Chapter 1 - The Cultural Embedding of the Gospel

Summary

Must Jesus Always Remain Greek?

In what culture would Jesus best feel at home? That seems, at first glance, a strange question to ask – as if that were up to us or Jesus! Cultural influences are too complex to be simply shoved aside. We can define culture as a comprehensive system of meanings, norms and values by which people give form (meaning) to their material existence in a certain time and context. This concept of culture keeps the notions of “superstructure” and “substructure” together. The act of giving form and meaning always presupposes a certain, concrete, material existence. In using the word culture, we are not speaking exclusively of something lofty but of the broad complex process of giving meaning and form to all aspects of human existence. Both the way we think and the way we act are part of our “culture.” Cultures are subject to change just as much as how we think and act is. It is people who make or break a culture, but a (collective) culture can also be a power factor over against the individual. That is why we can also state that culture stamps the individual.

As a rule, an individual is more of a bearer than a maker of the culture in which he or she lives. But one can, nevertheless, be critical of his or her own culture.