“What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem?”1 These immortal words from the pen of early church father Tertullian of Carthage illustrate well the tension that exists for Christians seeking to follow the Lord’s claim that they are in the world but not of the world (John 17:6-19). And two thousand years later, the perennial question… Continue Reading
Conflicting Christian approaches to Culture is not a new phenomenon. The Hebrews themselves struggled with the issue even though as a theocracy, religion and culture were theoretically inseparable in the nation of Israel. Even so, more often than not the Hebrews failed to relate biblically to the nations around them, and their perpetual syncretism led… Continue Reading
When Martin Luther (1483–1546) begins making reforms in the church, one of the most significant issues he faces is the relationship between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Thus, Luther articulates an understanding of antithesis and commonality that in many ways reflects what came before him but in such a way that he is often credited… Continue Reading
Before exploring approaches to cultural engagement post-Christendom, or even that of Christendom itself, it is necessary to consider what happened before and during the period immediately after the Edict of Milan in 313. Early debates about approaches to culture are evident, for example, in differences between Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225), quoted two weeks… Continue Reading
Following Luther’s lead, each Protestant group reacted against the Christendom approach to culture in some way. The most radical rejection of the Christ above culture model of the Roman Church was that of the Anabaptists. Niebuhr categorized them as Christ against culture, and in many ways he was right if by that categorization he meant… Continue Reading
John Calvin’s (1509–1564) position regarding the relationship of the church to the surrounding culture is one of intense debate. For example, VanDrunen argues that Calvin essentially agreed with Luther on the two-kingdoms and natural law1 contrary to the Neo-Calvinists who insist that their transformationalism comes from him. In fact, VanDrunen argues that H. Richard Niebuhr miscategorized Calvin… Continue Reading
The history of Christian approaches to culture clearly enters a stage of transition in the work of Dutch Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920). VanDrunen argues that Kuyper retained enough of the important categories of two-kingdom theology to be categorized squarely in its line of thought. In fact, even one-kingdom proponents such as Jeremy Begbie acknowledge… Continue Reading
The first of Kuyper’s direct followers to explicitly transition away from the Reformed doctrine of two kingdoms was Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977). Building on Kuyper’s ambiguity, and parallel to Barth’s own views, Dooyeweerd further develops the idea of worldview as the center of antithesis1 and roots the Son of God’s relationship to cultural matters in redemption rather… Continue Reading
The two-kingdom approach is essentially built upon two ideas: natural law and a clear distinction between redemptive and non-redemptive social spheres. The first idea is built on passages like Romans 2:14-15 and the assumption that moral norms are inscribed on the hearts of all men. These norms are the basis for common society of which both… Continue Reading
The Anabaptist approach to culture finds its clearest representation today in the Amish, Mennonites, and Brethren, but other groups manifest the general Christ against culture model in various ways as well. Like their forefathers, the Amish and Mennonites concern themselves not with national or cultural identity with others around them but rather “on honoring their… Continue Reading
The missional church movement is certainly not a monolithic group; yet characteristics of this movement are strikingly similar to characteristics of the transformationalist approach to culture.1 Several authors have suggest that the missional church movement is essentially transformationalist including Michael Goheen and2 Mark Snoeberger.3 Like transformationalists, missional authors recognize anthesis between the church and its surrounding culture; but… Continue Reading
The third post-Christendom approach to culture is the one kingdom, or transformationalist, posture. This position appeals to the redemption motif in Scripture, namely that God desires to redeem all of his creation and that the church is already involved in that process through cultural redemption. This, they argue, is a continuation of the creation mandate1 that… Continue Reading
If the idea of “culture” in the NT is essentially “behavior,” then the biblical approach to culture becomes more apparent. From the NT discussions of ἀναστροφή, several important realities emerge. First, unholy culture exists. The Bible is clear that mankind, left to himself, is utterly corrupt. Even though God created all things good and even… Continue Reading
The second conclusion that emerges from the idea that the New Testament concept of “culture” is behavior is that Christians are redeemed from unholy culture. Paul says that even believers “once lived (ἀνεστράφημέν) in the passions of [their] flesh” (Eph 2:3), but through Christ, God has raised believers out of such unholy behavior (vv. 5-6).… Continue Reading
Niebuhr’s classic categories have often been critiqued for the fact that few people fit neatly into any one of them, and for good reason. As the survey I have given in this series illustrates, there is much in common among the typical approaches as well as considerable overlap. Furthermore, Niebuhr has also been criticized on… Continue Reading
The fourth conclusion coming out of the idea that culture is behavior is that holy values ought to affect every aspect of a Christian’s behavior. The Bible is clear with regard to the behavior of Christians—it is to be holy. James says of a Christian, “by his good conduct (ἀναστροφῆς) let him show his works”… Continue Reading
The third principle that emerges from the idea of culture as behavior is that fundamental antithesis exists between the values of Christians and unbelievers, but not always between their behaviors. Up to this point antithesis has been emphasized to the degree that the separatism of the Radical Reformers may seem the most biblical approach to… Continue Reading
The sixth conclusion drawn from the idea that culture is behavior is that the relationship between holy culture essay order and unholy culture should be one of witness. The separatist sees the relationship between the church and “unholy” culture as one of complete separation. Two-kingdom advocates also see the two as completely distinct but encourage… Continue Reading
The fifth principle derived from the fact that culture is behavior is that the Word of God alone governs the behavior of the church as an institution. The danger VanDrunen expressed regarding describing behaviors in the civic sphere as “Christian” is that when everything becomes Christian, nothing is Christian. In this concern he is right, especially in… Continue Reading
What is clear from this exploration is that each of the three primary post-Christendom approaches to culture have strengths and weaknesses when compared to the NT’s understanding of culture as behavior. The separatist approach rightly recognizes the fundamental antithesis between belief and unbelief, but it fails to also recognize commonality that exists due to common… Continue Reading