The Challenge (Pt 1)

Like any person alive (and even some of the dead!), I have many flaws and fears. As a mixed child of post-modernism and Christian fundamentalism, I’m caught between two cultures. A part of me has grown up to be accepting of all people, regardless of race and gender. Since grammar school, I’ve been required to read World, American and State histories and the brutality mankind has inflicted on its brethren, all in the name of religion, social status, or culture. I was forced to study slavery throughout the annals of Time, from the days of Egypt and the Israelite slavery to the decimation of native tribes of the New World, to the unjust slavery of Africans during American Expansion. For my eighth grade field trip, we went to the East Coast, the cradle of American civilization, and experienced the wild frontier of Jamestown and the exploitation of the American Indian, as well as the cruelty of the African Americans and the rise of the Civil War. And the underlying theme of the American educational system was that every person is equal. That all these cruel acts (Slavery, Holocaust, Genocide) are caused by fear of differences.

America in particular has been at the fore-front of Post-modernism, ironically because of its Puritanical heritage (ironic because Postmodernism is often seen as anti-Christian, but of course you knew that!). As a country founded on the escape from religious persecution, as a people, we cringe at the thought of state-controlled religion, and the possible governmental annihilation of other forms of belief. Likewise, again taken from the Quaker faith, we believe that rewards come to those who work hard. We admire the people who came out of poverty and against all odds “make it” in the world. We read (auto)biographies of the little man, who started with nothing but the clothes on his back and the will to succeed, and has now built an empire. We applaud those who have filed for bankruptcy, only to succeed in building a vast fortune within 10 years and have a hit show on NBC, with a marketable catchphrase. As a nation we consume books and pay large amounts of money to attend seminars that show how you too can become a millionaire, just like Joe Blow! (Hint: charge people hundreds of dollars to attend a seminar with pretty powerpoints) As a nation, money is the new God, and equality is law.

The flip side, my other parent, if you will, is my Christian belief, more accurately, my Chinese Christian belief. Like it or not, it is a Christian faith based on the Bible, but viewed through the glasses of China, and the thousand years of tradition that has been inbred into my parents, and me as well. I’m not saying that this is a mixture of Confucio-Judeo-Christianity or Zen-Catholicism here. It’s not that extreme. But it is in the subtle nuances of the Christianity, the emphasis on certain aspects of Christianity which coincide or reinforce the Chinese culture. One example is the sense of duty. Just like the Bible, Chinese have a strong sense of familial duty. “Honor thy father and mother” has taken a higher priority in the mindset of a Chinese Christian as opposed to an American Christian. Another is the work-ethic, which is even more extreme than even the American work-ethic. Chinese work hard because it’s about honor and saving face. A slothful son or daughter is a disgrace to the family name. As a result, the Bible verses dealing with duty, mission, and works of faith are often bandied about. As my aunt is fond of saying, “If you love God you will serve Him.”

However, this week, I’m not going to talk about this. I’m just using this as an example of how culture affects our faith. One other aspect of the Chinese culture is the sense of compliance. We should not swim against the current. Don’t rock the boat. These, admittedly American sayings, nevertheless apply aptly to the Chinese as well. And Christians have added the Bible and applied some of its verses to support this way of thinking. “It is God’s will.” “Vengeance is reserved for the Lord”. “We will get our reward in heaven”. These are all verses that reinforce the thinking that we should be passive, perhaps even passive-aggressive in our daily lives. When we see someone do something wrong, we let it go. “It’s God’s will that my cousin is dating/marrying/divorcing that non-believer”, we reason to ourselves. (Ok, that might be a little extreme, because the Bible does talk about uneven yoke, but this is a hyperbole, so just go with it.) Or if the preacher makes a mistake in interpreting the Bible, how many of you are willing to call him on it? I know I’ve been guilty of challenging the preacher. After all, he’s on the pulpit, and I’m sitting here in the crowd. Who am I to challenge him?