It was from watching TV that I first learned of a simple ritual that Japanese people do before meals. They would place their hands together and say “i-ta-da-ki-ma-su.” Whenever I shared a meal with my Japanese friends, I did it as a friendly gesture and as a way to connect with them. But I had no idea what it meant until recently, when a Japanese friend explained it to me. “いただきます” means “I gratefully receive.” It expresses appreciation both to the cook for preparing the meal and to the animals or vegetables for their sacrifice so that we may have food. After learning the meaning behind it, the ritual took on a much deeper significance for me.
This is just one example of how deeper cultural context and significance can be lost in cross-cultural communication. When the context and meaning are lost, we adopt the behavior without understanding it. This loss of context and significance happens not only between cultures but also between generations. I believe this has much to do with the decline of Christianity in some parts of the world. Christianity has become merely a tradition, a part of the culture. And if no one seeks to explore the context and significance behind that tradition, then it becomes just another practice that people can live with or without.
As we charge previous generations with failing to pass down true faith, we must also recognize that faithful Christians today risk making the same mistake when interpreting the Bible without considering the cultural context of the inspired authors. Based on my observation of Christian life in California (I have not attended churches outside the state, so I do not want to generalize to all American churches) and the education I am receiving, I believe what is most hindered is the understanding of the group-oriented, honor-and-shame-based culture of biblical times - a culture defined by the subtle yet significant ties of kinship relations.
I would argue that, rightly understood, the Bible is first and foremost about relationships. God opens up and welcomes His creatures through creation to participate in His triune community. His creatures repeatedly break their relationship with Him through idolatry, and they break their relationships with each other through all kinds of immorality. It is all about relationship - how to be rightly related to God and to one another. Understood this way, the teachings of the Bible are no longer merely about behaviors but about how to love rightly, how to live in right relationship with God and with one another. Without love, there is no relationship, and without relationship, life becomes meaningless.
This is why, even with program after program, we often find ourselves missing meaningful connection and relationship within the church. Programs and rules are only imitations of a pattern of behavior, but what is missing is the soul behind them.
Prove me right or wrong - either way, I want to present this as both a challenge and an encouragement to my fellow Asian brothers and sisters. Our culture is much closer to that of biblical times than the individualized culture of the West. This is our advantage. Many churches in Asia already do well in this regard - the group orientation comes naturally to us. Yet we rarely reflect on it in a systematic way. What is it that we are doing right with our culture? How can we do better in living out biblical relationships? And what does that biblical ideal relationship even look like? These are the questions we must continue to ask. More implications and applications need to be drawn from the Bible.
This is just one example of how deeper cultural context and significance can be lost in cross-cultural communication. When the context and meaning are lost, we adopt the behavior without understanding it. This loss of context and significance happens not only between cultures but also between generations. I believe this has much to do with the decline of Christianity in some parts of the world. Christianity has become merely a tradition, a part of the culture. And if no one seeks to explore the context and significance behind that tradition, then it becomes just another practice that people can live with or without.
As we charge previous generations with failing to pass down true faith, we must also recognize that faithful Christians today risk making the same mistake when interpreting the Bible without considering the cultural context of the inspired authors. Based on my observation of Christian life in California (I have not attended churches outside the state, so I do not want to generalize to all American churches) and the education I am receiving, I believe what is most hindered is the understanding of the group-oriented, honor-and-shame-based culture of biblical times - a culture defined by the subtle yet significant ties of kinship relations.
I would argue that, rightly understood, the Bible is first and foremost about relationships. God opens up and welcomes His creatures through creation to participate in His triune community. His creatures repeatedly break their relationship with Him through idolatry, and they break their relationships with each other through all kinds of immorality. It is all about relationship - how to be rightly related to God and to one another. Understood this way, the teachings of the Bible are no longer merely about behaviors but about how to love rightly, how to live in right relationship with God and with one another. Without love, there is no relationship, and without relationship, life becomes meaningless.
This is why, even with program after program, we often find ourselves missing meaningful connection and relationship within the church. Programs and rules are only imitations of a pattern of behavior, but what is missing is the soul behind them.
Prove me right or wrong - either way, I want to present this as both a challenge and an encouragement to my fellow Asian brothers and sisters. Our culture is much closer to that of biblical times than the individualized culture of the West. This is our advantage. Many churches in Asia already do well in this regard - the group orientation comes naturally to us. Yet we rarely reflect on it in a systematic way. What is it that we are doing right with our culture? How can we do better in living out biblical relationships? And what does that biblical ideal relationship even look like? These are the questions we must continue to ask. More implications and applications need to be drawn from the Bible.
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