Thursday, January 18, 2007

What should we do when we are confronted with other cultures?(faith)


Each community has their own distinct cultural tradition that they have developed overtime. But the difference in the culture might lead to utter clash when they are confronted. Even in our modern day, this can be reflected in the tables from different countries. For instance, Korean tables tend to have hot dishes like Kimchi while American tables tend to have bread and jams. Thus, when tables are switched, they would not be able to adopt very easily. Likewise, when cultures of Sawi and Don Rinchardson with more than thousands of years of gap met, there were severe confusion and fear between the two. For instance, the Sawi referred the “modern people” with recent technology as Tuan, who were respected and feared. Although, Don Richardson faced tremendous difficulty as he was even threatened of his life, he was able to accommodate with the other culture and succeeded in establishing a building that meant to serve God. This was a great leap forward for the Sawi people, because the purpose in the construction of that building was valuable since symbolized how they now would more willingly accept the changes that will be brought within their society. Once they accept the changes, Cannibalism and dangerous environment filled with diseases from unsanitary conditions and killing between the peoples might well be removed. But the book mentions that some people continued to keep their culture regardless of how the others adopted to other cultures, and I think this is the best way to prevent any dangerous riot against any authority who is trying others to adopt their own cultures by force. Providing offers whether they want to change their culture or whether they want to live as they want.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hong yuan, :)
confronting of the two cultures can be a big thing for some people. I agree that one should "offer" a choice to a person with a different mindset, asking whether he/she would be willing to accept the different culture or not instead of forcing him to agree with a culture. It can be very dangerous to "make" and force somebody to do something according to your own will, because they might have a different opinion and get very well offended. But I also think the other person needs to try hard to understand the difference and to fit in, just as the one offering the acceptance of their culture. :)
there are alot of thoughtful posts on your blog by the way

African Globe Trotters. said...

Can you make anyone accept something? People either want to conform or don't but ultimately the choice is theirs alone. Mrs.Mc.