Clash of cultures or Ignorance of Cultures?

Palestinians dress donkey with a Jewish holy Talith

The Face of Muhammed - The

controversial cartoons of

Muhammad, first published in

Jyllands-Posten in September 2005.

Moslem Cultural Values:

No Representationof

Allahand

Muhammed

Western CulturalValues:

Freedom ofSpeech

“Frequently, when someone violates a key cultural value, he or she may not even be

aware of the violation.”

“Even genuinely small cultural mistakes can have enormous consequences.”

Culture …ENCOMPASSES ALL THAT WE create, learn to do, use, know, and believe…

Elements of Culture

Language (verbaland nonverbal) Religion

Values andAttitudes

Material Elements

Manners andCustoms

AestheticsEducationSocial Institutions

Humans and all creatures, have basic biological needs

Animals meet these needs through

instinct Humans meet these needs through

culture

Different cultures meet these needs in different ways.

The result: many different cultures

Self-supporting Little Geese Our Helpless little Son

Etiquette in Vorarlberg, Austria.

Eating habits•Asia - chop sticks•Europe – knife and fork

Russia, France

= zero

USA and U.K.

= A-OK

Japan

= money

Greece, Turkey

= insult, sexualinvitation

Greece =

confrontation

Canada & USA

= stop

West Africa

= an insult

USA, Hook ’em horns!fans of the University of Texas Longhorns

Norway = symbol of Satanism

For many Italians it is the cornuto, signaling, “Your spouse is unfaithful.”

Hawaii = hang loose

Can you guess what the following

gesture from Japan means?

angry

Anger or hostility ¡Hola! ¿Qué pasa?

Can you guess what the followinggesture from Malaysia, Argentina, and Mexico

means?

USA = No. 1Ancient Rome = allowed to liveBangladesh = tauntingIran = obscenity

In Native American, many Asian, and some Hispanic cultures, looking down and avoiding direct

eye contact is a sign of respect.

•THE UNCOMFORTABLE, ANXIOUS OR DISGUSTING FEELING ONE CAN GET WHEN ENCOUNTERING SURROUNDINGS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT ONE IS USED TO EXPERIENCING

sundae (stuffed pig intestines)

CONSIDERING ONE’S OWN CULTURE AS SUPERIOR TO OTHERS

•JUDGING OTHER CULTURES BY THE STANDARDS OF ONE’S OWN CULTURE. Our culture is “right” and “normal”

The universal tendency for any culture to see its own values and practices as natural and correct.The universal tendency for any culture to see its own values and practices as natural and correct.

Condemnation of Culture.

Christians must require the people to separate from practices which are prohibited in Scripture:

idolatry, widow burning, foot-binding

Toleration of Culture.

Christians will teach against certain practices which violate Christian ideals, although temporarily tolerate them while waiting for the development of a more sensitive conscience on the part of the local people, such as scarification of the body (when done for ornamentation).

Conversion of Culture. Christians may retain certain local patterns and practices while giving them a new content, meaning or purpose--introducing functional substitutes in order to avoid creating a cultural vacuum in the lives of the believers and churches— using local songs and stories in worship. SDA vegetarian foods have mostly names of real meat

Adoption of Culture.

Many cultural patterns and practices are neutral, inoffensive or good and, consequently, are not in conflict with the Gospel.

Latin Family bonds Japanese self-effacement

Christians, should fully incorporate such cultural elements into the lifestyle of the local church.

Enrichment of Culture.

This refers to helpful additions from the Gospel. The Good News possesses values which enhance a culture with new meanings, purposes, and ideals:

husbands loving their wives, etc.

Christ asks us to love all men no matter how different they may be

Christ has commissioned us to proclaim the Gospel in all cultures

Communication of the Gospel is only possible if recipient understands it through their culture

Because we live in a multicultural society and our churches are multicultural

We live today in a global age with contacts around the world

{46} "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? {47} "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? (Matthew 5:46-47 NKJV)

The Apostle Paul said: “To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:22)

PATH OF IN

TERCULTURAL

LEARNIN

G

PATH OF IN

TERCULTURAL

LEARNIN

G

Selective Adoption

Appreciation/Valuing

Acceptance/Respect

UnderstandingAwareness

Ethnocentricity