“Theodor Adorno was a German philosopher, sociologist, and musicologist known for his critical theory of society. Adorno’s work continues to shape contemporary thought, especially his critiques of mass culture and the culture industry.”- https://www.vaia.com/en-us/explanations/german/german-literature/theodor-adorno/
God asked me a question, December, 2024, “What is culture?”
At first I thought the question strange. But, as God does, He poured insight into me that helped me to see that the answer is, “Culture is nothing.”
WHY?
No person is born with a culture. We are programmed into a culture. However, in comparison to the fact that we are human before we are culturally indoctrinated humans God tells us, Jeremiah 1:5, that He made us, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” This is a HUGE distinction to absorb in our assessment of self and bias. Because God formed us BEFORE culture shaped us we need to find identity in who God says we are not what culture has forced us to believe we are by forcing itself onto us as unaware, defenceless children.
To help us understand that culture is an idea, not a reality much work has been done on understanding culture and its manipulative force.
Boston University defines culture as, “A culture is a way of life of a group of people–the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.” – https://www.bu.edu/diversity/resources/self-guided-education/living-language-guide/culture-and-ideologies/
Did you know that God points us away from cultural indoctrination by pointing us to follow Jesus Only?
Galatians 3:28 is both a verse of acceptance of people equally welcomed into God’s House, but more importantly that our identity is found in Jesus.
David Guzik, ‘Enduring Word’ commenting on Matthew 3 expands this concept of not relying on culture as an identity.
Notice that the chosen people- Jews- had become supremacist in their identity as Jewish. Their thinking was that they were automatically favoured. Hence, John the Baptist calls them out because their Jewishness had become an idol, and we know what God says about idols?
I, particularly like the assimilation of the statements in Exodus 20:3-5, “any likeness of anything,” and, “do not bow down yourself to them.” We make culture an idol when we place culture before Jesus, and bow to it when we act within that culture. We are , effectively, saying, “God, You must fit into my cultural identity.”
This is why we have pseudo- Christianities such as spiritualist-Christianity, people claiming to be sangoma’s and Pastors, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Scientologists, and worse the 4200 other false religions.
I am sure you have heard people make the cultural idolatry distinction of “the white church versus the black church,” or, “the Orthodox Church versus the Pentecostal Church,” or, “eastern versus western Christianity.” All of those ideologies that are shaped by culture have missed a grave point, OUR IDENTITY IS CHRIST ONLY.
As Adorno states, “Culture counterfeits.”
As God unfolded the aha-moment that culture is nothing more than an idea, my heart broke. My heart broke because so many of us, all of us in fact, have been held prisoner to something (culture). The tragedy in our cultural obsession is that we forget that Jesus smashed cultural indoctrination in its teeth.
Yet, we still allow ourselves to be indoctrinated by culture. We are being manipulated by a puff of smoke that is an idea, not a reality. The reality is, Jeremiah 1:5- GOD FORMED US OUT OF WHAT HE KNEW US TO BE.
If culture is an idea that has manipulated us into a false identity, how do we break free from it?
Breaking out of cultural influence involves recognizing and challenging the norms, values, and beliefs that shape one’s behavior and thinking. Afterall, Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Here are some practical steps to unlearn cultural indoctrination and relearn who God says we are.
1. Self-Awareness and Critical Thinking:
• Developing self-awareness is crucial. Reflect on your own beliefs and question why you hold them. Hence, the importance of attending discipleship college.
2. Exposure to Diverse Perspectives:
• Engage with cultures different from your own through travel, literature, art, and conversations with people from diverse backgrounds. By engaging people we see that culture is just an idea not a reality, therefore enabling us to let go of culture as fact. And where better to meet diverse people than in church.
3. Education and Learning:
• Study sociology, anthropology, and history to understand how cultures are constructed and how they influence individuals.
4. Mindfulness and Meditation:
• Practices like mindfulness and meditation can help detach from culturally ingrained thought patterns and develop a more independent mindset.
5. Challenging Social Norms:
• Actively question and resist societal expectations and norms that do not align with your values.
6. Support Networks:
• Build a community of like-minded individuals who support your efforts to think independently.
As my Pastor, Pastor Andre Olivier, Rivers Churches, often says from the platform, “Let the main thing be the main thing.”
THE MAIN THING IS JESUS.
John 1 reminds us, “In Him.” This is critical to understand because we are subject to Him- Jesus- and our ENTIRE EXISTENCE, and identity is in Him, not culture.
Jesus saves, not culture.
AMEN
#Hayibo 