If for example an oriental christians visits a western worship service there can be cultural misunderstandings.
We will take a normal worship service in the west and explain some cultural conflicts
even though they do not apply to every oriental christian.
I visited a church service
I wasn't there three weeks
but the Christians did not ask how I do.
They are not interested.
They speak about love but their faces stay cold.
You come inte a church service and they do not greet you.
You can feel rejected.
More painful it is for oriental christians.
They know a different welcome culture.
Smiling faces, people saying that they are happy to see you.
It is helpful if some people in the church are free to welcome heartly all people especially the oriental people.
Of course woman should be cautious to not welcome the man too heartly.
With the time oriental people will understand
that a smiling young woman is not flirting
and that a dull face of a christian in the west is not seen as cold.
Generally the relationship and the meeting with people is much more important
than the correct process of the church service.
He always comes too late to church and that disturbs us.
Punctuality is very important to the Christians in the West.
We speak of a monochrome culture in the West.
You can win time or lose time.
There is a time schedule for the day.
Do not arrive more than 5 or 10 minutes too late - it is insulting.
For the economy this principle is helpful
but in church this punctuality and having no time can be seen as cold and unkind.
It is totally different in polychrome cultures.
The people live in time, they have time.
They prioritize tasks by importance.
Of course, in administrative offices or work places you will have to get used to being punctual
but a church is often a place of retreat.
Here, a lot of people do not want to feel the same constrains as in the work place.
Clothing. "Look at these woman's. How they dress.
Is this a church. It is a seduction."
Often muslims but also oriental christians are disturbed by the dress of the woman's in the church.
How does that fit together with a holy god?
By the way also older people in the church got a problem with the development in clothing.
It is like that: hypocrisy, ruthlessness, force or unreliability
are seen as far more worse in the view of the christians in the west than a revealing clothing.
Orientals notice with time that the christians in the west are among other things influenced by the society
for example the freedom of every christian to determine for themselves how they live their christians lifestyle.
Here in the west they understand freedom like that:
woman's can dress what they want
and what the men are thinking is their own responsibility.
But to not dress like everybody else is for woman's not as easy as men think.
Young woman's want to dress good, sometimes better than the others
sometimes to win the heart of a good locking man.
I needs a lot of self consciousness to not just do what the others do.
At the latest if the own kids are grown up in the west
it get's easier for orientals to understand this freedom in the west.
We had an appointment and when I asked him he told me that he would come.
But he did not come. How rude!
Why is he lying to me every time.
In the oriental culture sometimes it is more polite to not come although he said: yes I come
It would be rude to say directly that he is not interested in an appointment.
Often they do not see it as a lie:
"yes inshalla" if god allows it.
To understand each other better here is a comparison.
Not much man in the west would tell her wife:
Darling you have increased.
Although it is the truth but you do not want to insult your partner.
You want to stay in an friendly relationship with your wife partner.
And if somebody feels insulted it is most of the time not dangerous in Germany
but in a lot of oriental countries it can be dangerous to insult somebody.
Furthermore for orientals it is very insulting if you let out your angry emotions and to call somebody a liar.
Indirect criticism is often more successful.
If somebody lies to you you could ask:
What would your father do, if somebody is doing this to him.
This is a way to let the people think about their behavior.
What does the christians in the west do the whole week?
They meet 2 hours in the church
and then everybody goes home alone.I do not understand it.
In the west the people are individualistic and this is positiv for the economy in these countries
The developments in the economy influenced also the churches.
In oriental countries you spend a lot of time with parents and great parents.
It is a collectivistic culture.
The best for the group is more important than the privacy of one single person.
A lot of christians from collectivistic cultures came to to west without family and they hope for new friendships.
But the christians in the west do not have time because of their priorities in life.
If they disappear after the church this can be strange of orientals.
But orientals in the church often do not know something about the problems of the the individual.
Some people in the church are sick, over-worked, doubting or they got other problems.
If churches care for encounter between orientals and western christians it can help understand each other.
The are a few suggestions for new arrived oriental christians and former muslims.
A lot of the situations also fit to african and asian christians.
This video is not about who is right but about how we can be in good terms with each other.
If something is disturbing you it is important to speak with each other.
But please let us not expect perfect christians.
There could be misunderstanding and arguing and then it is easy to take bias.
With this word from Jesus it can be better:
Jesus said: be merciful like your father in heaven. Luke 6:36
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