Monday, April 6, 2015

Which of H. Richard Niebuhr’s five basic typologies is most characteristic of my personal life?

I think the one that resonates strongest with me is the "Christ the transformer of culture". I think this relates closely to a passage of scripture that resonates strongly with me, namely, that of the Apostle Paul challenging the Church in Rome to not be conformists to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their mind. Then, they would be able to test and approve the pleasing and perfect will of God. Niebuhr's notion of Christ transforming culture speaks to me because Christ transformed me; as he is transforming the hearts and minds of people, the culture that they live in will change because people make up culture. When things go on in our world that we do not agree with, we can spend a lot of time and energy and frustration ranting and raving about how much we disagree with them, or we can spend our time trying to love people, show them Christ, and allow him to change their hearts towards his will. He can and will do this. 

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