Culture, What It Is
Well, I suppose you are asking, What is culture? First, culture is the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties by education, expert care, and training. In essence, culture is the developing of a people's intellectual capacities and moral awareness through a combination of formal instruction and informal modeling. Parents and society teach their children the elements of the culture and as the children learn and internalize these cultural elements, they begin to live and embrace them. Another phase is this: culture is the enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training. Simply put, we all come to think like the environment we have grown up in. Our intellectual interaction with our environment literally produces a way of thinking in us that becomes our way of life. So we become trained in our culture. Keep in mind, none of us are born with a culture, but we are most definitely born in a culture, some better than others.
Culture may also be defined as the integrated pattern of human knowledge. What I mean by that is, beliefs and behaviors that depends upon a man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. For example, I was raised in York City at a time when you had to be streetwise and smart. It was a culture where education was a priority. If you didn't learn, you weren't promoted. In today's educational system, the focus is more on memorizing to pass tests rather than getting educated. I find that especially the case in the south, sad but true.
From a sociological perspective, culture is the customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a racial, religious or social group. In the business world, culture defines the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterize a company or corporation. Keep in mind, when the Holy Spirit enters your mortal body, it brings unity and a new culture.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” If you notice, they spoke with a new language. There was nothing religious on that day. It was all about the Kingdom of God.
Now as for a scientific definition, culture means to grow in a prepared medium. That is a powerful image. Each of us arrived on earth in some kind of prepared medium; the country of our birth. Immediately we began to grow in that medium, shaped and influenced by the customs, values, moral code and social norms of our parents, community and society. We learned the language and the laws. I will continue in my next article.
Acts 2:1-13
~~W.R. Luchie
Continue to Part 2
Culture may also be defined as the integrated pattern of human knowledge. What I mean by that is, beliefs and behaviors that depends upon a man's capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. For example, I was raised in York City at a time when you had to be streetwise and smart. It was a culture where education was a priority. If you didn't learn, you weren't promoted. In today's educational system, the focus is more on memorizing to pass tests rather than getting educated. I find that especially the case in the south, sad but true.
From a sociological perspective, culture is the customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a racial, religious or social group. In the business world, culture defines the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterize a company or corporation. Keep in mind, when the Holy Spirit enters your mortal body, it brings unity and a new culture.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” If you notice, they spoke with a new language. There was nothing religious on that day. It was all about the Kingdom of God.
Now as for a scientific definition, culture means to grow in a prepared medium. That is a powerful image. Each of us arrived on earth in some kind of prepared medium; the country of our birth. Immediately we began to grow in that medium, shaped and influenced by the customs, values, moral code and social norms of our parents, community and society. We learned the language and the laws. I will continue in my next article.
Acts 2:1-13
~~W.R. Luchie
Continue to Part 2