Culture in Transition Pt. 9
Today’s culture is continuously in transition. There are many factors that fuel this transition. One of these factors is philosophy.
According to Webster philosophy is defined as: “the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. A closer examination of this definition implies that the investigation of truth is plural. This infers that there is more than one truth. This is important when it comes to culture because the truth is the knowledge that impacts the being and conduct of human beings. Culture is the customary beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Another definition of this word states the following: “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.
Culture is important to God. Culture is also important to human beings. One thing that is consistent is that man is not the original source of culture. In the beginning, there was no culture because there were no humans on the earth. Man is not the source of his own existence. This is a very important point because, in order for an individual to understand who he or she is, one must also be knowledgeable of their origin. It is difficult to discuss existence apart from discussing the source of it as well. This is why philosophy is so important. The study of philosophy helps men and women visualize the bigger picture when it comes to their personal beliefs as well as their behavior. Philosophy is critical to one’s perception of truth.
The Word of God reminds us that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen.1:1. The point being revealed is that God is the Source of all creation. Nothing existed in the beginning. However, God was present in the beginning because God is eternal. God is not limited by time. It is confirmed that God created the heavens and the earth including man. “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Gen. 1:26, 27. According to the Bible, God’s Holy Word is the Source of humanity. But more importantly, God is the source of original culture as well.
In our last blog, the question was raised: “Does the church have a message amid the chaos? It is evident that the culture today is in chaos. Chaos refers to a state of utter confusion. This is a fair assessment of the state of our current culture. There is a division at every level. There is an endless debate involving almost every topic, and unending points of view regardless of the subject being discussed. Is it possible that the greater need is to concentrate on the original culture? There was a culture that God established and put the original man and woman in. This culture reflected the heart and mind of the Creator for His creation. Is it possible that a closer examination of God’s culture—His purpose and plan for humanity—still speaks to the chaos that is being experienced in the culture of today? Potentially, there is a huge gap between then and now. Maybe the problem facing today’s culture is a lack of knowledge of God’s original culture and the impact it had on those originally living in it?