Cultural Heritage, Roots, and Tradition

Writing a critical, Christian-worldview response to the "women of Haiti" concert started me thinking about the value that people in our day place on cultural roots and heritage as such.  Our modern idol of standpoint epistemology ("my" truth) says that all cultures are equally good and valid.  This is coupled with Rousseau's "noble savage" concept: the idea that primitive humans are/were in some sense intrinsically virtuous or more pure.  But as we see in scripture, nations(ethnos) are either pagan or God-fearing, and it is only the nations that look to Christ for salvation that are saved.  Arguably, Jesus' own teaching of final judgment, being thrown into the fire on the last day, separation of chaff/wheat, etc., apply not only to individual humans, but also to the idols, traditions, and cultures of pagan societies.

I propose that a people's cultural history, traditions, and heritage, are only virtuous insofar as they have been redeemed by the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

In 2022, it is popular to admire cultural diversity and to at least feign admiration of another culture's unique values, traditions, and inventions.  In practice, what I often observe is the praise of "culture" while ignoring anything that might be objectively sinful within that culture (possibly with one exception -- today's taboo: the subjugation of women).  And if one people group oppressed another people group at any period in history, the latter group is granted all sorts of passes and leniency when it comes to records of barbarism or evil within that society. (Extending "nobile savage" to "nobile victim.")  Such is the trend of the secular moralism we live in now.  

We see the same thing in our treatment of individuals.  Secular society celebrates the virtue of "living your truth" and chooses to only affirm someone (especially someone who can claim they've been oppressed), rather than also challenging them to grow and mature.

Before looking back at the way God deals with nations and cultures, let us look at what happens when an individual comes to faith in Christ.  He is a "new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17), he is "born again" (John 3:3), he becomes dead to sin and alive in Christ (Romans 6:1-14).  After this transformation takes place, an individual is able to examine his life and discern/judge what is good and what is evil based on God's perfect standards.  According to God's Word, his negative attitude in the workplace is not simply an endearing part of his unique personality.  His habits of fornication with women are no longer "just a part of who he is, for better or worse."  He no longer gets to live "his truth," but instead he must bring his life under the subjection of the One who is Truth.  His sin must be mortified, not excused.  At the same time, his appreciation of good food or film or music, his giftedness at sports, his talent for creativity, or his public speaking skills -- all of these aspects of his personality are redeemed to be used for God's glory.  The diversity of the Body of Christ (His people) is clearly celebrated and encouraged in scripture.  Christians are not meant to be identical clones -- they have different gifts and should be encouraged in their gifts.  But sometimes for a new believer, some real discernment must take place in order to determine what parts of his personality are of a fallen, sinful nature, and which parts were put there by God in order to be used for the Kingdom.

In the same way, cultures, tribes, societies, and people groups may not go on simply living "their truth."  Scripture has much to say about civil justice and worship, and only insofar as these parts of a culture are in accordance with God's revealed word can they be deemed "good."  On the other hand: food, art, musical style, recreation, and practical inventions -- as long as they are not inherently rebellious, nihilistic, or lewd -- are to be celebrated and used, not for the glory of man, but for the glory of God.

An example:  A Mexican person can take satisfaction and cultural pride in the foods (or clothing, or art forms, or dance) that were born out of their culture.  But they should view paganism, divination, and communication with the dead as sinful parts of their culture's history -- traits that ought to be brought under the feet of King Jesus.  When a society repents of its violations of God's law and assimilates to Christianity, it is "born again," putting the "old self" to death; but it also maintains its richly unique culture that is now redeemed.  The object of their worship changes, but this does not mean they stop making tacos al pastor.  On the contrary, the uniquely Mexican traditions of music, art, food, literature, sports, etc. will only flourish and reach their potential as a result of reconfiguring all of life for all of Christ.

I've included several passages of scripture that, taken together, highlight the diversity of nations in the world, as well as God's ultimate common goal for all the nations:

These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood. ² The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. ³ The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. ⁴ The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. ⁵ From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations. Genesis 10:1-5

³² These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood. Genesis 10:32

⁹ Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:9

​¹ Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1-3

⁴ “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. Genesis 17:4-6

⁶ Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, ⁷ that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, ⁸ but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day. ⁹ For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations. Joshua 23:6-9

​¹ Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” Jonah 1:1-2

⁴ Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” ⁵ And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
⁶ The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. ⁷ And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, ⁸ but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. ⁹ Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. Jonah 3:4-10

​¹ Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. ² She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. ³ And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. ⁴ And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁵ the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.
⁶ And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, ⁷ but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. ⁸ Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁹ Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 1 Kings 10:1-9

² It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
³ and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
⁴ He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore. Isaiah 2:2-4

⁴⁰ For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Matthew 12:40-42

¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:13-14

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 25:31-34

¹⁷And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:17-20

²² So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸ for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
²⁹ Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. ³⁰ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:22-31

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Revelation 7:9-10

Review/Thoughts on Fanm d’Ayiti | Nathalie Joachim and Spektral Quartet

Tonight I attended a concert hosted by Da Camera Houston, featuring Nathalie Joachim and the Spektral Quartet.  They performed music of Haitian Women -- melodies written or sung by Haitian women, arranged by Nathalie Joachim herself.  Joachim is a Haitian-American born in the US.  She studied flute at the Juilliard School, is a former member of Eighth Blackbird, and is an excellent singer.

Sitting in this concert, being in the middle of writing my big piece on "Christian music performance," I had these ideas I've been writing about swirling around in my head.  It was a good test to see if my theories hold up -- if joy, humility, truth, and love are the crucial qualities that I purport them to be, and if their authenticity can even be assessed or ascertained.  (My post on Christian performance is still forthcoming as of this writing).

Joachim gave an incredible performance.  It's easy to take for granted that what the performers are doing on stage is not at all easy; and it represents hundreds of hours of preparation, practice, planning, thought, and intentionality.  She sang well, and she sang from the heart.  She also sang with joy much of the time.

But some of the content of the performance ended up being the doorway to how to consider these things as Christian artists.  Some of the songs contained references to "Vodou" and Haitian paganism.  Vodou seems to be essentially polytheistic and pluralistic -- allowing the individual to pursue other beliefs (even Christianity) without it negatively impacting their practice of Vodou.  Of course, Christianity is NOT polytheistic, and the first two commandments prohibit the worship, serving, or bowing to any god beside Yahweh.  The gods of the pagans are described by God as being deaf, mute, and blind.  They are powerless and succeed only in incurring God's wrath and jealousy.

Interestingly, Joachim spoke of a church in her hometown.  In tonight's concert, she incorporated songs that were sung in that church, and they appear on the surface to be Christian.  These songs, arranged into a 3-movement suite, contained the best music of the night, in my opinion.  And there was a difference in how the lyrics affect the reader.  They are far more transcendent, life-giving, and hopeful.

So while she gave as honest a performance as she could, it was only as truthful as her worldview and the lyrical content allowed it to be.  Her joy, love, and authenticity were limited by her ideas of truth and what ultimately matters.  The music was beautiful, and it was beautifully executed.  But it only connected us to the eternal during the songs that spoke of God's faithfulness and goodness.

Ultimately, the content of the concert was more grounded in humanism and pagan spirituality than in the transcendent reality of Christianity.  I asked my friend Marshall recently what he thinks is unique about being a Christian musician.  He responded with "We must ask, why are we ultimately making music?  For Christians, it is ultimately to bring God glory."  His answer is entirely applicable here.  Without the goal of bringing God glory, music is left being -- in the most literal sense -- mundane.

Why Singing?

 "Why Singing?" was a question that was asked near the end of a sermon preached recently by one of my elders. The context was a sermon about Jesus as our "singing savior."  The focus of the sermon shifted from God's singing to our singing; and then the question was asked "why do we sing?"  Why don't we just get together and recite things? My brain started filling with my own answers as Pastor Mark began to elaborate. I work with singers for a living, and I've sat in probably over a thousand voice lessons.

Singers are funny people. The ones that endure multiple performance degrees learn to develop very thick skin. But aside from personality, the education side of singing is very unique and fascinating.  Singers have to learn to use an invisible instrument "by feel" and by trial and error. They have to learn what good singing feels like and put enormous trust in their voice teachers. Because of the almost abstract nature of the instrument, and because of the many misconceptions about singing that must be unlearned, vocalists come up with all sorts of interesting ways to describe the sensations of good singing. Here, in no particular order, are some phrases I've heard and used over the years (several of these are NOT pedagogical - just fun):

Singing is...

• sustained speech
• screaming in cursive
• just shouting
• a whole-body activity
• an athletic activity
• dependent on breath, which is dependent on opening oneself
• not easy
• easier than we make it
• relational

So why does God have us sing? Well, one way to put it is: singing is “enhanced” speech. It is also an aesthetic form of speech. It adds an additional layer of communication to speech. It carries words further than they would go in the form of mere speech — in a figurative sense, but also a physical one. Singing takes strength and energy. It requires the use of our physical bodies, and God is very much concerned with our physical bodies. We cannot conclude from scripture that the ultimate goal is to transcend physical bodies and no longer require the uses of our voices, our hands, our feet… On the contrary, we are to use our bodies as instruments of sacrifice and worship - now and forevermore. When we sing heartily and loudly, we are presenting our bodies as living sacrifices; we are expending real energy for God.

Singing also enables unified corporate chanting. I.e., singing is a tool that enables a group of different people to all make a unified sound together. When we recite a creed or a confession together as a group, we typically all recite it with our individual “speaking voices” and consequently, it sounds like a group of people.  Rhythmically we are together, but tonally we are not. Actual singing then adds the next level of unity by having everyone match pitch. In this way we can almost sound like one voice.

But then there is more! God has created this physical world and the physics of sound in such a way as to encourage the use of harmony. Yes, God encourages us to use harmony — because He made it in nature (see the overtone series), and He made it enjoyable to our ears. (And no, I do not believe this is merely the result of cultural conditioning). Why else might we say God encourages harmony? Well, we believe that it reflects God’s character. As Pastor Mark said in his sermon, God is three in one. He exists as the Trinity. Three distinct persons within One Being, with one will, accomplishing a single unified purpose. Singing in harmony also reflects the “many members, one body” characteristic of the church.

Let us daily practice singing, with the intention of letting our corporate worship on the Lord's Day be the pinnacle use of our voices.