Thursday, December 11, 2008

Christianity in Culture - AHB

Due to the fact that I no longer can devise blogging subjects for "Christianity", I decided to choose sections from our required reading, "Introduction to Christianity", and use the material therein to generate new and exiting subjects (I know you're excited, don't try and hide from me). This first one will be from pg. 202-218.

This section on "Christianity in Culture" was one that immediately grabbed my attention. My interest in politics and my rather unique religious background brings me to this topic often, and there is always new arguments/objections to consider. I believe that I've even brought up these subjects in past blogs.

The authors presentation of this section is excellent, and I would encourage everyone to read it if you haven't had a chance yet. She ends the chapter by saying that none of the questions raised can be answered. How do you choose between biblical commands and teachings that seem to contradict one another. Even if you hold to the position that the N.T. trumps the O.T., you are still left with a host of questions to resolve. The central question of this chapter is how a christian should exercise their faith in the midst of a world that holds to other truths and beliefs. The author staked out four main position that a religious person can take: withdrawal, domination, nonconformity, and adaptation. Within these general positions there is obviously a lot of room for personal opinions, but I think these terms help break it down a little bit.

This chapter explored the relation of a christian to war, poverty, and racism. It is interesting that religious sects, supposedly based upon the unchanging truth of a single book, hold positions that are entirely at odds with one another. What really bothers me is the inability of people to take the approach of midrash and question there own beliefs. Ultimately, this may not change a man's opinion, but at least he will be able to articulate it correctly.

Another problem is that many Christians know so little about church history and the bible that they don't have enough information to form a well thought out opinion. This leads many to use the Bible to rationalize their preformed opinions, rather than a tool for reasoning.

Even those of us who don't hold to a particular religion must work through these issues. We live within a society that is intended to be shaped by the opinions of the individual, so in essence the way we choose to live our lives has profound consequences beyond our own experience.

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