Cultural traditions influence Christianity in two significant ways: they can either express and embody the faith or distort and rival it. From a historic Christian perspective, “true Christianity” centers on Jesus Christ, the gospel, and Scripture—not on any single culture. However, the gospel is always lived out within a specific culture. This means cultural traditions are never neutral; they can shape both the expression and practice of faith. Jesus lived among Jews, and His custom was to attend the synagogue on the Sabbath.
Yet He did not impose Jewish traditions on everyone who embraced Christianity, as was revealed to Peter in his encounter with Cornelius, a Gentile convert. The gospel is translated into various cultures, allowing believers to worship in ways that feel native to them. Acts 15 illustrates the early church’s decision not to impose Jewish cultural requirements on Gentile believers. Revelation 7:9 envisions people from every tribe, language, and nation standing before God. Therefore, cultural diversity in worship is not inherently problematic.
However, cultural traditions can also corrupt the faith through syncretism. Syncretism occurs when Christian beliefs are intermingled with incompatible religious practices—such as ancestor worship, folk magic, and nationalism as ultimate loyalty, consumerism, or prosperity theology. When a cultural tradition denies or obscures core truths—such as salvation by grace, the authority of Scripture, or the resurrection—it undermines true Christianity.
Cultural traditions can also pose as a rival authority. Jesus warned against teaching “as doctrines the commandments of men” and nullifying God’s Word through tradition (Mark 7:8–9). Colossians 2:8 warns against being led astray by human tradition. When cultural traditions are elevated to the same level as Scripture—making dress, music style, language, diet, or ethnicity tests of true faith—they become forms of legalism and idolatry. In Romans 14, Paul addresses this issue, reminding Christians not to bind consciences where God has granted freedom.
Moreover, cultural traditions can divide the church and obscure the gospel. When one culture is equated with Christianity, the church becomes ethnocentric. For example, Paul opposed Peter when he withdrew from Gentile believers out of fear of Jewish cultural opinion (Galatians 2:11–14). Issues such as racism, caste prejudice, nationalism, and cultural superiority contradict the unity Christ established (Ephesians 2:14–16).
On the positive side, cultural traditions can be redeemed and transformed. The gospel does not destroy every cultural form; instead, it judges, redeems, and redirects them. Cultural values such as hospitality, respect for elders, community, and art can serve God’s kingdom. Practices that conflict with Scripture must be rejected or reshaped. The church also creates new traditions—such as creeds, liturgies, hymns, and services—that help pass on the faith.
To discern the role of cultural traditions in faith, we must consider several questions: Does it contradict Scripture’s core teachings? Does it obscure Christ and grace? Does it bind consciences where God has granted freedom? Does it promote love, holiness, unity, and mission? Is it culturally captive, or does the Bible prophetically challenge a particular tradition?
In summary, cultural traditions do not alter the core of true Christianity, but they can either display or distort it. Authentic Christianity is supracultural in authority—with Scripture and Christ standing above every culture; intercultural in expression—it can be lived out in many cultures; and countercultural in transformation—it challenges the idols present in every culture. The goal is not to pursue a cultureless faith, which is impossible, but to cultivate a faith in which every tradition is measured by Christ and used for God’s glory.
Spiritual liberation can be adopted when one is aware of the differences between cultural traditions and Christianity. When one chooses becoming a Christian, it is wise to relativize—not absolutize—the traditions one is accustomed to. Customs and traditions may appear necessary for comfort, enabling one to identify with a particular section of humanity, but they remain trappings.
“For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that” (Mark 7:10–13 NIV).
Jesus was showing how tradition can cause a person to become unreasonable. Reason flourishes only where there is freedom. Tradition does not always agree with biblical teaching, yet it often purports to be biblical. Therefore, tradition can become another form of slavery, entrapping humanity if adopted without understanding. Some people even suggest that God’s teachings are strange and impossible to practice, basing this conclusion on traditional authority rather than on truth. This happens because reason is opposed to irrationality, and irrationality is often promoted by tradition.
The significance of Christianity lies in the willingness to experience anything in agreement with God’s Word, or in the application of God’s love. Paul refused to be enslaved by any tradition; he made himself a servant to all in order to win souls (1 Corinthians 9:19–23). Rather than worrying about traditions, a true Christian is willing to sacrifice personal interest to accommodate those with different opinions. “Love is not self-seeking” (1 Corinthians 13:5).
Pride causes people to cling to traditions rather than venture into new and workable ideas. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were more comfortable with inherited authority than with independent reasoning. Jesus’ healing of a man born blind caused an unnecessary debate. Even after clear evidence of the healing, a blessing from God, the teachers of the law continued to disbelieve. They could not see the irrationality of arguing against clear evidence, and they chose to throw out the healed man (John 9:18–29 NIV).
This was a standoff between logic and cultural tradition. At its core, tradition carries authority, as demonstrated by the statement, “We are disciples of Moses!” (John 9:28). The Jewish leaders were committed to one authority: Moses. In other words, their traditional commitment to Moses took away their intellectual and reasoning capacity. Their objection was rooted in Sabbath-keeping. Anyone who did not keep the Sabbath, they assumed, could not be a prophet of God.
Their reasoning capacity was subordinated to the Sabbath-keeping principle. They were committed to Sabbath-keeping without appreciating its significance. This brings us to the vital nature of faith, defined as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV). One cannot have faith in something without confidence and assurance of its existence. The Jewish leaders could not have had genuine faith in Sabbath-keeping. They did not have confidence and assurance, let alone the reason in Sabbath-keeping; that is why they quoted Moses, in whom they committed their trust.
This, basically, is what describes our educational systems. One may be conferred with a professorial degree largely by quoting other renowned scholars and not by their ability to apply what is assumed to be known. For authoritarians, there must be an “authority” for any information to be regarded as authentic. By whose authority had Jesus performed the miracle? This was the question lingering in their minds. Their faith had been based on the personality of Moses, yet they did not have confidence and assurance in Moses’ teachings.
Idolatry was at play. Without Moses, everything they assumed to believe in crumbled. This is why they were angry about the man healed of blindness rather than celebrating God’s miracle. They were stuck on Moses rather than on God’s truth, even though Moses himself could not exist without God. The healing of the blind man introduced a metamorphosis in the Jewish religion. Without logic, authoritarians use emotion to forcefully discard truthful information. The Jewish leaders angrily ejected the man from their midst.
Their behavior was recorded for everyone to see their folly, nearly two thousand years later. Tradition insists that information cannot be understood without authority. Logic insists that information requires understanding. We can use this to distinguish between true and false Christianity. False Christianity insists that faith means blindly believing without assurance and confidence. True Christianity insists that faith means believing with assurance and confidence. False Christianity cannot stand without authority.
The authority for the Jews was Moses. In authoritarian religious cultures, the authority of traditional Christians often becomes the founder of the denomination in question. For instance, some people within the Seventh-day Adventists assume that anything good must come from within their denomination. Anything true is assumed to trace its roots to Ellen G. White. Regardless of how accurate other information might be, it is treated as false as long as it does not emanate from the SDA authority—Ellen G. White.
The Seventh-day Adventist denomination is used here only for illustration. Otherwise, this is the traditional behavior of various other Christian denominations. They base authenticity on authority rather than logic. The problem of tradition is not limited to Christianity; it runs across all religions in the world. It is also what sustains many educational systems. One’s thesis cannot be readily accepted unless it quotes some “authority.” Only modern technology seems to have baffled authoritarians, leaving them completely flabbergasted.
Fear appears to sustain the need for authoritarian culture, as can be observed in our political landscape. In some formerly colonized societies, people may reject workable democratic practices simply because they are associated with former colonizers. Any form of ideology tends to be based on authority rather than reason. Ideological concepts prevail even after the discovery of information and communication technology. The pioneers of modern technology mostly did not come from traditional authoritarian backgrounds.
Nevertheless, although they benefit from modern information technology, educational authorities often do not fully recognize the latest technological discoveries. The saga of the formerly blind man shows how stubborn authoritarian culture can be. The Jewish leaders had to eject the miraculously healed man for no other reason than that he had been healed without their authority. Was healing a good thing? Yes, it was. Why, then, did they seek to invalidate what was good?
The healing miracle invalidated their authority. Yet there had never been a better manifestation of a divine feat. Their synagogues had been meant for worshiping the miracle-working God, but they were caught invalidating a divine miracle. What blinded the Jewish leaders who resisted the healing of the man born blind was the blinding phenomenon of cultural tradition entrenched in pride. They did not know what they were doing (John 9:35–41 NIV).
Believing in Jesus cannot be dissociated from logic. The blindness of the Pharisees came from assuming that knowledge is based on authority rather than logic. This suggests a drastic shift in reasoning. Such a grand metamorphosis destabilizes tradition. Logic asserts itself above traditional customs. Truth comes from believing in the Author of truth. This includes recognizing your origin: Who are you, and how did you come to be?
That question is answered in Jesus’ identity, not by any other authority (Matthew 16:13–20). The last portion of that Scripture reveals the hidden mystery. If Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, His followers have the right to become God’s children. There is no other foundation for the Church of God, which is a spiritual organism. This removes merely traditional churches from the Christian equation. God’s Church is based on Matthew 16:18–19. The composition of that Church is outlined below:
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:19–21 NIV).
Those who do not identify with the above structure should not waste time pretending to be Christians. One cannot be built into that household while remaining stuck on the traditions of this world. Jesus clarified this impossibility when speaking about those who rejected God’s miracle in the healing of the blind man. Authoritarian culture does not accept the idea that humans are equal before God. Authoritarian traditions stipulate that some people must be superior to others.
The Jewish leaders who rejected the healing miracle to the blind man assumed that Moses was superior to everyone. Accordingly, they designated themselves as the custodians of Moses’ authority. However, once one has established one’s identity, one does not need any authority except the authority of Jesus, which cannot be appreciated without understanding. This requires a willingness to learn. It is impossible to provide knowledge to those who remain under another’s authority.
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:8–12 NIV).
In the above passage, Jesus delivered a telling blow to cultural traditions and authoritarianism. However, this is a Scripture that authoritarians today would have preferred never existed. More disadvantages can be listed beyond the rejection of God’s power in the healing of the man born blind. Jesus lamented those who prevented people from accessing God’s Kingdom because of authoritarian traditions.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those trying to enter do so. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:13–15 NIV).
Jesus rarely contended with blatant sinners during His time. He contended with those who assumed they knew, yet were blinded by cultural traditions that prevented them from using logic, rather than tradition. The same applies in our time. Intellectual discernment requires logic more than cultural tradition. Christianity is a simplified version of philosophy. Jesus’ teachings require common sense more than authoritarian opinions, which appeal only to proud people. Christianity does not require deep studies so much as humble, reasonable faith.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, which lays out standards for lifting Zimbabwe out of its current economic depression and into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, offering relief to those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99