There are 5 distinct views that are commonly thought of when thinking about how Jesus dealt with culture during his time on earth.
- Christ against culture. Christ is opposed to the cultural expressions of this world and calls his followers to another way.
- Christ above culture. Christ arrives to lift the culture.
- Christ in paradox with culture. We are called to follow Christ and dwell in a non-Christian culture.
- Christ transforming culture. God calls us to redeem the world by a missional life.
- Christ of culture. When Christians begin to see the culture in which they live to be more or less Christian.
We often think of these as exclusive. Meaning that how Jesus interacted with the culture was only one of these. I think that would be wrong. Not only is it alienating other points of view, but I think we see in the Bible that Jesus was probably all of these at some point.
My question is: which one most reflects Jesus’ ministry on earth to you?
My answer: tomorrow.
(HT: Jesus Creed)
