Culture and Jesus

This past week was training on Ethiopian culture and language. The other interns and I were able to learn about the many people groups that live in Ethiopia (over 70). Many of these people have their own language and subcultures, but for the most part Ethiopia has a core culture. We learned about the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as a unique church just in Ethiopia (if you could not guess from the name). I was able to learn basic language skills so I can greet people and ask where things are and shop in the market.

Ethiopians in general have a unique culture that has both African and Arabic influence. Recent rulers actually did not consider Ethiopia as even part of Africa. The history of Ethiopia goes back thousands of years. They are a proud people, rich in culture that is very unique. They have a unique language which has similarities to Arabic. Their food is also unique with injera and rich spices. Not to mention their own Orthodox Church. The Bible actually refers to Ethiopians in several passages. In the New Testament, Philip helps explain the Gospel to an Ethiopian. He is one of the first followers of Jesus from the African continent. The Old Testament even refers to Ethiopians and there are several prophecies about the Cushite people (mostly Ethiopians).

It is amazing what learning about another culture will teach you. It’s hard to even imagine the variety of lifestyles and ideas and customs that are out there until you experience it. We grow up thinking there is only one way to see the world. There is only one way to eat food, relate to people, go about business, and live life. But of course there are thousands of ways, we just don’t know about all of them. With the language and culture orientation, I was able to see the world through a very different perspective. It is hard to see the world through a completely different lens growing up in America. We have people from all around the world come to America, but for the most part we are very ignorant of other cultures. In fact many think American culture is “the culture”. If a culture does not look like ours it is wrong. Some Christians would even call other cultures as “pagan”. But I think God has a very different view of culture.

God created culture. Genesis refers to this event as the tower of Babel. Gods plan was for people to multiply and spread throughout the earth. Well some people in Genesis did not want to do this. So God “helped” them in this process by creating many different languages. Culture is not a bad thing. God made different cultures. It is a beautiful thing. He created culture to reflect the diversity of humanity and human potential. In this way, culture reflects different attributes and characteristics of God. Seeing another culture, like Ethiopia, is a way to see God in a different way.

Of course being immersed in a culture completely different than your own is not easy. It is a hard transition for just about anyone. Why? Because it’s different! You cannot prepare for another culture because each is different and unique for a reason. It’s a different way of seeing and living life. I learned that culture is like an onion. It has layers. The deeper you go the more immersed you go. At first you just see what’s on the surface of a culture, maybe the food and clothes. Then you begin to see beneath the physical and begin to understand their core beliefs and values and ultimately their worldview. What makes them do what they do? At each level, like an onion, you will encounter something that will be uncomfortable and make you cry (maybe not literally, but I hope you get the point). It sounds cheesy but it’s true. Each culture is so unique and different. The more you get into a culture, the more you will feel uncomfortable because it will be differences than what you are used to. There is no avoiding it. But that uncomfortableness does go away over time. Humans are much more capable and adaptable than we may think.

One thing that made me uncomfortable at first was the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC). Behind the house I am staying is a view of a huge Orthodox Church, which looks a more like a mosque. And every morning with little exception the speakers blast loudly at 5am. I am not sure what they are saying on the speakers, but it kind of sounds like a call to prayer. For me, coming from a more evangelical background, I immediately raised objections to the Orthodox Church. From the outside I saw that they abstained from eating certain meat, they go to church sometimes as a daily routine, and they are very conservative in rules that they have, clothes they wear, and lives they live. But the more I learned, I realized that many of them have placed their utmost faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. They trust that because of the death and resurrection of Christ, they have salvation from God. Yes, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians are different, but God is clear about what He requires to follow Him. John 17:3 says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” That is salvation. It is as simple as that. However, somewhere in the American Church we add stipulations to follow Jesus. We say you must also believe this and that. God is very clear on what kind of faith it takes to have eternal life: to know the true God and Jesus Christ.

Now I am not saying that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is perfect. And I am not saying everyone in the church knows Jesus Christ. Like many churches in the US people come and go and miss the point of actually knowing God. It is a church that has its flaws like any church. But I think overall, those of us who claim to follow Jesus need to be much more willing to accept those with different ways of living out their faith. We need to focus more on our similarities much more than we focus, argue, and debate on the differences. Yes, some believe in predestination, some more in free will. Some believe in infant baptism and some do not. And honestly some people believe things that are just not biblical. But that should be a secondary concern. No one is perfect. Not one has perfect theology. The point is that those of us who follow Jesus Christ need to encourage a church that is united. We need to come together under the authority of Jesus and stop arguing about matters that are just simple not as important. God sent Jesus Christ to be the Savior of this world! That is where our faith needs to rest. All other facts are secondary.

In the USA, so much of the view we have created of Jesus is cultural. We have limited Jesus to a person that we can understand. We assume that in American we alone reflect how Jesus would have acted and spoke and lived life. We have put God in a box. We have limited our knowledge of God to our culture. Many American Christians would say that Jesus would be a Republican. He would probably drive a truck and attend a huge mega church. Tell that to the street beggars in Addis Ababa who have faith in God despite having nothing material in this world. Tell that to the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

Many times when we tell people from other cultures about Jesus, we push them to reflect the American church. We go to churches all over the world and tell them to be more like our churches. “Get more structure” we say. Or “you have too much structure”, “you need more money”, “you need to look more like this”, or “your church needs to be bigger”. I think this is foolish. Our goal should not be to create an American church all over the world. As believers we need to tell people of the love of Christ and the beautiful truth of the gospel. Let God transform people from different cultures into His image in His way, in His time. Our responsibility is simply this: to present Jesus and the one true God. The work of the Holy Spirit will transform people from every culture into the image of God in His way according to every tongue, tribe, and nation. Paul said when he was witnessing to the Corinthians, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified”.

What i want to say is that differences are a good thing. Of course no culture is perfect just as no church is perfect. every culture has parts that are sinful and do not reflect God. every culture has been effected by sin. but in the big picture, God created different cultures, and God allows people to see Him and experience Him in different ways. How boring it would be if we all experienced and saw God in the same way. Personally, I think I can learn a lot from many Christians here such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians. I really admire and respect the amount of reverence they have for God. They way they approach God is really beautiful. They understand well that God is far above them and that we as humans really have nothing to offer God but our obedience. As American Christians, sometimes we come before God so flippantly. Yes, we can approach God freely because of Christ, but I think we have forgotten a certain amount of fear that we need in approaching God. We should never forget how far above us He is. Sometimes we act as if we deserve God and His grace. We don’t. I want the kind of reverence they have. And not to mention how much reverence they show the Word of God. People do not throw Bibles in their back pockets and sit on them. They carry Bibles as if it is one of the most precious gifts we have from God (and it is).

All to say there is a reason why God made people different and unique in variosu cultures around the world. It helps us see life in a much bigger picture. More than that it helps us see God as more creative and huge. The cool thing is that God is above culture. He understands all culture. And when Jesus comes back, he will finally unify his body (the church) under his authority. That is why the New Testament is so clear about preaching to every tongue, tribe, and nation. Our role is not to make believers look the same and act the same. We need to just point people to Christ. He is the heard of the church and alone has the authority to unify (Colossians 1:18). When Christ does return, Jesus will bring together all believers from every culture to more completely reflect the image of God. It is really a beautiful thing.