Christians and Cultural Difference

by David I. Smith, Pennylyn Dykstra-Pruim

Encountering cultural differences in the classroom, in the workplace, in the church, and in the public square is an everyday part of contemporary life. The chances that we will live our lives interacting only with those who share our cultural identity and ways of thinking are shrinking. Understanding culture and how cultural difference affects how we understand one another and live well together is no longer just for travelers. It has become a basic life skill.

Past Christian ways of thinking about cultural difference as most important for missions to far away places do not harmonize with today's realities. This book offers a brief, critical overview of how Christians have been rethinking their relationship to cultural difference. Creation and fall, the image of God, the body/temple that is the church, neighbor ethics, the trinity, the incarnation and cross of Christ, and the call to welcome strangers – each of these offers distinct challenges to think in Christian ways about how we deal with differences.

Exploring the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches, this book provides a concise guide to current Christian discussions of otherness. It points to rich ways in which Christians can responsibly and graciously embrace cultural difference.

Genres: Cultural, Nonfiction, Christian

100 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2016

About the author

I started out as a secondary school foreign language teacher in England. I quickly became intrigued by the ways in which implicit beliefs and values shaped the materials and ways of teaching that I experienced in classrooms. That theme has become my career-long research project. Most of my books have something to do with how faith gets expressed in classrooms. I now direct a research institute focused on how Christian faith relates to education as well as being involved in teacher education at Calvin College as an education professor. I serve as senior editor of the International Journal of Christianity and Education, and travel widely to work with schools and universities on faculty development. I have also been involved in shaping some online curriculum projects at http://www.whatiflearning.com and http://www.teachfastly.com.

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great short book. My favorite part was chapter 3, looking at the story of the woman at the well through a cultural lens. As many times as I have read that story and heard it preached about, this book gave me a completely new perspective! I had never considered before that the woman in this story might not have had the choice to have so many husbands. Smith and Dykstra-Pruim write,

"My Afghan woman friends immediately saw the woman's shame. No woman in Afghanistan can arrange her own marriage. The woman at the well had been used by five men, and the last didn't even have the decency to marry her. The woman's question about where she should worship made sense. With her lack of honor and freedom, she couldn't have gone to Jerusalem or Mount Gerazim to worship. Stunningly, Jesus told her she could worship where she was, told her she was not cut off from God...The many husbands were not her choice, nor was her current status. The situation forced on her had pushed her to the margins....Jesus was indeed calling her to faith, but perhaps he was ministering to her shame more than to her sin."

[Amy Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very insightful and thought-provoking read. My small group from church used this text for our most recent book study. It lead to great discussion! I liked the balance between the religious and academic perspective of recognizing, understanding, and embracing cultural differences. "We can be peacemakers because we value in all humans the image of God and because we see cultural diversity as a part of God's creative genius and our creative nature."

[Monty Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great place to start your journey of understanding cultural differences and how to best embrace and navigate the world of cultural competency. It’s a small and fast read that will set you up for more...

[Mark VanderWerf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great concise introduction to cultural engagement across difference. Though small it packs in delightful and wise biblical insights as well as a great summary of Miroslav Volf's theology of embrace.