Values, culture and racism

Can certain elements within a culture be wrong? 

What drives and shapes a culture? 

Are racism and culture somehow connected?

Culture in great part is the fruit of a given groups values. What we value shapes the way we conduct our lives. For example if a people group values art, art will be a major part of their culture and history, or music, or colorful attire and so on. 

Over time a people ¹group with similar values will repeat certain conduct driven by those values which eventually becomes a pattern or part of that groups *culture. 

You may have heard of a sports team talking about how a new coach or players changed the culture of the team. In essence, they are saying there was a change in values i.e. what is most important.

Is there such a thing as ²right or wrong, good or bad culture? It depends. Many aspects of a culture are likely neutral and based on the unique talents, skills, environment, and resources distributed throughout a people group. However, the degree to which our values are aligned with God's values is the degree to which our culture will honor God. 

*NOTE: 

• A "group" can be identified by ethnicity, region, religion, the objective or goal of the group as a whole, vocation, world view or any other common yet distinguishing feature of that group. 
• Also in discussing "culture" I am including behavior patterns that can be moral, immoral or amoral.  

²I am also assuming there is real objective morality. Many today reject the notion of an absolute right and wrong i.e. there is no objective moral standard. This will not be a topic of this paper, but if you wish to explore this issue more click here and here.

Certain aspects of any culture are more God-honoring than others. Likewise, a culture that is less in line with God's values overall will be less honoring to God than one that is. Not because we say so, but because God does. 

God says, for example, loving others as we would have them love us is better - a good or higher value - than coveting or stealing our neighbor's property or taking our neighbor's life. 

A culture built on the former (on love) honors God and is therefore superior to one built on the latter (envy, revenge, disrespect, or destruction), not only morally but practically or functionally. Cultures that ignore these absolutes never reach the potential of the strengths or abilities of its people and can - and usually do - ultimately self destruct or languish over time. The reasons? It simply goes contrary to our individual as well the world's design. 

In a word, a culture built on God's value system aligns with how we are designed to function and generally flourishes long term over and against one that isn't. Good - i.e. God honoring - values cause a culture to flourish, bad - God dishonoring - one's cause it to languish. 

Culture in itself is not sacred. Only God and his standard of love is. To the degree a culture embraces God's standard, it becomes sacred. To the degree it doesn't, it is not.

A classic illustration is when a spiritual awakening occurs within a particular people group or community. Before such an event, a group might display certain cultural characteristics that are destructive and harmful such as a high murder or theft rate or a high level of substance-abuse, familial abuse or infidelity, etc. After such an event many of these kinds of behaviors either diminish considerably or may disappear altogether  -- while those qualities which are amoral usually remain. That group or community becomes kinder, more diligent in good deeds, often more stable and productive economically, and frequently experiences a significant reduction in crime. Such events have occurred to all kinds of people groups historically ³regardless of race or ethnicity of the group. For some examples click here.

³Race (ethnicity) is irrelevant to God as far as our being in a relationship with Him and aligned with His design. He has no racial preference. He neither regards nor discards ones race over other races. To use a biblical description God is "no respecter of persons" i.e. He has no regard for those distinguishing characteristics man values above and apart from Him, genetic or otherwise.

Culture and race are not one and the same

Though culture, values, and race are often very closely connected, they are distinct. One does not automatically or necessarily follow the other. 

To say it another way, we must identify and isolate bad behavior and distinguish it over against a supposed "bad group." There are no bad groups per se. A particular behavior, on the other hand, can be right or wrong within any given group. 

The standard is entirely different. Morality is the standard, not group identity. The focus should not be a group but on appropriate or inappropriate (i.e. moral or immoral, loving or selfish) behavior. Certain behavior is inappropriate no matter which people group takes part -- e.g. virtually everyone recognizes things such as lying, stealing or murder is wrong. They undermine trust. A society can't function well without trust or an overall morality, i.e. the recognition and execution of right and wrong behavior. 

If we do not distinguish the difference between morality and race, we fall into the common mistake made today that all people within a given group are bad because a particular behavior is common to that group e.g. all cops are bad because there are some bad cops or all Latinos are gangsters because some are gangsters, or all liberals or conservatives are bad because some are bad, etc. 

Many wish to tie race (or ethnic group) and culture together as if they are the same. They are not. Because of this, if someone questions a certain aspect (behavior) of a groups culture -- regardless of which group is questioning or being questioned -- some will cry racism when it has nothing to do with race i.e. it's not genetic its spiritual, moral and/or philosophical i.e. determined by their beliefs and values. (Keep in mind I am assuming there are absolutes i.e. there are things that are always right or wrong regardless of what group we are a part of e.g. loving our neighbor versus desiring or stealing our neighbor's stuff etc.)

For example, if theft or murder or familial abuse -- or whatever deficiency or vice common to a group -- is more statistically common within a certain people group, to raise this fact is not racial, it's moral. We are addressing a specific behavior, not an emotionally charged racial matter. 

Values that are contrary to who God is and who we are -- as God's image-bearers -- corrupt any group regardless of its ethnicity-color-race etc.

The objective standard of loving and honoring God has absolutely nothing to do with one's race or the color of one's skin and everything to do with the beliefs and disposition of one's heart. All peoples are equally able to display or not display God's majesty and beauty because all of us -- regardless of race or background etc -- are created in God's image.

To say it another way, there is nothing innately valuable or odious about any culture simply by virtue of ethnicity or skin color. Again, determining what is good or bad within a culture is measured by a totally different standard than ethnicity. 

Anything within a culture that seeks to honor God should be embraced and anything that dishonors him should be abandoned, regardless of what group these qualities are or are not present in, be that western, eastern, middle eastern, African, Latin, Asian or any other people group.

Western Culture

What made western culture flourish morally, in work ethic and materially/economically, etc over other cultures had nothing to do with the skin color of those in that region and everything to do with the influence of Gods values/standards/laws expressed in and through God's people (the church universal). This was a major foundation for the development of the European culture during the Byzantine period and later on in the Reformation.

Of course along with strengths were also vices. Vices and strengths are a part of all cultures -- all cultures, after all, are made up of broken people -- depending on how closely a people group adheres to God's direction or not -- vices are due to our rebellion from God's prescribed directions; virtues are due to being aligned with those directions. The issue becomes which culture is more virtuous with less vices. Again we must look to an absolute standard outside ourselves to determine this i.e. to God and his law of loving him with all we are and have and our neighbors as ourselves. 

What we call "Western Culture" in turn spread to North America via the pilgrims and separatists who had high regard for God's laws/design. This is not to say the church -- made up of fallen people -- was (or is) perfect but simply recognizing the nature and extent of it's more positive than negative influence.

To say it another way, if the racial makeup of the group that settled in and developed the west were Latin, Asian or Negro (I use Negro technically, not derogatorily) versus Caucasian, and had the same value system, the outcome would have been *exactly the same.

*There may be slight genetic variations within a given people group possibly resulting in a minor difference in how those values would have been carried out e.g. as a people group, Asians tend to have higher IQ's and are smaller in stature than Caucasians. However, how much of this is environmental is uncertain. Some say 50/50, others suggest difference %'s. Asians growing up in the same western Europe region with the exact same environmental factors such as geography, diet, and climate etc may in fact turn out exactly the same in group characteristics similar to Caucasians  i.e. larger in stature with a slightly lower IQ. On the other hand, Caucasians living in the locations Asians lived, with the same diet, my turn out smaller in stature with a higher IQ. For an interesting discussion on this particular point click here. 

However, overall, to say one race is superior to another or preferred over another merely by virtue of race or skin color i.e. genetics, -- which was also the Aryan argument used by the Nazi's -- is the essence of racism no matter who holds such sentiments and what color one's skin is i.e. it's just as wrong and destructive for one race as it is for another.

The unfortunate reality is racism is generally a part of every people group and not unique to Caucasians, contrary to increasingly common assertions by the progressive side of the political spectrum.

All groups display different innate qualities genetically that are strengths or weaknesses compared to other groups -- again how many environmental factors come into play, if at all, is uncertain. All groups are each unique and bring something unique and of value to the human family, that others don't. This simply makes them different, not necessarily superior or inferior overall. In this sense, diversity is good because it expresses a facet of God's image that other groups or individuals do not. So in this way this expression of uniqueness would be superior to those who do not display it simply because something others don't display is experienced and shared.

This is also true among siblings within a given family -- who are obviously of the same ethnicity. Certainly, no one would argue one child is more or less worthy of the parent's love and honor within a given family. But they will all have their own unique strengths or lack of them and make unique contributions. They all have their place and play a significant role in the family unit.

There can be superior cultures. There are never superior races.

To give higher regard to certain values and behavior over others is good and right. To give higher regard or respect to one race over another is not -- which is not the same as having a fond affection for the neutral or best things in our own culture. This is normal and true of all cultures. Considering one race as superior to another however is the essence of racism, regardless of which people group displays this view. This means whites, blacks, Latinos, Jews, Asians, and so on can all have racist tendencies. It is the dilemma of being broken as a human race.

The biggest factor that overrides all of this is our commonality. We are all beings created in the image of God and are equally invited to be in a relationship with God and able to do so. All groups reflect his glory in our own unique way. Again, "God is no respecter of persons" i.e. He doesn't have a higher regard for your "station" in life over another's.

This was also recognized by the founders of America in our founding documents -- even though not consistently put into practice. It was because of this world view expressed within those documents and their writers that slavery was finally abolished -- even though abused by some in the beginning. It was followers of Christ who were the primary agents of its eventual abolition -- William Wilberforce, a committed Christian, was the key leader of the abolition movement in England, whose effects were eventually felt in America leading to the eventual abolition of slavery on both sides of the Atlantic. 

The constant focus on America's past mistakes out of the many good values it was built on is simply an attempt to divide us as a nation.

We must always pursue and embrace superior (i.e. God-honoring) values but reject racism in all its forms no matter what culture or sector of society it is found in, for all men and women are equally in God images and therefore have dignity; all are created to honor God. We must, therefore, embrace all fellow humans equally as God's image-bearers, no matter what their race or skin color.

But equally true, we must recognize and be aware there is behavior that is contrary to our design and destructive to our fellow man thereby dishonoring to God as well, no matter what race displays this behavior. Pointing out destructive behavior is not racial or racist, it's moral and deals with the flourishing and betterment of all men and women as well as honoring to God.

For a discussion on racial tension and keys to diffusing it click here. 

For a discussion on a personal experience of discrimination click here 

For a further discussion on identity politics click here

It's about consequences, not shame.

When you blow it, how do you feel? How about when you blow it again and again in the same area? 

Do you grit your teeth, buckle down, and say, "I am not going to do that again" and then do it, anyway? 

So what's the solution? How can you find the strength to not mess up again?

Motivation to obey Christ has ¹everything to do with consequences and nothing to do with feelings of guilt or shame. God doesn't chide, shame, or reject us when we do wrong. We should never seek to obey God out of shame or fear of rejection ... but it is certainly wise to do so out of fear of correction. This is the essence of fearing/respecting God.

A truly loving parent will always correct their child when they do things harmful to others or themselves. And it will hurt, but that is not rejection. In fact, it's just the opposite. Those who God loves, he corrects. It is precisely because God wants what's best for us that he corrects us.  

A truly loving parent never stops loving us, no matter how stupid we act. Do they like it - or do you, if you are a parent - when we (or our kids) make poor choices? No. 

Are parents greatly grieved by these harmful choices? Definitely. Angry? Possibly. But not at us but for our sake and the sake of others. If God is mad, it is only because we are doing things that are destructive to ourselves and ²others. He is not mad at us but angry over the harm it causes ourselves and others. If we are his child, God is for us, not against us.

Not just destructive to us...

Disobedience is also dishonoring to God. To treat God with disrespect or low regard says to others God must not be worth loving or is that great. He's not important enough to pay attention to. This is a very harmful message or way to approach life. This is a problem, not for God, but for those who think God is not worth pursuing due to our not pursuing God as we are designed to. 

When we don't pursue God as we should - and He deserves - others will ask: 

If God is loving, how can those who call him Father be so unloving, e.g. how can such a loving parent (God) have such a spoiled brat (us) for a kid?

If He is great, how can those who call Him Father pursue things other than God and find greater meaning, joy, and life in them instead of Him?  

If God is the greatest, wisest, most powerful, and loving being of all, why aren't his children pursuing him more? 

We must ask ourselves if we are perfectly loved by God, why are we so unloving. Why doesn't his love create in us a love and compassion for others similar to the love and compassion he shows us? 

This occurs only because we don't truly know the nature of his love and how great it is. To say it another way, we may have heard of his love and know about it, but we haven't yet fully "bought-in" to it i.e. we don't really believe He loves us that much. 

Love, as well as consequences, should move us

What about our love, gratitude, or faith? Don't they have something to do with why we do or don't obey God?  

Of course, those who complain about a believer's lack of love use this as an excuse and justification for their own indifference to God. But in reality, they refuse to see the problem is with all of us, not God; with our unbelief and refusal to enter into and participate in God's love, wisdom, and power extended to us in Christ, not because God's love isn't fully extended to us as his adopted children i.e. the problem (our being unloving) lies within us and not within God.

Faith is always a part of obedience (obedience is the fruit of faith). As we mature and experience God's love, wisdom, and power, we begin to discover from first-hand experience he is good, all the time, and worthy of our complete trust and faithfulness. In the hard times and blessed times, he is always good, loving, wise, and patient. This creates gratitude on our part and a response of love to his love, wisdom, and goodness toward us. These experiences of His love always create growing confidence (trust/faith) in the goodness of his directions and His ways of handling our lack of trust in him.

For a further discussion on the uselessness of feeling guilt and shame click here.

For a further discussion on why God hates evil click here. 

For a further discussion on the "anatomy of motivation" to obedience click here. 

____________________________________

¹I don't mean "everything" in the sense it is the only thing that motivates us to pursue God. Love, trust and a desire to honor (glorify) God are key motivators as well. These fall on the positive side of what moves us to pursue God. For more on this click here.

I am referring to the negative side. When it comes to the reason we are not to sin, it should be to avoid the pain of consequences, not the shame of failure or fear of rejection.  

²We often assume he's against us when he is for others, but he's for *both us and them; just like he is for both himself and us. Our happiness is intertwined with the happiness of others. God first, then others.

We are inter-relational beings because God is an inter-relational being as Father, Son, and Spirit. For more on this point, click here. 

What is normal?

We often hear the question "what is normal?" That question seems to get increasingly louder with time. Is there even such a thing as normal?

Though there is no direct definition of "normal" given in the Bible, who we are and why we exist is clearly laid out. Since we, as a culture, have abandoned the source of what or who defines us and all things, we have lost sight of this.

To determine what normal is we must first recognize we do not define it. If there is a Creator/Designer of us and all things, - which means things are a certain way because they are designed to be a certain way by God - He must define this.

So what exactly is it?

Normal is operating according to our design — as opposed to operating merely by our desires i.e. an "if it feels good do it" approach to life. In an "if it feels good..." approach, feelings, and desires trump design. 

If we are indeed designed to operate in a particular manner, to go contrary to this is contrary to how we function best, no matter how much we may feel otherwise. The old saying "if it feels good, do it"  often proves to be a formula for disaster, not lasting fulfillment or meaning. There are no examples of long-term fulfillment in life or the Bible by letting our desires dictate our choices. If anything, we see just the opposite. 

By definition -- as well as in reality -- anything that operates contrary to its design will not operate well - and depending on how far adrift of that design, it could eventually break down and stop operating altogether. This is the basic nature of what it means to be designed.

And what is that design? 

We are created like God. 

But what is God like? 

He is love.

How and why is he love? 

Because he is a being of relationship between three persons; Father, Son, and Spirit. He gives and receives love, honor, and value from within and among those persons. God is love because he is relationship.

Why were we created?

·      So we too could be in a relationship with him, receiving love, honor, and value (glory) from God and giving it back to him in the same way (like) he does within the persons of Father, Son, and Spirit. To say it more precisely, we were created so we could be brought into and take part in (be partakers of) the giving and receiving of love, honor, and glory between the Father, Son, and Spirit. In order for us to do so, we had to be made as much like God as possible without being God. What does this look like?

·      We were also entrusted to oversee (have dominion over) and *care for the other things he created.

·      We are also like God in our ability to create and then to oversee and *care for the things we created. 

·      Lastly, we display what God is like by being fruitful, multiplying i.e. bringing life into the world and extending his love and glory to others.

However, we can not fully understand the "why" of our creation unless and until we understand that all the above has been severely marred. 

We still have the capacity for all the above -- and to a limited and distorted degree still display these attributes -- but we have also rebelled from this original design because we believe(d) we can (could) gain our own sense of love, honor, and value apart from God the source of these things. In short, we believe(d) the lie that we can (could) be our own god and we now pursue a course based on what we think is best, not on what our designer knows is best.

*genuine care (love) for something or someone other than ourselves can only occur when we first are fully participating in and experiencing the care (love) of our Creator. When we do not -- due to cutting ourselves off from him and his design through distrust/unbelief -- we use created things to care for ourselves instead of caring for creation out of honor for our Creator.

To recap... normal is being like God. How?

·      Being in a relationship of love with God, receiving and participating in (be partakers of) love, and giving love to him and others in response, as he does among Father, Son, and Spirit.

·      Overseeing and caring for the rest of his creation as stewards. We are God's partner and the overseer of all things for His glory and ours.

·       Using his creation to recreate, through which we bring honor and glory to him by demonstrating his creativity and beauty as the ultimate Creator of all things.

·      Being fruitful and multiplying, - i.e. by bringing forth other image-bearers - through which the whole earth is potentially filled with his love and glory, just as God was fruitful and multiplied his love by extending it to his first image-bearers, Adam and Eve.

Freedom of choice?

God gave us freedom of choice. If we had no choice, there would not have been the forbidden tree in the garden. 

Our choice involves the freedom to pursue him or attempt to be our own god i.e. not pursue the only true God. 

God continues to give us freedom of choice. 

He does so for two reasons. He wants us to choose him 

1. Freely

    AND

2. Willingly

Freedom of choice allows us to experience why we are not designed to be our own god i.e. To let us see firsthand that being our own god does not work. It allows us to experience firsthand "the knowledge of good and evil."

Allowing us to experience the fruit of our free choice persuades us to also willingly choose to pursue him; to operate according to his design (as dependent creatures) versus being our own god i.e. He leaves our choice intact and seeks to change our "¹wanter" not stifling or removing our "chooser." 

The bottom line… God wants us to choose to be who He designed us to be willingly and freely. He does not force us or program us to do so.  

Love that is not freely chosen is not true love, it is programmed. There is no true love without real choice. 

An old expression says, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." However, this expression fails to recognize that you can also "salt their oats" i.e. a thirst (desire) to choose what is vitally needed. 

This is not a violation of the will but the creating of awareness; an awareness of need. God allows us to experience our true limits-need-condition so that we will freely choose Him who is the best option.

Adam and Eve had never experienced death-evil and could not fully appreciate the benefit of all the good received from God until they had lost it by turning away from their dependence on Him. Eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil resulted in them experiencing evil-death (harm) firsthand.

• For a further discussion on choice click here.

• Why freedom of choice is important click here

• How sovereign is God? click here.

• The practical importance of God's electing grace click here

• Do we have a "free" will or are we heavily influenced? click here

• The value of paradox and truths in tension click here.

• The question of fairness click here.

• The necessity of mercy click here.

• Is the election and wrath of God unreasonable? click here.

• For a discussion on how we are free to choose yet also bound, click here. 

___________________________________________Footnotes:

¹Our ability to choose always remains; however what we want changes. And we want what we think-believe will best give us what we need. It is what we believe is the best option out of all possible options to choose from. 

As long as we are open to truth - to what truly is - we will increasingly discover God is our true and best end. He is why we exist - the cause and the purpose of our existence. He is the Alpha and Omega - for from him, through him, and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen! - Rom 11:36