laupäev, jaanuar 19, 2008

assert a healthy Salvationist culture and change the national culture

Wow, I couldn't even finish his whole post before rushing to quote this line: "Salvationist culture supercedes national culture"! Woo-hoo, preach it, Brother! Now, please notice, he said "Salvationst" culture -- NOT North American culture, not even British culture! I'd love to see THAT idea expanded on. (As usual, I am basically 100% in agreement with anything Steve Court says, unless we are having a personal discussion, in which case I am always right!)

Here's the source, and the context:
http://www.armybarmy.com/blog.html

People like to hide behind the culture. 'Culture' is used as a reason we can't do things certain ways. But watch this. Some of the things we suggest (e.g. primitive salvationism) are just as unpopular in North America as in Oceania (and, I expect they will be just as effective in Oceania as they are in North America).

And Salvationist culture supercedes national culture anyway. Often what is presented as culture is really mediocre SA status quo (or imitated mainstream church culture). For example, some suggest that Aussie Salvos are not demonstrably passionate, to which I suggest they slap on the telly and see Australian Idol, or flip the channel and see everyone going bonkers over Aussie Rules Football or Cricket (!) (or, even [whispered] one of those big flashy 'music'-focus churches).

So, you're left with mainstream church culture, usually unthinkingly adopted as we hanker after SOMETHING that works in our infatuation with churches. So, some officers call themselves 'pastor' because, apparently, that fancy big church has a pastor (therefore, if I call myself a pastor, our little corps will become, mysteriously, a fancy big church). They ignore the lack of Biblical basis for a word that means nothing (but slicked back hair and bad breath) to most people. If they were slightly interested in the Biblical, they'd call themselves shepherd instead. But going down that road of thoughtless imitation slights an officer, who is much more than just one gift or one office (Eph 4). Besides, WHY identify with a group (the 'pastored' churches) that have been rejected as irrelevant and obsolete by 93% of the population (which doesn't attend church ever)?

There are NO good reasons for it. Plus, we pick up some theological baggage that is foreign to Salvationism and unhelpful in the Salvation War. So, THINK.And don't hid behind the 'culture' (assert a healthy SALVATIONIST culture and CHANGE the national culture).

We're not slaves to relevance. We're agents of revolution. As GSR asserted, "merely to recommend revolution is contemptible. We must make it."

[GSR=Commissioner George Scott Railton]

I would like to add that this would obviously apply to all the various subcultures, e.g. African-American culture in Chester, Pennsylvania; Estonian culture and Russian culture in Tallinn, Estonia

Universalis