Thursday: Mission and Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
is a recent term, first appearing in print in the 1960s, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. For many ancient peoples, there were only two categories of humanity—us and them, our tribe and not our tribe.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
For Greeks, all non-Greeks werebarbarians.
For Jews, all non-Jews were Gentiles.
As we have seen already, the success of the Gentile mission forced the infant church and its leaders to deal with the Jew/Gentile divide. The question, at heart, was whether a Gentile could become a Christian without first becoming a Jew.
Read Galatians 2:1-17. What happened here and how does this account illustrate, in its own way, the challenge of multiculturalism
in outreach and mission?
When Peter, at a later date, visited Antioch, he won the confidence of many by his prudent conduct toward the Gentile converts. For a time he acted in accordance with the light given from heaven. He so far overcame his natural prejudice as to sit at table with the Gentile converts. But when certain Jews who were zealous for the ceremonial law came from Jerusalem, Peter injudiciously changed his deportment toward the converts from paganism. . . . This revelation of weakness on the part of those who had been respected and loved as leaders left a most painful impression on the minds of the Gentile believers. The church was threatened with division.
—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 198.
Paul faced the issue with Peter and took a firm stand for what today could be called a multicultural church. His Gentile converts would not have to become Jewish in order to become Christian. Paul’s complex background as a devout Pharisee, student of Rabban Gamaliel, Roman citizen, fundamentalist persecuting zealot, and finally convert and apostle of Jesus Christ, eminently qualified him to distinguish timeless, unchanging divine absolutes on one hand and their temporary cultural and religious vehicles on the other.
How do you distinguish between what are the essentials of our faith and what are purely cultural, social, or even personal preferences?
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first and foremost the only way to distinguish between what are the essentials of our faith and what are purely cultural, social, or even personal preferences, is through fervent prayer daily for an hour or two after daily devotion and studying ssLesson, to meditate and wait for the Holy Ghost to impress on you what is the approach to carry out and which would be appropriate for past approach to every prospect is different. The only deciding factor is the Holy Ghost impressing you with enlightenment from words of scriptures of your lesson, or daily morning that morning or from some previous yearly bible reading or SOP. We need to work and walk in the Spirit with time for meditation on God's word and Holy Ghost conviction and leading.
I think that sometimes we expect the Holy Spirit to come up with answers when he has already given us two ways of communicating with us that we often ignore: 1) good common sense, and 2)our community of believers. Meditation and study is important, but we need the practice of taking those ideas we have thought about and testing them with our fellow believers. I have seen people who have studied in isolation loose sight of the horizon and ignore the plain common sense of other members of their community of believers.
Paul spent his time studying but he also went back to Jerusalem and Antioch where he discussed and argued with other fellow Christians. Both the solitude and the group experience were necessary to provide a balanced view.
Indeed. We need the guidance of da Holy Spirit in this matter. But, praying for an hour or two is not a biblical requirement. God requires faith not length in prayer.
The lines of distinction between essentials of faith and harmless cultural practices may not always be entirely bold to believers who are still learning holiness and growing in godliness. And the arch deceiver may capitalize on the blurred lines to cause disunity by influencing some to overreach and unduly press their position. The part self plays in this is not to be underestimated.
As the believers grow together all will not be at the same level of discernment at the same time. Those who think they are ahead spiritually bear a greater responsibility than those who understand and acknowledge their weakness. Paul noted that the strong ought to bear with the weakness of the weak and not to please self (Romans 15:1-3).
In cultural conflicts which cause offense to believers the perceived offenders should give serious consideration to giving up their preferred habit, though apparently harmless, for the sake of the offended (1 Corinthians 8:9). To insist on one’s liberty to do as one pleases and fight to implement one’s ideas under the banner of rights irrespective of the negative effect on others are not indicative of charity (1 Corinthians 13:5).
That one may yield on a non-essential until others come to see clearer demonstrates patience and tends to selflessness and therefore Christlikeness (1 Corinthians 9:22). Conflicts are short-lived in an environment of selflessness. Freedom in Christ is an occasion to do more for others, not have one’s own way (Philippians 2:3).
Is there anything so dear to you in your culture it cannot be sacrificed for Christ or the brethren? Will the Redeemer not make up for any such sacrifice later? Oh, but He has already!
I understand what you are saying Hugh, but at the same time I have seen some folk become so concerned about what other people are doing or wearing and so on that the argument becomes more divisive than the activity. In the Sabbath School Net discussions over the years I can remember some pretty heated arguments about clothing for church, generational differences in music, and so on that were often more about maintaining the status quo than any serious Christian understanding.
For example, I do not wear a tie to my church because most males do not wear ties to church (or anywhere else for that matter). I know that in some churches the point would be made that I am not dressed properly for church. If I lived in an area where wearing ties was the norm, I would wear a tie.
I have seen a whole raft of cultural issues come and go and I find the problem that many of us face is that we get hooked into arguments about them that distract us from our mission of preaching the Gospel to all the world. I even have to confess that I cringe when I look back and see some of the arguments that I got into about such issues.
I agree with you Maurice. We should not spend time to so concerned about what other are wearing. Jesus did not have time for that, He was about getting the message across to the gentiles and the Jews , He was about caring for the sick , the homeless , feeding the hungry and making shore everyone understand what he is about. We have a work to be done with the help of the holy spirit and we have to pray and being in one accord. Too many times have been waist on foolish things that has nothing to do with Christ. This Gospel is not about us , it about Him Christ who came into this sinful world to save human kind from the pit of hell.
Thank you for your insight. Our willingness and humility to give something up in order not to be a stumbling block for others is simply evidence of Christian maturity.
Arguments often are caused by people reading particular verses in the Bible and forming presumtive conclusions without studying the CONTEXT in which these verses are used. One such quotation very often used is found in Colossians 2:16 "let no man judge you in food and drink or a festival or sabbaths (note lower case s and the addition of s therefore making this plural)" Another one is found in Romans 10:4 "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" Again, in Genesis 3:16 "...Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you" A whole religious dogma in the Islamic faith sprang up because this one! Maurice Ashton is so right in saying that we should talk to other believers and hear what they say, and discuss these things calmly and without prejudice to arrive at a balanced conclusion. But having said this, comparative Bible study is certainly important.
Actually my concern as an adventist concerning multiculturalism goes beyond ethnic origin.Let me emphasized that multiculturalism doesn't only pertains to tribe, ethnicity,nationality, etc, but it also include gender orientation, male and female and the members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and the queer). What is then our approach to them? How do we situate them in the church without prejudice and at the same time not to encourage or tolerate sin relative to LGBTQ behaviours? Do they have to be straight before they can be accepted in the church? can we apply the same principle in our lesson stating that "His Gentile converts would not have to become Jewish in order to become Christian"? do LGBTQ converts doesn't have to be straight to become Adventists?
The church is like Peter's dream in Acts 10:9-16. It is full of dirty animals of every kind. St Paul has some counsel regarding this: Col. 3:10-14.
"Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
God is the one who changes people's lives and character.
Che,
I absolutely 100% believe that we should love and care for any person who walks through the doors of our church. The LGB... community is welcomed to come in and we should love them and disciple them as Christ Himself would. As far as baptism goes, Believing in Christ is more than acknowledgement, it means that the lifestyle they have chosen is plainly stated throughout the Bible and that person would need to trust God to help them make those bold changes for Baptism. If Paul told the church that they had to disfellowship a member who blatantly lived in a relationship with his father's wife.
1 Corinthians 5New International Version (NIV)
Dealing With a Case of Incest
5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3 For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,[a][b] so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Paul admonished the church that he was to be disfellowshipped and "handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." In 2Corinthians, Paul had to admonish the church again to allow the man back into full fellowship because he had repented and no longer living in that state of sin.
We have a model to follow for such issues. If a person blatantly chooses to live a life that is contrary to the basics of the Bible, then they cannot be a part of the church. That is their choice to live that life contrary to God's Word. There is a huge difference in a Christian believer who falls into temptation (even if on a daily basis) but they are striving to yield the Holy Spirit to transform them than the one who chooses to live in opposition to God's Word. Our job is love them and try to disciple them and if they choose not to accept that then we are be anxiously awaiting their return after the Lord has allowed the devil to work on his flesh.
The bible and the life of Christ should be our map. We are call to be witness of Jesus our Lord and savior and as such we should behave, we can see how Christ encounter with the Samaritan women was different then his encounter with Mattew. Jesus always comes to meet us where we are in life and ask us to be transformed by his Holy Spirit and no by other people comments.
In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in everything else, charity.
Sometimes, common sense is not so common anymore. Our church tries to encourage healthful living. So during our Sabbath potlucks, vegetarian food is supposed to be brought. But some members are not convinced yet or ready for it. So they meet up in a different room because disparaging remarks from the so-called "community of believers" can hurt.
Another example, we have quite a number of visitors from different walks of life during Sabbath. One can feel the palpable tension among our members in welcoming a shabby looking person over a richly clad visitor into our service. We have encouraged our congregation to sit beside our visitors during the service but majority of our members have not learned to accept them wholeheartedly, much less sit beside them.
What is common sense and who defines community of believers? It is even challenging to draw the line within our "community of believers"... how much more with multicultural mission. The Bible talks about cultural inclusiveness and acceptance (Gal. 3:28). The early church had varying degrees of beliefs and convictions with regard to their new-found faith that it was cause for serious divisions from within. And yet numerous counsels of "bearing one another, forgiving one another, encouraging one another" etc are spread throughout the NT writings to help build and grow the church. How do we apply these to our post-modern setting? I suppose the end-purpose of everything is not only theological correctness but ultimately Christ-likeness (Eph. 4:12-13). St Paul has some wise counsel. "Speak the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." Eph. 4:15
Someone has aptly said about the convincing power of love: Reach for the heart and you will get the head. Love conquers all.
Truly, Jesus Christ is the best example to emulate.
I can't understand the image from THE PAPA in the lesson
why is it means? I am from colombia EXCUSES ME I don't understand english I am learning something.
Carlos, I think that the image of the Pope makes us think, as to how we are to relate to catholic christians. There are points of contact between different faith cultures and there are points of conflict between different faith cultures. I take the term culture from agriculture. Different crops have different cultures to pay attention to (seed time, watering ect.) This imagery is also used in the Bible (1 Corinthians 3:6-9; Isaiah 5:1-3). So the question is: How do we as believers of adventist faith culture are relating to believers of other faith cultures, such as catholics, protestants, charismatics and even non christian cultures, or atheist cultures, or different behavioral cultures within our own church, as some have ponted out in the discussion? As to conflict situations of cultures within the early church see Galatians 2:11-13. As to how Paul was relating to other cultures in mission to spread the gospel, see Acts 16:1-3 and 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Since the word culture is not a biblical term and since this terminology is a vast topic in modern philosophy and theology and within ecumenical ralations, I have limited this term as to embrace faith culture as such in general terms. You may also notice that a leading culture may even initiate persecution of those who have a totally different faith culture (see Esther 3:8-9; Revelation 13:15). This would fall in line with early persecution of Christians by Jews and Gentiles, by Imperial Rome and in the middle ages. This seems to be a vast topic. Therefore I will stop at this point.
Maybe this will help.
Winfried Stolpmann
Now l understand why Jesus said to Peter: "Feed my Sheep" He knew how Peter felt about his culture, and how he had a long way to go... l am glad Jesus prayed for me as He prayed for Peter. Peter finally got it! God help us to get it too! We don't have much time left.
Could it be that the conflict(s) arise when man equates behaviors w/salvation? Man confuses titles, such as 'Christian' w/salvation. Man begins to think that someone's life is an example of saved and therefore others must behave as the example to meet the criteria to receive the same title, (even Christ was circumcised but that was not His message or purpose.)
What is the 'essential'? I believe that Paul tells us in Galations 2:16 (TLB) 'and yet we Jewish Christians know very well that we cannot become right with God by obeying our Jewish laws but only by faith in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And so we, too, have trusted Jesus Christ, that we might be accepted by God because of faith—and not because we have obeyed the Jewish laws. For no one will ever be saved by obeying them.”'
What is the 'essential' message? There are so many verses that are the heart of salvation but for this lesson's focus may I suggest 1 Cor 2:2,5 (TLB) "2 For I decided that I would speak only of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. . . 5 I did this because I wanted your faith to stand firmly upon God, not on man’s great ideas."
Could it be that if we focus on the suggested 'essential' (definition: a thing that is absolutely (with no qualification, restriction, or limitation; totally) necessary.) for salvation and pray for the rest instead of demanding our examples; God will shape the rest?
I'm alarmed to read suggestions that we should discuss with our brothers and sisters, issues of behaviors or deportment rather than going to the Bible and the spirit of prophecy for direction. Remember, "There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of
death. Proverbs 14:12.
By taking the word of God,, and the light given to us through the spirit of prophecy,we can't go wrong.
Prayer is also indispensable, but if we pray,and leave the word out we are in trouble.
We are living in very serious times. "Satan goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour."
1 PETER 5:8. We must cling to the word and the spirit of prophecy, spending much time in them, and pray much so that God can make us the loving, intuitive, Christians He means for us to be.
It appears that in these verses, there were actually men who were looking to see if the converts were circumcised or not.
"Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), 5 to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you." Galations 2:2-5.
WE too often try to take the place of the work of the Holy Spirit as we exalt our ideals or interpretation of God's Word onto to others. Our job is to pray as ask the Holy Spirit to revive that new convert and transform him into Jesus's image so that the new convert can also become a soul winner.
I like what Hugh said in the comments on yesterday's lesson:
Hugh Dalhouse on September 8, 2015 at 6:28 pm said:
A famous non-Christian leader is reputed to have said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ
It is interesting to note that Jesus did not try to start another religion. He came to renew or revive his relation with sin-sick man. He came as the promised redeemer of mankind (Gen.3:15; Rev 13.8) The essentials of Christianity are love, faith and obedience. No sinner can relate to God without these God-given virtues. It is only our acceptance of Christ into our lives can we again relate with God again. "Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by him." John 14.6
We are not to hold God's hand and expect Him to follow us wherever we wish to go , rather God should hold our hands and we follow wherever He leads us...God reforms our adornments,diets,use of words,unbiblical beliefs/cultures,unholy lifestyles,ethnic hostility.His bidding is His enabling.God transforms us through His word, if we are willing for total transformation. Sad to know from experience some would want to keep little percent of their old life that is not in accordance to God's will. Jesus Christ requires 100 percent of our will to be surrendered just life apostle Paul.
Thank you, brother Hugh, for your well thought out comments. They always are deliberate and calm. We must not expect everyone to wholly adopt our cultural beliefs, any more than to expect all to acquiesce to our individual opinions or preferences. There is beauty and wisdom to be found in all cultures. All deserve respect, above all. What a difficult job for the Spirit to bring all into core unity, despite our prejudices and prideful nationalism. How rich and gorgeous will be Heaven, when we will fully comprehend the spectacular diversity of our One and only Creator.
Many non SDA Christians live and work hard to study the different languages in countries where there are literally hundreds of spoken languages. They learn the culture of these people and learn their languages so they can translate the bible and often this is the way for many of them to have their first written language.
These unpaid volunteers do suffer sickness, modern deprivation, enlarging their nest eggs, and local hostility. They persist because of their love for Christ to the unreach who never heard of Jesus and to many ethnic people with no written languages. They are driven by compassion and mission.
I really like the Sabbath School lesson for this quarter as it makes us realize the value of each individual in Christ' and especially in Paul's prospective.
I am living here in Africa where race, culture and ethnicity are deep-rooted in the 7th Day Adventist Church. In some regions you cannot become a conference President or a leader if you are from another race and in some churches leadership is chosen based on ethnicity or color.
I am not sure these racial divides may also be existing right up to the General conference. This lesson of multiculturalism has come at the right time as there are prevalent prejudices and perceptions in churches.
You nailed it all! Any of our culture that becomes a thorn to the gospel should be gotten rid of! We can only identify such if it comes into conflict with humility, selflessness, etc: which are all characteristics of true Christianity!