Cult, Culture, and Christ

Artwork Credit: Society in the Park (20th century) by Wilhelm Geissler.
Via Artvee.com.

    I remember standing for the national anthem as a student. No one explained why it was necessary; it was simply expected and practiced. At weddings, there are words that have to be said. At funerals, there are tones we try to maintain. We speak to elders in familiar patterns and respond to guests in the same manner as those before us. These are not examined but imitated because they are what had been handed down.

    There are matters we assume to be distant until we begin to ask where they begin. In households of some regions, sons are excused from ordinary duties, while daughters are strictly trained to serve, a pattern just assumed and followed. And when questioned, those who ask are often made to feel as if they have offended something sacred.

    When we hear of cults, we think of closed gatherings, obscure leaders and teachings that isolate a man from truth and from the broader world. They are far from the lives of ordinary people. Culture, by contrast, does not sound to be the same. It lurks through our homes and neighborhoods, through habits and expectations. It forms how we think of ourselves and others. But if we take a break long enough and examine its demands, we may find that it governs in the same manner as a cult.

    I am not suggesting that all culture is harmful. There are things passed down that are permitted. I even consider some to be very good. However, if culture is left unquestioned, it may take on another form altogether, and from where error may start to deepen.

    A cult is not only known by what it teaches but by how it keeps its people from asking questions. It discourages disagreement and claims certainty where Scripture may have required some patience. In the same way, a culture may become difficult to question. It tells us what seems proper and labels those who depart from its rhythm. Over time, the fear of dishonor grows stronger than the desire to be right.

    Even among believers, the traditions we have received can slowly take the place of truth, never necessarily because they are wrong in themselves, but because they are never examined in light of Scripture. They become familiar, and for that reason alone, they are trusted. However, Scripture calls us to more than what is familiar. It calls us to test all things (1 Thess. 5:21), to search the Word (Acts 17:11), to examine ourselves (2 Cor. 13:5), and to hold fast what is good (Rom. 12:9).

    The Lord did not treat the traditions of His time as sacred simply because they were ancient. He questioned them when they were contrary to the law’s intention (Mark 7:8–9). He revealed them when they became a burden to the people (Matt. 23:4).

    Culture tells us this is how things are. A cult insists this is how things must be. There seems to be a very strong contrast, but when our hearts are trained to follow without discerning, the distance between the two becomes very thin.

    Paul did not call us to follow the patterns of this world but urged that we be renewed in our minds (Rom. 12:2). He tells us to submit ourselves to the will of God, as it is revealed through His Word. Where Scripture speaks, we are to follow. Where it is silent, we are not to build laws in the name of culture.

    This calls us to examine both what we reject and what we uphold. The standard of Christ does not rest on what is familiar to society or long observed in religion. He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7). He came not to be served, but to serve (Matt. 20:28). He aimed His corrections at those who used the law to preserve power and appearance, rather than those who misunderstood it (Matt. 23:23–28). He tested tradition against the law of God and the mercy of God. He questioned what had become unquestionable. He healed on the Sabbath, spoke to the unclean, and welcomed those cast out. He upheld what was right before the Father and did not take His lead from the expectations of men.

    Culture often holds tightly to what has been passed down, and so it finds comfort in repetition. Christ, however, does not require that something be long practiced before it is called good. Culture may prefer agreement for the sake of peace, but Christ calls for truth, even when it divides. What culture hesitates to expose, Christ brings into the light. He never came to preserve what has always been done, but to do the will of the Father.

    When culture is allowed to take the seat of conscience, it becomes a standard of its own. This makes it hard to admit fault and hard to allow questions or changes. However, Christ does not call us to defend what is unexamined; He calls us to follow Him. And following Him will always lead us beyond what is merely cultural.

    If what we preserve leads others into silence, if what we defend causes fear, and if what we uphold makes it harder to approach Christ Himself, then regardless of how long it has been practiced, it must be laid aside. This may lead us to examine how our gatherings and communities respond to tension. Can someone disagree and still be heard? Can a person step away from a tradition and still remain in fellowship? Can a woman raise a sincere question and still be treated nicely? If such things are no longer possible, then it may be that culture has assumed authority where only Christ is meant to rule.

    We are not exempt from the risk. Our thinking, our speech, our habits, and our ways of doing things may grow rigid over time. What may have been just a normal practice may become a law. And what may have first appeared as personal conviction may become an expectation imposed on others, even when God has not commanded it.

    It is not the cult alone that leads people into error. A culture that has never looked into the mirror of the Word may do the same thing in ways that are harder to notice.

    I write these because such things happen in real homes, among people who once trusted what they were taught. There are people and questions unheard and unanswered, which I consider as burdens that come from cultural patterns that no one is allowed to question. This will not correct itself unless it is named, and unless those who see it begin to speak against it.

    Let us be slower to defend what has never been tested. Let us ask, with sincere hearts, whether Christ is truly at the center, or whether something else has been set in His place. If He is not the center, then whatever we preserve will not sanctify us; it will only bind us. This is not only a concern for those inside the church, but also for those outside who have long searched for truth and have found only walls built from tradition and fear. Systems that refuse to be questioned cannot bring life. They only protect themselves. And whatever protects itself by avoiding the truth is not rooted in Christ. For He does not need to be sheltered from honest questions, nor does He silence those who seek Him sincerely. If we cannot say that our customs draw people closer to His voice, then we ought not to treat them as sacred. And if what we defend cannot stand beside His words, then it is not Him we are defending. It is time to be honest about what we have allowed to take His name.