Gospel & Culture

Visited some long houses on the weekend (S'wak). Had a wonderful opportunities to fellowship and learn more about the Iban Culture. The hospitality was really good. Beside the experience of bathing in the river, we also had the opportunity to join the cultural dance. The highlight for me was to preach in one of the Iban churches.

Spending time here with my Iban friends gave me the opportunity to think more about the gospel and culture. The main question that captivated my mind was how can the gospel effected penetrate and transform a culture? In my observation of my Iban friends, i discovered that if the Gospel is not given a supreme place in the culture it will fail to impact the Culture. Certainly there would be points where the gospel will clash with culture. The response of believers and the church will determine whether the gospel will flourish or be reduce to mere rituals. I can think for example in the early days of my conversion, the times when i had to stand up for my faith by gently saying 'no' to my parents who invited me to pray to the idols. It was difficult to do that - but i think, by doing so God fortified and consolidated my faith.

The Ibans are very relationally and culturally bound. Sometimes, rejection of certain cultural practices might lead to segregation and ostracised by the larger community. But failing to make a stand (sensitively) for the gospel can eventually lead to lack of authentic faith.

A scripture verse came to my mind when i was thinking through this matter. In Haggai God says that He will shake the heavens and the earth. When people become complacent and find that worshipping God is not the main thing, God will shake them, once again.