I’ve been thinking a lot about culture. And most of the ideas I’ve had for posts lately have centered on culture. What it is, where it is, the effects it has on us and how we can affect the culture around us.
This line of thought began last month when I read a couple of Francine Rivers novellas. One was based on the life of Aaron, the brother of Moses, and the other based on the life of Caleb who was one of only two Israelites who came out of Egypt as an adult and lived to see the Promised Land. When we think of the Exodus, we generally think of the escape from Egyptian bondage, but these books reminded me that the Hebrews were not only slaves to Pharaoh, but also to the culture of Egypt. It only took a few chapters of Exodus for the Lord to deliver them from the land of Egypt, but forty years of desert wandering to deliver them from bondage to the culture of Egypt and transform them into the nation of Israel with its own distinct culture.
The Bible shows us that they continued to struggle with their cultural identity through the centuries as they entered the Canaan Land, when they demanded a king so they could be like the nations around them(1 Sam 8:5), when they were taken into Babylonian captivity, and on into New Testament times when Rome and its Hellenistic culture ruled the world. Paul and Peter continued to address the issue as the Christian church took root, dealing with cultural issues in all of their epistles.
I think I’ll try to do a series of posts on the topic of culture and what I think about it, so stay tuned. In keeping with this subject matter, this week’s song is the Hag’s anthem from the culture war years of the late 60’s.
Disclaimer: I am not from Oklahoma, I’m a native Texican, and I usually speak of Okies in a derogatory manner, but I like this song.
