John Norsworthy - Why Culture Matters: A Biblical Christian Approach to Things Cultural

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Why Culture Matters

Published by ConsultEd Publishing

Tauranga, New Zealand

2009 John Norsworthy

ISBN 978-0-473-15764-7 (Softcover)

ISBN 978-0-473-34703-1 (ePub)

ISBN 978-0-473-34704-8 (Kindle)

Distributed by

Castle Publishing Ltd

www.castlepublishing.co.nz

Typesetting & Production:

Andrew Killick

Castle Publishing Services

Cover design:

Paul Smith

Unless otherwise stated, scriptures are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author.

I warmly commend this book as a serious introduction to the strategic place of culture in Christian life and service. Its helpful surveys of the way culture functions in Scripture, in the early Christian community and in the historic phases of Christianity lay a solid foundation for wise practical guidance on addressing cultural issues and challenges in our diverse multicultural contexts of the 21 st Century.

John Hitchen BA, BD, PhD (Senior lecturer in Mission, Laidlaw College, Auckland, formerly Principal, Bible College of New Zealand, and Christian Leaders Training College of Papua New Guinea)

A much needed skill in communicating with todays global community is an awareness and appreciation of various cultures. This book is an easy to read primer on Christianity and culture. It can add value to the person seeking to develop in this area. The chapter on The Contemporary Global Challenge is a must read for Christian leaders in New Zealand facing fast emerging multicultural congregations.

Andrew Kulasingham (Deputy Principal, Faith Bible College, New Zealand)

Culture is like water to a fish: it surrounds, supports and gives life but is hard to see. In this book John Norsworthy helps us understand culture and how it imposes its unquestioned values upon us. Furthermore this book describes the unique work of Christ in culture and how Christ transcends all mans attempts to define meaning and purpose in life. I commend this very timely and readable work to any student of culture and faith.

Rev. Craig Vernall (Senior Minister, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Tauranga, New Zealand)

May I recommend this well written and readable book to you. It invites you to consider a biblical approach to understanding cultures, since creation to the present day. It traces mans responses to the will of a holy God, and the context and relevance of the times and places in which we find ourselves. John Norsworthy, an experienced educator, raises some fundamental questions and suggests sensible solutions for us in this new century with its multicultural environment. This book will be most helpful to students interested in the development of culture through a biblical, Christ-centred lens, and a useful resource for teachers in various contexts.

Graham C Preston (Founder and Ambassador of Christian Education Trust (CET), formerly Principal of Bethlehem College)

Contents

Preface

My upbringing was such that whenever I faced a new concept or challenge, I would consciously or sub-consciously ask the question, What does the Bible say about this? For some time I have looked for a small text or primer introducing the reader to a biblical approach to things cultural. Eventually, I decided I should write it myself. The intention is that this book could be read and discussed by individuals or classes in a church or school setting.

When I embarked on writing this book I was very much aware that I would not be expounding some new revelation. God has already used others to do that and caused it to be recorded in His Word, the Bible. This book is not the result of some groundbreaking research. I am not an academic or researcher. What I have written has been said by others in various writings and presentations. Indeed there are many books written and messages presented on the various aspects of the biblical truth I am writing about, many by experienced authors and preachers all of whom are far more eloquent than I. What I can contribute is a simple clear way of presenting the ideas so that others may catch the concepts and weave them into their being and so apply them to their lifes calling, whether that be evangelism, pastoral and teaching ministry, counselling or any of a vast array of vocations in which Christians find themselves needing to work, including cross-cultural or multicultural contexts.

Some forty years ago, one of my Bible college lecturers wanted to make the course he was presenting as simple and as clear as he could for us to grasp. He effectively summarised the course with four main principles. He was pleased with himself. A short time later he read what St Augustine had written on the topic a millennium and a half earlier. He too summarised the topic with the same four principles. This boosted my lecturers humility somewhat but in no way reduced his enthusiasm to present the course in this way. The wisdom of Augustine confirmed his approach. If after writing this book I discover someone has already written it, I will still be enthusiastic about it.

This is not a how to text but rather a why we should text a biblical rationale. If we want to be strategically intentional in shaping the future we need to know not just where we are now, but where we have come from, and where we are ultimately going. We need to know the reason for the journey. It is my intention to briefly sketch the biblical teaching about culture by tracing the theme through the biblical meta-narrative from Genesis to Revelation via the present.

I have been inspired over the years by those who have written before me. Much of what they have written has become deeply implanted in my understanding. Consequently, as I write from my heart I may well be reflecting these writers and preachers. The first parts of the book consist of a biblical survey in which I have not consciously referred to writers other than those of the scripture, whereas toward the end of the book where I apply biblical principles, I refer to some other writers. The references at the end include the books that I am aware have most influenced my thinking about this theme over the years and in recent months. I wish to honour the authors for their faithfulness in contributing to the work of the Kingdom in their writing. In particular I want to honour the late Dr Glenn Martin who was Chair of Social Sciences at Wesleyan University, Marion, Indiana. He did not publish his work but personally and significantly influenced myself and others on his visits down under. I also wish to thank those who have critiqued drafts of this work, and encouraged me in the process.

To God be the glory.

. See, Martin, Glenn R. (2006). Prevailing worldviews of western society since 1500. Marion, IN: Triangle Publishing. Some of his work collated and published since his death in 2004.

one

Describing Culture

In the 1960s in Australia where I grew up, a young bloke was stereotypically characterised by his affinity to football, meat pies, cars and beer. He was definitely not connected to anything called culture. In that generation culture referred to high culture as distinct from popular culture, and anyone who showed some culture was not part of the average mans social set. The meaning of the word culture has changed since those days.

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