THE ENDURING PROBLEM

III Toward a Definition of Culture

Niebuhr claims:

1. should not use any of the Christian views on culture (whether seeing it as neutral, a negative relation to God Jesus Christ, or natural retaional knowledge of God or His law)

2. It can't be a particular culture of a particular society (ie western, Roman, etc)

3. One can’t define culture narrowly by taking into view some special phase of human social organization and achievement (ie. not in terms of Christ relation to sciene and reason OR Christian expression & Church distinct from culture OR Religion including Christ) Read More


Culture is defined as:
"the total process of human activity and that total result of such activity"
'the "artificial secondary enviornment" which man supermposes on the natural"
'This "social heritage," this "reality su generis" whch the New Testiment Authors had in mind when they spoke of "the world."'

Culture's Chief Characteristics are:
1. Social
2. Human achievement
3. World of values
For good of man
Concerned with the temporal and material realization of values
Concerned with the conservation of values
Social tradition which must be conserved by painful struggle….against revolutionary and critical powers in human life and reason



Go to: the Enduring Problem| Part I (Problem) | Part II (Def. of Christ) | Part III (Def. of Culture) | Part IV (Typical Answers) |