Exploring the Social Imagination

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Culture is Learned, So... What Do We Learn?

If Culture is learned, what do we learn?
That is a good question. Culture is learned through socialization. Socialization starts with the mother. Jesus' life started with His mother. From mother social reality is imparted, she is the source of social information.
 All the information mother has at the time we are born is imparted or even embedded in us. She may not be well informed, she may have misinformation or lack information. How can we trust that mother has good information? If we consider her role in relation to others, assuming she knows her role in relation to others, then we can be sure that she has the necessary information. What role is that? It is the role of being a mother, wife and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mother imparts the knowledge of the fallen world and that through Christ we are saved. How is that possible? Mother nurses, mother soothes, mother caresses, mother sings, mother is there. How does the infant know this is a fallen world? Firstly, through the birth process, and through other information (fears, worries, pain i.e.) acquired in relation with mother who is in relation to father as both exist in this fallen world. And, both mother and father are in relation to God. Ephesians 5:22
What about culture? That information also comes through socialization, and that information carries messages acquired in the fallen world. It contains good, bad and ugly information and information on how to deal with this fallen world, how to exist in it, how to survive and even try to live better in it.


No comments :

Post a Comment