Christ and Culture Models

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culture
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Terms in this set (10)
culture
the symbolic and expressive dimension of social life
cultural symbol
a conventional representation of an abstract value or concept, can be used to classify experiences by contrasting values (i.e., clean / unclean; sacred / profane; moral / immoral; professional / unprofessional; etc)
cultural script
a way of describing how culture influences agency; people follow scripts like actors in a play; in a given situation, they adapt and adopt a script to guide their action
cultural ritual
how a culture uses ceremonial performances to publicize and reproduce meanings
Christ and Culture Models
protestant theologian H. Richard Niebuhr summarizes five different ways Christian theologians have negotiated between their faith and their cultural context
Christ Against Culture Approach
Christians must choose between following Christ or following the values of their culture
Christ of Culture Approach
Christ moves in the world and in culture. So following Christ means aligning oneself with cultural values that align with Christ.
Christ Above Culture Approach
a culture guides Christians toward their perfection; but Christ allows them to complete this journey
Christ in Paradox With Culture Approach
Christ reveals the depth of human sinfulness (this includes culture) and the need for grace. Christ reveals a culture's tendencies toward self-righteousness.
Christ Transforming Culture Approach
Christ guides Christians' efforts to transform their culture so society better serves humanity and better reflects Gospel values.