Culture and the Bible

The Clash of Culture and the Bible

Making my home in Africa instead of North America, Ethiopia instead of Canada, means I am constantly confronted with the “clash of cultures.” How many times have I heard some habit explained as, “It’s our culture.” Sometimes I like what I see in their culture; sometimes it frustrates me. But whether I see culture as good or not, I need to admit that “culture” (those patterns of beliefs and behaviors) help define us as a people and gives us a sense of bonding together as a society. I also tell myself that my capacity for ministry is dependent on my ability to differentiate whether it is their culture that is clashing with mine, or whether it is clashing with the Bible.

As pastor of an international church comprised of Ethiopians as well as 30 other different nationalities, and living in Ethiopia with 80 distinct people groups, there will be plenty of opportunities for me to experience the “clash of cultures.”

In the Ethiopian culture the Buna ceremony is revered with pride. Buna is the Amharic word for ‘coffee’ but it is the ceremony of serving the coffee that becomes important. The hostess and guests sit on a low stool circling a charcoal burner. Grass is scattered around the floor. She then proceeds to follow prescribed steps of roasting the coffee beans, grinding them and brewing the coffee in a unique shaped pot which is then poured into little cups for the guests. The more traditional procedure is that before the coffee is served, a little coffee is poured out on the ground. The central nature of this ceremony is the socializing while sipping coffee.

For me it is quite fascinating. For many Ethiopians it is a nice way to demonstrate their culture and hospitality, however for some, because of the history of this custom, they see it as calling on the good spirits to favor their home. For some it is the belief that you must pour out a little coffee to the evil spirits, otherwise they won’t leave you alone. Does everyone believe this about the buna ceremony? No. Many enjoy it as an expression of Ethiopian culture without attaching meaning of good or evil spirits.

Although there are other beliefs in the Ethiopian culture which are done so that evil will leave them alone, many things that demonstrate Ethiopian culture have no spiritual significance. When you are greeted by a friend, there is a kiss on the cheek, repeated three times (four times if you haven’t seen the person for a long time) always beginning to the left. If you give someone an object you show respect by holding your right elbow with your left hand (they say this is a ‘throw-back’ to former days when it was important to show you are not concealing any hidden weapon). When someone dies, a likso or a time of mourning after burial is very important in Ethiopian culture. The neighborhood along with friends and relatives show up at your house all day long for at least three days to just sit with the ones grieving. Some will talk with the grieving relatives in hushed tones, but most will just sit there for hours at a time. It is their cultural expression of giving comfort.

In these kind of expressions one sees how culture preserves certain values – commitment to friendship and hospitality. North American culture seems cold in comparison with its causal ‘hi’ and simple handshake. But where does the Bible clash with Ethiopian culture? How does the Christian decide between biblical values and cultural values? Where has the Bible changed culture?

The most obvious impact of Christianity has been related to the value of human life. Historically ‘Christianity’ came to Ethiopia around 350 AD which today is called the Orthodox Church. The contrast is seen with people groups in the south where the Orthodox Church never went. In the history of the Gugi people killing has been considered a significant cultural value. For a Gugi to be ready for marriage he must kill someone from another tribe. If he does he is called a ‘hero.’ We all would agree that this is a cultural value that must be challenged by the Bible (especially if we were living among the Gugi).

But what about cultural values that deal with honesty? There is a cultural value that prefers to not offend or to not hurt the other person. Therefore, one might say what they thought the other person wanted to hear versus saying the truth. This shows up when checking if a flight is on schedule, asking for directions on the street, or telling a person about the death of a family member. One woman of my congregation had her son in the USA for brain surgery. Shortly after the boy died and the body was shipped back to Ethiopia. The mother did not learn of his death until four days later when his body arrived at the airport. She was told a family member was sick and only when she gathered with the rest of the family did she learn of her son’s death. This is a cultural practice meant to protect the person from emotional distress, but how did it make her feel to have this secret kept from her?

There is also the practice of telling lies in order to make peace. There is the Ethiopian proverb that says, “It is better to lie and then reconcile.” So the mediator will tell a lie to one party so that the other party will reconcile, but the issue causing the problem is not dealt with and usually reoccurs again in the relationship.

How does one decide if a cultural value is negative or positive? Some values are neutral but many need to be viewed as positive or negative in light of the Bible’s teaching, and either confronted or supported by teaching in the church. The church must be more aggressive in dealing with the values of culture. A positive value in most African cultures is the respect for age and the showing of hospitality. However, a negative value would be view of women in a culture or perspective on work. How does the Bible confront some of these values?

Status of women – In most of the cultures of the world women have been viewed as subservient to men. The church needs to start with Genesis 1 and show how both male and female were created in the image of God and it takes both to complete the image of God. The church needs to teach that while both have different roles they have equal dignity before God. 1 Peter 3:7 gives a stern warning to husbands about having their prayers hindered because of their not having God’s value of women. One of my students once remarked, what he liked about our International Church was that husbands and wives came to church together. In Addis Ababa many Christian men will go to church when they are ready, leaving their wife to come when they have the children ready. One of the values we need to confront is the dignity of women in the Christian culture.

Work ethic – How does culture view work? Is it a curse or a blessing? There is a cultural proverb that says, “God makes work as punishment.” So they try to avoid work. The Bible speaks very directly to this. Eccl. 5:19 says that God gives man the privilege of work so as to enjoy life and then He expects man to “be happy in his work – it is a gift of God.” Eph. 4:28 – tell us to “work… so as to have something to share” – there is a sense of privilege of having work so that we are able to share with others. The Bible clashes with culture when it says work is not punishment from God – it is a gift from God. It is good and it is good for us.

Confronting – When there is a wrong between two ‘brothers’ the Ethiopian culture tends to avoid confrontation. A greater value is ‘saving face’ and not embarrassing the other person. When the problem becomes serious enough they will go to the shimagelis (older persons) to act as mediators. But what usually happens is that the problem gets passed around and rumors get started, and the problem keeps brewing until it becomes this huge obstacle that could have been avoided if some biblical principles had been applied. Matthew 18 speaks very directly on how to handle an offense… “just between the two of you. But if he will not listen then take one or two others…” Eph. 4:26 says: “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Deal with issues quickly and directly.

So the Bible does at times clash with culture, and when it does we need to be faithful to God’s Word because it is ‘supra-cultural’ – it rises above culture. But we need to be careful that we speak to those issues only when the Bible is clear on those issues. Ethiopian evangelical culture in some places still considers it a sin for women to wear make-up or Christians to drink wine. Whatever the issue we need to be careful we are not projecting our preferences or culture rather than biblical principles.

What guidelines should we have? (1) Does it conflict with clear biblical principles? (2) Is it possible to preserve the good while avoiding the bad? (e.g. keeping the buna ceremony while not pouring out the coffee offering on the ground). (3) Can we redeem some cultural behaviors to better reflect our beliefs in God? (e.g. making funerals more Christian by not just wailing in the cultural norm but celebrating the person and our hope in Christ).

The Apostle Paul was our first missionary and in 1 Cor. 9:19-22 he gives us his bias on cultural adaptation. He says he is willing to adapt to whatever culture he is in, take on whatever practices they may have “so that by all possible means I might save some.” The Bible doesn’t call us to throw out culture but to adapt to it whenever possible, especially as it helps us lead men and women to experience Christ, the One who rises above culture.

by Arnell Motz

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Re-Thinking Short Term Missions

Good news. Through the recent emphasis on short-term missions more people are aware of missions by actually going and experiencing for themselves what it means to minister cross-culturally. Now that has to be good.

Bad news. While I am thrilled to see greater numbers involved in missions, I know of some short-termers doing more harm than they do good. In my 27 years as a missionary I have many accounts where more good would have been done if they had sent the money and stayed home, simply because they lacked a valid strategy. So as I see it, we have fixed one problem of anemic involvement and created another – a lack of strategic involvement.

A few years ago the G-8 Leaders of the world met in Scotland and hordes of young adults descended on London (and other cities of the world) to make a statement against poverty. They said they wanted the G-8 leaders to “make poverty history in Africa.” They sponsored the world’s largest rock concert where they were entertained by their best bands and then marched in the streets demanding the G-8 commit more money to relief in Africa. I imagine that most returned back to their homes feeling good about their participation and that they had done something useful on behalf of Africa’s suffering.

Did any of them actually go to Africa and work among the impoverished? Did they take some of their own money and sponsor self-help ventures that would assist the poor to feed themselves? No, they entertained themselves and patted themselves on the back for doing something against poverty in the world.

In our short-term missions ventures we take similar tactics. While it is good to see more people active in missions I wonder if a major part of our efforts are spent in things that entertain us in our going more than contribute to the needs of those we go to for ministry. What seems to be happening is that our churches are cutting back their funding of long-term missions so as to provide for more involvement in short-term missions. Teams are being sent for usually one or two week ventures, some longer, but at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars. And what do they do? I’ve seen teams help with a VBS program in Bolivia – they poured soft drinks while the Bolivians taught the lessons. Others have worked hard at laying bricks and pouring cement -- at about ten times the cost of hiring local help to do the same job.

In a church I attended a group of about 20 high school students returned from a short-term missions trip to Russia. As they gave their report to the congregation we mainly heard how bad was the flight and how they disliked the food once they got there. $40,000 spent and that was the return on our investment.

Am I against sending teams to other countries for a missions experience? No, I want to see more people experience the challenge of living and ministering in another culture. It is the best way to recruit prayer support for the Great Commission and studies show that the vast majority of long-term missionaries have had some form of short-term missions experience. I recognize the value that it can have. And sometimes the best option for achieving that is to send teams to lay bricks and pour lemonade.

But there may be a better way to do short-term missions. For me there are three principles that should guide our activities:

1. Do what they can’t do for themselves.

I speak of the ideal, recognizing that it is not always possible, but we still need to push for the ideal. For short-term missions our assignment needs to be doing what nationals in the host country cannot do because of lack of training or experience, or will not do because of lack of vision.

For example, in Africa the Fulanis are herdsmen and have often been mistreated by the ruling people group. So when their government veterinarians come to vaccinate their cattle they do not trust them. But when a foreign veterinarian comes to assist them they respect them and listen to what they have to say. In this case a Christian foreigner will have more acceptability than a Christian national.

In the Philippines I learned of one ministry to street children had to be started by foreigners because national Christians lacked the vision for reaching these kinds of children. However, once it was started then nationals picked up the vision.

What are some of the activities short-term missions could do? Conduct specialized help ministries or create impact by focusing on a particular need such as street children which can be carried on by long-term workers or the national church after the short-termers leave.

A very strategic ministry is teaching English. The world of young adults is clamoring to learn English and they prefer to learn it from a North American. One of my missionary assignments was in Ethiopia. This country has three official languages – Amharic, Oromo, and English. All upper level education is done in English yet their English teachers struggle with pronunciation. When we brought in a team of college students to run an English camp we had no trouble filling it with non-believers because of the great desire to learn English from a North American speaker. There are many similar opportunities around the world today and it gives us a tremendous door opener for the gospel.

What could short-termers do? Visit the universities to talk to students, conduct an English conversation camp where your small group conversations discuss values for life. The list could go on with possibilities that are unique to you as an outsider.

2. Do what contributes to a larger strategy.

Over my years I have seen many groups come and leave – heard the reports that make it sound like they have revolutionized the country. The fact is, most are forgotten within a month. We all want to believe that the masses will come to Christ, that we will have made their lives better, etc. etc. And we should desire that because that is God’s desire, but we often get caught believing our own publicity.

A dose of reality is that much of what we do in our short-term ventures have short-term results. Does that make it worthless? No! It only points to the need to relate whatever we do to a long-term strategy. Usually that means seeing our short-term missions as impact teams that support ministries that will go the long haul (whether missionary or national church). That is where real value comes.

That means if we cannot relate our venture to a bigger strategy – either something that is already in place or the initiation of a strategy that has a way of continuing – then we should not do it. Just to serve our needs or to ‘experience missions’ is a sub-standard motivation.

But if we come with a mentality of serving the church in a particular region of the world and trying to fit their agenda, then we will have learned the true heart of a missionary.

3. Do what gives the most empathy for their situation.

I recognize that every group cannot live under the same hardship or face the same environments. But I think that sometimes our short-term missions ventures resemble vacation packages rather than sacrificial challenges. For some I think the promotion could almost be – “See the world! Experience exotic foods and people! Leave behind that boring summer job while having someone else pay your way! Go on our missions trip!”

Now doing a missions venture in another culture will do all of those things, but I fear that some, in trying to find new recruits, have made things too easy. The fact is that when you commit to living in a difficult part of the world ‘It ain’t easy.’ Culture shock is a reality. However, feeling one’s weaknesses and lack of abilities is a necessary part of learning to be used by God.

So I say, short-term teams need to experience some hardship – they need a boot camp more than luxury vacation. Don’t be afraid to let them sleep on the floor or eat national foods. Yes, there are American hotels and foods in most places of the world but one should not go to another country to experience American culture or to constantly be on the phone to parents or friends back home. That is the great benefit of short-term missions. The couple weeks is like being in a simulation bubble – so one should try to experience as much of the reality as possible.

Do I sound negative about short-term missions? I hope not. I think there are many good things being accomplished by churches’ efforts in this area. But I also think that many areas of our missions effort are broken and need fixing. Most of the issues revolve around one word – ‘strategic.’ How can we be more strategic in using short-term teams? When I see churches cutting their long-term commitments to fund short-term ventures I wonder if their motivation is to be strategic in ministry – where it will do more good – or if it is the desire of getting more people into their church program – make themselves feel good. Maybe that’s unfair, but we need to ask the hard questions if we are going to be effective in our overall venture of fulfilling the Great Commission.

Arnell Motz

Bio:

Arnell Motz served as executive director of SIM Canada, then senior pastor of the International Evangelical Church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and church planting pastor of the Cochabamba International Church in Bolivia.

© Arnell Motz, 2012