When people talk about “assimilation to culture,” what do they mean?
I’ve heard it most often used in a negative way—we shouldn’t assimilate to culture. Assimilation has various meanings, but I’m assuming we’re using it as in “conforming to culture.” Obviously, we are not to be “conformed to this world,” but transformed, as Paul talked about in Romans twelve.
What does it mean to be conformed to the world, to culture? What does it mean to be transformed?
Is assimilation to culture when people start dressing in modern styles, using musical instruments, or going to public schools? Is assimilation always something we can see? Is it ever something we can see?
What if someone started wearing a tie or dressing in skinny jeans while he also began actively discipling his neighbors? Would he still be assimilating to culture? Or what if a young lady decided she didn’t need to wear dresses but at the same time overcame her addiction to food and obsession with what others thought about her. Is she assimilating to culture?
Take those that dress plainly, and make sure not to do certain things like going to movies, eating out on Sunday’s, or watching television. Are they any less assimilated to culture if they still spend their lives advancing the family business, seeking financial peace, and doing as much as possible with the ones they love?
Isn’t that what culture does?
So what are we talking about when we say we shouldn’t be conformed to the world? What do we mean when we talk about being transformed, or “holy.”
Can I tell when you are assimilating to an earthly culture? Can I tell when you are assimilating to a heavenly culture (or mindset)? Is holiness something we dissect from looking at each other? Is worldliness something that can be prevented by keeping the external in order?
Does what happens on the outside actually reveal what’s on the inside? Is the heart the only thing that matters?
What if we’ve lost the thrust of what Paul is saying?
I think the answer to this has potential for spiritual revival. The kind that transforms us out of fleshly, fallen philosophical frameworks to redeemed and free eternal perspectives.
