According to the progressive far-left, if you disagree with an African-American president’s policies, it’s because you are a racist. If you believe that–shock–there are differences in males and females beyond body parts, you are a sexist.  So if you are unwilling to vote for Mrs. Clinton, it is probably because you’re a sexist.  If you believe that any sexual behavior outside the God-ordained covenant between one woman and one man is wrong, you are a homophobe or worse.   Obviously I believe the opposite in all these areas, and am therefore eligible for the progressive thermonuclear bomb of choice…the epithet.

Yet the one accusation that I would have to plead guilty to is never thrown my way.  That is, I am a culturalist through and through; I believe that some cultures are better than others.  Yes, I said it. Some cultures are better than others.  Further its important for us to both say this and identify what cultures are better than others, if we are truly loving.  Because ultimately, there is nothing but “the culture wars,” and if we want to see human flourishing we want to have the culture that is most likely to result in that.

If you disagree with me, and argue that all cultures are morally the same, let me ask you a few questions.  I say that the culture of the Taliban, which will not allow young girls to be educated, is a worse culture than one that wants every individual to be what God has created them to be.  Am I wrong?  I say that a culture that practices cannibalism is morally inferior to our culture.  Am I wrong?  I say that a culture that encourages dependency on the state is worse than one that cultivates a culture of individual responsibility.  Am I wrong?  I say that a culture that systematically deprives minority racial groups of their rights is inferior to one that does not.  Am I wrong?

My position on cultural differences does not mean I am saying that my culture is superior in every respect to all other cultures.  Nor am I saying that other cultures have nothing of value; that they don’t have characteristics we can respect.  For example, while I vehemently disagree with the cultures that promote Islamic extremism, to include suicide bombing, one can certainly respect the courage (if not the wickedness) of young men willing to kill themselves for their ideals.  As is often said, why is it that we are so unwilling to fight for the truth, while others are willing to die for a lie?  Further, to acknowledge that some cultures are better than others does not mean that we shouldn’t acknowledge that even the best culture falls woefully short of what would lead to the most human flourishing.  Every culture can and must do better.

It’s important to see that this is not just my opinion (that there are cultural differences that matter).  This is found throughout the biblical record. Consider why it is that we no longer hear about the Canaanites (and the many other ‘ites). Why was it that God ejected them from the land?  God tells us in Deut 7:1-6, it was because that culture practiced any number of wicked things, to include idolatry and by some accounts child sacrifice.  Israel was likewise punished precisely because they allowed their culture to become like the surrounding wicked cultures.  As Psalm 106:34-39 relates:

They did not destroy the peoples, As the Lord commanded them, But they mingled with the nations And learned their practices, And served their idols, Which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons, And shed innocent blood. The blood of their sons and their daughters, Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the land was polluted with the blood. Thus they became unclean in their practices, And played the harlot in their deeds.

In the New Testament, we see that the Corinthians struggled by allowing the common cultural values to invade their practices (indeed, Paul suggests in some respects they were worse than the surrounding Pagan culture!). He also (and shocking to today’s sensibilities*) stereotyped the Cretan culture negatively and directed Timothy to rebuke any with those Cretan cultural attitudes.

So my argument is basically this:  a culture is morally better than another to the extent it submits its values to the authority of God. As it says in Psalm 33:12, Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.  So is the American culture better than others?  Part of the problem is there is no single American culture–the culture wars are ongoing, here and elsewhere, as it always has.  The culture of identity confusion, abortion, pornography, and class envy is not a good one.  Nor is a culture of rampant promiscuity and lack of commitment, or lying, or objectifying or many other issues.  Or a culture that denies there are injustices that must be righted–including our willingness to turn a blind eye to problems that don’t affect us directly, but do affect our brothers and sisters.  But to the extent our culture is committed to life and the inherent dignity of each individual, we’re better.  Since there is no single culture that submits itself to God, there is no “good” culture.  But we can certainly work to make ours better.

* On biblical thinking about stereotyping and racism, you may find John Piper’s thoughts helpful, especially exhortation #3 in this link.