Written by: Richard Volzke on October 31, 2013

I have to admit that this week’s book by Anthony Elliott, Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction, did not resonate with me and I found it difficult to follow what the author was trying to say. Elliott’s attempt to define society was intriguing, but I have to wonder if he, and we, are making this issue more complicated than it needs to be. I know that man is attempting to deemphasize individual culture and make everybody part of a global community, and on some level, I understand and even support this with regards to human rights and the basic dignity of every human being.

Instead of trying to define society using worldview ideas and principles, I went back to Scripture and studied how God views society and also the societies and cultures that he established. Within Scripture, society is defined by race, culture, birth, divine creation and intervention. The first significant time where God established nations or different people groups can be found in Genesis Chapter 11. In the beginning of the chapter the Scripture states that, “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.”^[1]  This is significant, in that as we look at this time period of human history we see that all of mankind was unified in language and culture. As today’s society is striving to become globally unified and united, we can see from Scripture that man had already achieved this goal in our distant history and it didn’t work. Further down in Genesis 11, we find where God had to intervene and create different languages and cultures for mankind’s own good. In my opinion, God has ordained that it is better for man to have different languages, culture, ethnic heritage, and background. (Let me state here I am not for separation of races or cultures.  What I’m trying to say is that different languages, customs, diversely, and heritage strengthen mankind and enables us to learn and grow individually and with each other.)

Looking at the Gospels found the New Testament, an individuals birth determined their citizenship, what rights they had, if they were free or slaves.  It defined them as a person overall.  Understanding Christ’s lineage and heritage is important for us,  in that it establishes His legitimacy in human terms. He was an Israelite from the line of David, and He also fulfilled Old Testament prophecy by being God’s son and the Messiah. In chapter 1 of Matthew, the genealogy of Christ is outlined. Matthew 1:1-16 says: “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

   ³  Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

   ⁴  Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

   ⁵  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

   ⁶  and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

   ⁷  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

   ⁸  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

   ⁹  Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

¹⁰  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

¹¹  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

¹² After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

¹³  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

¹⁴  Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

¹⁵  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

¹⁶  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. ¹⁷ Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.” ^[2]

The apostle Paul was a Roman citizen and with that birthright came certain privileges.  This allowed the gospel message to be spread into areas that it may not have reached.   Paul was also protected many times from death because he was a Roman citizen.

I understand that this particular post did not really follow this week’s reading, but I felt God impressing upon me that we need to remember that He established all kingdoms and nations on this earth and this includes our individuality with regards to genetics, nationality, race, and cultural differences.  This is what make us unique in the body of Christ and allows each one of us to bring our perspectives and understanding to the body as a whole.

About the Author

Richard Volzke