salvation, no one drew the bridge diagram for them, they didn't say the words we expect to hear, they didn't "walk the aisle", etc.). We have to be so absorbed into the truth of Jesus and the truth of the gospel that these cultural issues are set aside.

I spent many years ministering and connecting with an elderly man in our city who came to Christ in our church. Paul's background was an incredible search for God from his childhood, but he could not read until he was saved and began "listening" to the gospel on tape or in church and trying to follow along. Neither could Paul articulate his deep passion for God... He didn't ever use "church" lingo... he would say "when I got God" or when "God came to me", etc. I did not doubt his salvation, but had to struggle with his cultural background and how he articulated his faith.

[haar]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church's missionary enterprises?

It may be that hard probably because people who take the gospel to others with different cultural background think and believe that the culture of the people they want to convert is not compatble with the gospel.

I however believe that some cultural practices like initiation of youth to "dodo" a kind of god in our culture south of Kaduna state of Nigeria is actually idolatry and should be denounced by converts to Christianity. This explains why such practice is almost dead now as more people are converted to christianity.

[lesleeys]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices?

Its called social norms..every culture has them. They are basis of how we order our life and thus how we communicate our life to others.

Can you think of examples of this in Church history?

Catholicism is rampant with them....All of the saints holy days are reinventions of the pagan harvest and ritual days.

What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

We make the mistake of transferring to other cultures our own faux pas as the Jews tried to do to the Gentiles. Even now there is Madonna worship all over South America because the Catholic church took Mary, the mother of God and presented her as a God of sorts. The bible says nothing like that. Jesus never instructs us to pray to marry but Cathoics do which is a left over practice from pagan Goddess worship. The best thing and simplest thing to do is to present the gospel of Christ and him crucified. It's simple and stratightforward. The other key thing we must do is have the bible printed in the language of the people we minister to so they can study the Word of God for themselves. Knowing the Word for yourself keeps you from being led astray.

[Raph]

Q3.

Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices?

I think itis not hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our cultural practices. this is done without justifiable reason as regards the faith in Jesus Christ. And I think this wrapping has caused alot of troubles and "delays" in some peoples to accept Christ.

Can you think of examples of this in Church history?

Some examples include the degrading/neglecting of the core cultural beliefs of people to whom the gospel is taken.

What is the danger?

The danger is that people will resist to accept the gospel and confrontation will be created between those who will accept and those who refuse to accept.

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church's missionary enterprises?

We can avoid this by not necessarily interferring with cultural beliefs which has nothing to do with faith.

[rosegarden]

Q3. Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? Can you think of examples of this in Church history? What is the danger? How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church’s missionary enterprises?

3.a. It is hard because we are steeped in our own culture. We are to pray and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us when we witness.

b.& c. I was going to a church where they tried to impose their culture on me stating that it was sinful for wear lipstick, shortsleeved blouses, earrings, not buying bread on Sunday, etc. but then again, there was no freedom to worship, only ending up in bondage.

d. By giving them the true Gospel, the Word of God, and allowing them to worhip God in their own cultural way.

[Janissi]

Why is it so hard to take the gospel to different peoples without wrapping it in our own cultural practices? I think it's because we know and are familiar with our own culture and we do what we do. I think if we take the gospel to different peoples, we should be very aware of what their culture is and respect it. It's hard to go to a foreign land and drop what you've known since birth; however, people do it all the time.

Can you think of examples of this in church history? Evangelism of the African slaves. Missions to India and to the Native Americans.

What is the danger? The danger is that we can push them away by trying to impose our customs on them instead of embracing their way of life (unless it's contrary to Biblical principals). It might turn them off and cause confusion.

How can we avoid such cultural faux pas in our church's missionary enterprises? I believe that every missionary should know and study the culture of the people where they are sent. Understand their customs and cultures and ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom.

[tammie7]

It is hard because the people that go over want to put the western culture on the other people instead of learning more form them and working together.The danger is that the other culture may not become christain.We can avoild it by working with them not trying to change their culture but let God do the changing when we tell them about him.