Why Should We Engage with Those of Other Cultures in the US
Sometimes the idea of engaging with those of other cultures can feel overwhelming. We can quickly point out several practical challenges to developing relationships with someone from a different culture (language, dress, food, religion). These various challenges are often visible–and even sometimes felt–but there are usually deeper, underlying reasons behind our apprehension to develop relationships with individuals from other cultures. In this article, I would like to address two of those underlying reasons that may also affect one’s willingness to engage with people from another culture.
First, neo-racism. Unlike traditional racism, which is based on race or biological differences, neo-racism is more subtle and focuses on cultural differences. It is a characteristic of the postcolonial era and is rooted on the assumption that one’s culture is superior to others. This assumption can be based on moral, religious, ethical or other elements.
Fortunately for Christians, Christianity is not a cultural phenomenon; it is life. Christianity is not a social construct but the intervention of the power of God in a person. Therefore, Christianity does not belong to any society because it is not reproduced by human means. It belongs only to the community of believers – the Church – regardless of their cultural background.
Second, legalism. We live in a part of the world where theology and Christian teachings are woven into society. Unfortunately, when Christian beliefs are revealed to a person through human means – whether by the cultural exposure or other influences – and not by the Father in heaven, it can lead to a legalistic view that fears cultural “contamination” and strives to remain “pure.” However, it is important to remember that it is not what enters a person that defiles them, but what comes from the heart.
In Jesus’ time and after, Jews and Samaritans held mutual disdain, creating a significant religious and cultural divide between them. Both claimed Yahweh as God, but Jews (especially legalists) believed that any contact with Samaritans would defile them, so they avoided any kind of social or cultural engagement with them.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) Jesus teaches us three principles for engaging with people from other cultures based on what Christ, the Father, and the Spirit dictate through Scripture – despite what society or culture may dictate.
- Engaging with those from different cultures is not a matter of doctrinal position, personal preferences or skills; it is a matter of eternal life. A key characteristic of someone who “will live” forever (v.28) is not only “loving the Lord” (v.27) but also loving “your neighbor as yourself” (v.27).
- There is no justification for not loving others as yourself. We are good at finding ways to justify a greater love for ourselves than for our neighbors, just as the expert of the law tried to do (v.29), but Jesus cannot be mocked.
- A Christian neighbor is not only open but also intentional and proactive in engaging with people from other cultures. While the world’s expectations of a neighbor may vary, a Christian neighbor is expected to demonstrate love and mercy. A Christian neighbor is expected to “prove” it (v.36). When Jesus finished the parable, He asked the expert of the law, “Which of these three (priest, Levite or Samaritan) proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?” A Christian neighbor is not passive or neutral to others like the priest or the Levite; the biblical neighbor is intentional in showing mercy, for in Christ, love is his/her new language.
1 For further reading see Rodat, Simona “Cultural Racism: A Conceptual Framework” (2017). The use of “racism” to describe this tendency is mainly because it has the potential to produce the same consequences as the old forms of racism among the foreign cultures: human trafficking, extreme and dangerous labor conditions, illegal child labor, among others.
I won’t claim that 100% of people from other cultures are good, nor will I say that all of them are bad. However I am certain that those who do not know God are 100% dead in their trespasses and sins, just as the man who fell among robbers was half-dead. Our responsibility is to extend mercy as we once received it. So “Go, and do likewise” (v.37).
Author: Israel Alva is the Hispanic Minister at Colonial Heights Baptist Church.
