How are we affected by our culture?
Discussion question for September 9, 2011.
Last week we talked about how prejudice affects trust, and the impact of a person’s culture on their frame of reference. What influence must you guard against from your culture? What kinds of things are included in cultural upbringing? What makes one culture better than another? How can you avoid cultural traps in your belief system?
Here’s my summary of our discussion.
Culture is a frame of reference that impacts how you are going to respond in any given situation. It is made up of your values, experiences and beliefs. Because it is your “normal” it can be very subtle while still being extremely influential. The core of a culture changes little over time, and rarely can a change be made in one generation. Culture has persistence.
There is a benefit to situations in which cultures collide. This can create an environment where the components of a culture are examined. An example of this is when a person travels; experiencing culture shock. They must reaffirm or reject things they held dear because of the stark contrast of a differing culture. Another example is a marriage, a collision between two family cultures. Not all culture shock experiences end in an advantage to the participants.
The core of culture is a belief system, whether codified in doctrines and teachings or not. We are controlled by this culture unless we override it. The default setting is to “go with the flow” and not to question the underlying beliefs. To find truth we must interrogate our beliefs at every opportunity.
There is an absolute truth. It is not opinion or pragmatically defined. It is God. We must learn to hear from Him and relate to and with Him on a present day to day basis in order to properly interrogate our beliefs.
Just because we’ve done it this way for generations, that does not make it right. The normal pattern based on our experience is not an accurate measure of truth, either. The fresh input from the Holy Spirit and inspiration from the Word of God is necessary to overcome time and have eternal truth. This concept is important as we consider the risk of “being a product of our times” instead of standing for truth.
I can overcome the persistence (or momentum) of my cultural influence only to the extent I rely on my God-directed influence.