The Narrow Road

During infrequent trips to New York City, I can often hear the sounds of different languages floating around the air, mixing together into a hodgepodge of din at every crosswalk. Persons saying “vea que a los rescacielos” will quickly turn around and curse you (in English) for stepping on the back of their shoes. In this modern day Rome, one finds the blend of cultures and tongues fascinating at best, and terrifying at worst. The apprehension of not knowing a person on the street who can understand you can lead to either xenophobia or a guiltless ignorance of nameless people.

Cultures colliding are never peaceful or loving towards each other. The struggle seems more like a relationship gone bad, a con-artist’s perpetual trip to see his parents and swindle more of their money. Cultures that are too mixed become a generic entity palatable to the masses, like Hillary Duff songs.

The independence of culture often leads to walls without gates or windows, letting people either in or out—there are no fences to ride. Yet, as I walked down 57th Street over by Central Park I caught the glimpse of an Episcopal Church that had the typical marquee in front, but read in different languages. They had English services and Spanish services, but they were the same church body, a community together consisting of different cultures.

The pretext of the discussion of Christianity and Culture runs from Roman times up until now, and runs the gambit from separatism to syncretism, Aristotle to Augustine, Marx to McDowell, Barth to Brueggemann, Finney to Falwell and Derrida to Darby. The convergence of culture onto the church (or the removal of all points of entry) makes this a discussion that is bigger than one person or one paper; it would take a lifetime to write a proper introduction. Yet there is a necessity, as a disciple of Christ, to engage in this world as a disciple of Christ, and not as a disciple of the Church or a disciple of XYZ culture.

The road is long, filled with cinema and books, post-structuralist theology and paleo-orthodoxy, emergent churches and renewal movements, legalism and licentiousness. Somehow, if we are moderate and attentive to the Spirit, we will be able to better understand the narrow way through the world and the Kingdom, the way of freedom.