tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034512501967955669.post8597110466552579853..comments2009-09-21T23:03:56.593-07:00Comments on The Culture of the Kingdom: The Kingdom of HeavenDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05418812134127968252noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034512501967955669.post-2468925466113934892009-09-11T19:02:57.718-07:002009-09-11T19:02:57.718-07:00As a missionary apprentice, I have had the stark k...As a missionary apprentice, I have had the stark kick-in-the-face revelation of the differences between cultures, and I'm only living in Mexico. Who knew one river divided so much? There are so many things that are different, from the food to the concept of time. There are, however, over-arching themes in every culture. The church, in contrast, goes against this in many ways. <br /><br />One thing that immediately came into my mind when I read the question is that the church thrives under persecution. One would assume that a culture would crumble under foreign and domestic threats and persecutions, but we see the exact opposite. And it has been going on and will keep going on.John McCoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13635126408725883727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034512501967955669.post-6690566361291242982009-09-10T19:09:57.400-07:002009-09-10T19:09:57.400-07:00To say that it must be a culture of love would be ...To say that it must be a culture of love would be too easy and potentially too generic. So I guess I will say it this way: One of the main differences you should notice about me if I'm part of the culture of the church is that I strive to be submissive to my King. If I succeed in something, my whole being indicates it is totally to His credit and if I fail at something I am the first to confess it and rest in His leadership for healing. This type of sold-out love is the beating heart of a citizen of Christ's Kingdom, the church.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09594468110408401553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034512501967955669.post-16521953014357932292009-09-09T23:50:51.763-07:002009-09-09T23:50:51.763-07:00I'll at least throw this out right off the bat...I'll at least throw this out right off the bat...that just like Israel, Rome, China, the Philippines, Iraq, America...or any other nation that has at times brutally feared the Church... they are/were right! A Kingdom that has in it's core teaching: the embracing of complete unity under one King, the resolving of various cultural preferences and SOME practices within that as acceptable, and the rejection of a particular race, gender or status as having the original seed of this very Kingdom is too powerful to allow!!! Unless you actually want heaven on earth.Elihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04393709731996455789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5034512501967955669.post-5251738598889135052009-09-09T21:02:20.045-07:002009-09-09T21:02:20.045-07:00This is one to ponder. Dear Daniel, I think that y...This is one to ponder. Dear Daniel, I think that you are right in saying that in order to come to any conclusions about this particular question we must begin by coming to at least some reconciling consensus about who this "church" is in order to use it in a comparison. And the great thing is, that these defining thoughts might well be the greatest cultural distinctions as well. Also, to define church within the contextualization of "culture" we must define and find the various components of "culture" as well. Quite a task. Here is one small opening thought: I propose that one of the most defining features of a culture is its history and narrative, and this is something that the church certainly carries with great uniqueness: we are informed by our narrative of the life of Christ. While our exegesis and theological interpretation varies wildly, we can at least begin here. The church has a richly rooted narrative that is quite different than many other cultures and countries. We follow a distinct person that embodied the Divine (the amount depending upon your exegesis) so peculiarly that we are allured and compelled to shape our entire lives around his life roughly 2000 years later. We celebrate, lament, and create ritual that points us to God, many of which are informed by this Christ. We've done it so long that this may not sound peculiar, but it is beyond strange to the this world!Lizzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12573367702958775271noreply@blogger.com