Intercultural Relations in Light of the Bible
“We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord,” are the words of a worship song that is sung in many evangelical churches. We greet one another – especially if we have not yet learned someone’s name – as “brother” or “sister.” We want to emphasize the unity of the body of Christ even when, sometimes, we do not interact with one another until the next church service. In every way, we want to feel that we are all equal before Christ, that social or cultural differences do not exist or are not important. Of course, on one hand, we all have to interact with people who neither share our feelings nor treat us as equals. On the other hand, if we belong to another socio-cultural group, we often feel pressured by or, in the majority of cases, avoid those who treat us as “different.”
There are those who imagine that the existence of diversity among human beings is a result of the fall. That sin is the reason we speak different languages, that the rebellion of humanity is the reason we have different customs and ways of thinking. “If not for Adam and Eve,” we would all be equal. How boring, insipid, and monotonous the world would be if not for cultural diversity! We should never think such things of God, nor of God’s creation. The Bible reveals a God so marvelous and of such varied taste that He created a universe with all the colors, flavors, feelings, sounds, and the whole range of human possibilities. In our approach to the sacred text, we will discover that God, the Designer, takes pleasure in human cultural diversity.