This continues my series on immigrant ministry.
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Avoiding the problems of culture and capitalising on its benefits requires robust Biblical discernment and discipleship.
The Bible is not a cultural artefact, but objectively authoritative over all cultures. It has universal authority over all people everywhere, for it is the written word of the one God who created all people in his 
image to worship him. An aspect of being made in God’s image is that we are God’s speech-partners, able to appropriately respond to his speech-acts in his written word. The basic practices of grammatico-historical exegesis are sufficiently universal that anyone who reads a translation of the Bible in their own language will discern the gospel clearly enough to put their trust in Christ, and conform their life to Christ.
image to worship him. An aspect of being made in God’s image is that we are God’s speech-partners, able to appropriately respond to his speech-acts in his written word. The basic practices of grammatico-historical exegesis are sufficiently universal that anyone who reads a translation of the Bible in their own language will discern the gospel clearly enough to put their trust in Christ, and conform their life to Christ.The Biblical narrative of salvation-history is vital to this hermeneutical task. It also provides the resources for Christian engagement with culture. Don Carson says that a comprehensive view of the great turning points of Biblical redemptive history – creation and the fall; Israel and the law; Christ and the new covenant; and heaven and hell – permits a nuanced Christian response to culture.
[T]here are elements in any culture to which the gospel may legitimately appeal, even if […] the adoption of the gospel will inevitably transform that culture in important ways. [Don Carson, Christ and Culture Revisted (Eerdmans 2008): 61]
We may add to this Jesus’ example of using culture to subvert culture. In the first century, eating with people meant accepting them. So when Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, he communicated that he had accepted them. This counter-cultural acceptance was often resented. So we need to use culture to subvert culture. We need to exploit culture ways of behaving and relating to clearly communicate Christian counter-culture.
Okay, that all sounds very grand, but how does it actually work...? What does enculturated counter-culture look like? I'll post some thoughts in a coupla days, based on Carson's work. Stay tuned!
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