Is It a Blessing or an 800 lb Gorilla?

— by Rosana B. Golez

Having researched and written about globalization and modernization for the Global Prayer Digest (GPD), it seems clear to me that Westernization is integrally related to both phenomena. As the West nudges the world towards a more modern and globalized economy, it is also bringing it to a more Westernized culture. Westernization includes a culture and worldview that includes the English language and pop-culture, post-modern morals, commercialism, modern science and medicine, and a high value on democracy and equality. The West is also contributing a high percentage of missionaries to the developing world.

The West is extending its cultural power through the Internet, MTV, Hollywood movies, and commercialism. They have made inroads into most non-Western civilizations be they Sinic, Indian, Japanese, Middle Eastern, African, Latin American, or Slavic. Professor Samuel Huntington points out that in the post-Cold War world order, values are not primarily challenged along ideological or economic lines. Instead, the global fault lines are cultural, between nations and groups of different civilizations. The critical factor is for non-Western leaders to discern how modernization and Westernization can serve their needs without adopting counter productive cultural elements.

Does a culture that wants to modernize have to become Westernized as well? Heads of state and experts on economics and development don't always agree when they try to answer this key question. F. A. Hayek, the 1974 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics, wrote an article in Law, Legislation and Liberty. He said that in order for a market economy to flourish, it is essential that there be a set of modern cultural values based on individualism and respect for abstract rules, veering away from communal values. Non-western values must be stifled to allow for economic growth. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Razak disagrees. Earlier this year, at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum, he said that some features of Westernization are inevitable, but that does not mean it's necessary to alter the core values of Islam. The other Islamic leaders at that forum agreed with him.

The Transformation of Western Culture
According to Samuel Huntington in his book, The Clash of Civilizations, the West encompasses Roman Catholic and Protestant countries of Western and central Europe together with the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These Euro-Atlantic civilizations have shared values shaped by the historic influences of the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment. European and American supremacy flourished under Enlightenment thinking based on reason and science. In time, secularism and humanism increasingly became part of Western thinking.

Western concepts of liberty, dignity of life and equality are rooted in the teachings of Jesus. He was the one who broke cultural rules by speaking with a Samaritan woman. He was the one who dared to touch lepers and heal those who were seen as inferior by the Jewish people. The principles of "equality" and "inalienable rights" developed during the Enlightenment, at a time when America was enjoying spiritual revivals. The belief in equality eventually encompassed African slaves and women. In 1948, these values were elaborated and adopted by the United Nations' General Assembly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Equality also has its ugly side, especially when the influence of Christianity gets replaced by secularism and humanism…and commercialism. American pop culture has crept across the globe, tainting cultures that have been around for thousands of years. Pop culture has brought with it sexual immorality and weakened families. The United States, holding unrivalled military, economic, technological and political power since the end of the Cold War, is undoubtedly the largest exporter of these corrupted forms of Western culture. For this, America will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment.

For better or worse, Westernization is creeping into the developing world. Let's look at some examples from recent news reports.

The Muslim Arab World
Due to a flood of western influence, the traditional roles of women are being challenged in Muslim Arab nations. Women have almost always been restricted from working or studying, much to the detriment of their economies. This month you will pray for Muslim cultures where people are challenging so-called "honor killing" of women who defy Islamic morals by selecting their own husbands or having sex outside of marriage. The result has been fierce conflict between traditionalists and modernists.

East meets West in cosmopolitan Dubai in U.A.E., a small Persian Gulf nation bustling with state-of-the-art buildings, and reclaimed land. Man-made islands are shaped like palm trees and Arabic script. These islands host luxurious residences. Forty years ago, Dubai was a simple fishing village. Today, with its oil rich economy, Dubai has reinvented itself as a world famous hub for tourism, sports, shopping, exhibitions, conferences, finance, and commerce. The Arab Muslims in Dubai use the latest technology and enjoy an open market economy.

Dubai has changed socially as well as economically during these last 40 years. Unescorted women drive cars, and they are allowed to hold jobs. Local women wear signature clothing beneath traditional Muslim garb. Amidst the change, Arab traditions live on with multi-generational families and arranged marriages. This technologically modern Arab culture maintains their colorful celebrations, their folk arts and traditional sports such as falconry and camel racing. The UAE may be able to straddle both worlds since they are a rich nation. This may not be possible for a poorer Arab nation like Egypt.

China
According to a survey of members of the American Chamber of Commerce, three out of four American companies claim their China operations are taking in higher profit margins than ever before. China is the fastest growing economy in the world, and it has a strong local consumer sector. Despite the availability of local, cheap goods, China's urban middle and upper classes prefer American brands like Nike shoes. Nike is experiencing an exponential increase in sales as they open an average of 1.5 stores a day in China. They hope to take advantage of the sales opportunities that will come with the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Chinese youths are attracted to Nike products that link them to the West's pop culture.

India
Since India has opened its economy to foreign trade, Delhi, Bangalore and other Indian cities are especially open to Westernization. Those who have lived in Western cities like San Jose and London return to India expecting the same amenities they enjoyed in the West. That may include potable water as well as Western-style foods. Those who haven't lived in the West may be lured by advertisements on television and the Internet. Increased income and a burgeoning consumer class is caught up in commercialism and materialism.

Eroding moral values are increasing the social ills in India. These include higher rates of divorce, teen-age pregnancy and crime. India's movie industry, Bollywood, has traditionally produced "feel good films" that feature innocent romance, music and dance. But just as Hollywood films began to push the limits in the 1960s with increased sexuality and nudity, Bollywood is beginning to do the same. Bollywood produced a movie entitled, "Girlfriend," that dealt with female homosexuality. Now that Indian movie producers have learned that shocking the public helps them get free publicity, they have since produced a movie that offended their Sikh minority. The worst is probably yet to come.

Commercialism is affecting the Hindu religion. Haridwar is now home to the "Disneyland on the Ganges," 25 acres of theme parks showcasing Hindu deities. This site attracts 18 million pilgrim visitors yearly. One almost feels sorry for India's policy makers who must try to restrain the excesses of both traditionalists who approve of widow burning, and modernists who are just beginning to pollute India with pop culture and the social ills that come with it!

Subsaharan Africa
With smaller populations and less developed economies, the Subsaharan African nations are less likely to be affected by Westernization than the cultures of Asia. Yet amidst poverty and helplessness, MTV has recently opened in Africa to plug into local talents and markets. Will Subsaharan African cultures develop a youth culture like the West? Perhaps the damage is already done; sexual promiscuity and AIDS are already destroying this land without the help of Westernization.

Westernization As A Challenge to the Church
Since the Fall of Man in Genesis 3, humanity has been infected by a spiritual disease we call sin. Traditional cultures are just as capable of producing the bitter fruit of sin as Western ones.

Yet the excesses of modern Western cultures are providing difficult challenges for Christ's ambassadors who go out to break the bonds of sin and build bridges to the Holy One. When Hindus or Muslims look at cultures once known for their strong Christian faith, they can find moral decadence in place of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. It is much more difficult to lead people to Jesus when they focus on the negative effects of Western secular humanism if they mistakenly think that these effects came about because of Christianity. To counter the seduction of Western culture overlaid with individualism, immorality and pride, the Church has to be holy, set apart for God's purpose, so the nations will see the difference Christ can make.

What do Western believers have to offer the world? For the Church in the West to take the Kingdom of God to those in every people group, (ethne) missionaries must walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, and triumph over pride and the world's allures. There is an imperative in living out the mandate in Matthew 28:18-20, "…Therefore go and make disciples of all ethne, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that I have commanded you…"

There are millions of emerging, culturally appropriate home churches, especially in China and Subsaharan Africa. These new churches must discover Jesus from the Scriptures, and worship Him in their own culturally appropriate ways. The Body of Christ that desires to advance His kingdom to unreached people groups must build His Church within the mother tongue and culture of each separate ethne. Western-style Christianity isn't what the unreached nations need, especially when it strays from biblical teachings. Missionaries must bring Jesus and His Word, not a Western religious system.

Let us bring to the world a new brand of dignity and human rights, one where an individual is loved as a person created in the image and likeness of Christ, and called out to serve and glorify Him. From east to west, by the power of the Holy Spirit, let us demolish "every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God" (2 Corinthians 10:5), mindful to denounce the seductions of Western culture-pride, lust, power and greed inside and outside church. As admonished in Ephesians 3: 14-20, in prayer-filled realization, let us champion a culture rooted in love and filled in the fullness of God. Hastening the day of His coming (2Peter 3:12), let us go into lands where Christ is not known, and bring the true person of Christ, the One who is the redeemer of all mankind.

Pray
for God to call out missionaries who will rise above their cultures, be they Western or Eastern, so His Name may be glorified among the unreached nations.