Articles
Cultural Appropriation
Certain disruptive elements in our nation charge that “cultural appropriation” is evil, that one of a certain culture has no right to wear, speak or do anything of a different culture. Such would be insulting, disparaging, disrespectful or, worse, attempting to profit from the historic oppression of others.
Looking through this lens, Filipinos have no right to own a Mexican food truck; white Americans have no right to sport dreadlocks or wear a sombrero; Asians have no right to play blues music; no sports team has the right to call itself the Chiefs, Seminoles or Blackhawks; and no one has the right to own or display anything from the American Indian culture.
This skewed view of the world does not honor ethnic diversity; rather, it sows the seeds of strife and division. It is a tactic of cultural nihilists to foment strife and rip our cultural mosaic to shreds. Not only must this pernicious “wokeism” be defeated for our nation’s sake, it must not be allowed to infect the minds of God’s people who might naively adopt its divisive rhetoric.
Let’s be clear: no one should denigrate or discriminate against another human being, let alone a whole culture, on racial grounds. But wokeism imagines this when it isn’t actually happening. One question posed by wokesters is: “Are you purchasing something that is a reproduction of a culture or an original?” Well, that taco sold by the Filipino food truck probably isn’t original to Mexico, but those who love its flavor and are willing to spend money on Mexican cuisine are not doing so to insult or disrespect Mexicans. The real issue here is wokeism’s lack of respect for the oneness of humanity as a common race created by God.
But shifting gears, consider the “cultural appropriation” of Christianity.
Heredity. Long ago God chose an individual, an ethnic Chaldean, to be the “father” – the singular progenitor – of an entire nation not yet in existence. This man was Abraham, and his descendants collectively became the nation of Israel – or Jews. God had a spiritual purpose in developing this unique “strain” of humanity: to bring a Savior into the world who would potentially benefit all mankind, not merely His own countrymen (Gn 22:18; Gal 3:8-9, 16-18, 29; Rom 9:6-8). That is, in God’s plan people of all ethnicities would have access to the blessings offered via this offspring of the ancient Abraham – Jesus Christ.
Some first century Jewish converts, however, remained Israelite loyalists and only reluctantly accepted non-Jews into fellowship. But like the modern wokesters they wanted to set their own conditions and parameters on sharing their heritage with Gentiles. They held that blessings in Christ were only for those outsiders who were willing to become circumcised and observe certain elements of Mosaic law; i.e., they wanted to make them quasi-Jews before accepting them as Christian brethren. This Paul roundly condemned in Gal 5:1-6 and Rom 4:9-16.
Both Jesus and Paul taught that genetic identity, while relevant to the issue of bringing Christ to the world, becomes irrelevant to gaining spiritual standing before God. That standing is for everyone who possesses the faith of Abraham, not his genes (cf. Jn 8:37-47). Tribalism is the very thing the gospel is designed to destroy, for ethnic fragmentation, exclusivity and the hatred and animosity they engender, no matter who perpetrates it, inevitably produce antagonism and alienation.
Scriptures. It was no doubt galling to Jews that Christians were using their sacred writings as a foundation for a new sect. But what the Christians were rightly arguing was that a proper understanding of the law and prophets led to Christ and complete redemption from sin through Him: “For they (Jews, jj) being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes … for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’” (Rom 10:3-4, 12-13).
Royalty. Jesus came not only to be a Savior but a King. A millennium before Jesus was born, God made a personal covenant with a Jewish king – David – that he would be the beginning of an eternal dynasty: “And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom … And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever’” (1 Chr 17:11, 14). Again, Jesus applies this covenant promise to Himself as David’s descendant (Mt 22:41-46; cf. Lk 1:32; Ac 2:30-36). That is, the Christian and indeed universal King is, by ethnic identity, Jewish.
Other symbols and imagery. The connection between the Jewish people and Christianity doesn’t stop here. While Christianity doesn’t incorporate Jewish cultural features – dress, feast days, holidays, celebrations, etc. – Jewish imagery is at the very heart of many elements of Christianity:
* Animal sacrifices give way to “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29).
* The Levitical priesthood foreshadows that of all believers (1 Pet 2:5).
* A physical temple of wood, stone and gold is replaced by “living stones” wherein God’s presence dwells (1 Cor 3:17; 1 Pet 2:5).
It is only in Christ that mankind can find the perfect basis of racial and ethnic equality, love and respect for all. Only in Christ is ethnic uniqueness moderated, blended and contextualized, resulting in harmony. The angry, strident voices of “wokeism” spew from inward bitterness and ambition. But mutual respect is not fostered through insults and false accusations. One cannot advocate for an exclusive ethnicity and at the same time insist that others reach across the ever-widening divide they create.
Christianity is likened to a wild olive branch grafted into a cultivated (Jewish) tree (Rom 11:16-22). In Christ ethnic divisions melt away: “neither Jew nor Greek … neither slave nor free … neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:28-29). The Christian gladly embraces the Jewish heritage that brought Christ to him.
