Christians and Non-Christian Culture

In the world today there are believers and non-believers. There are those who devote themselves whole-heartedly to God and those who choose the lukewarm approach to Christianity. Regardless, humans are all from God and God is in all of them. It is the duty of the human race to unite as one under God and rise up against the evil forces of the world. In order to do this everyone, both religious and the not religious, need to be aware of and recognize the lifestyles of each other. Non Christians should at least study the Philosophy of Christianity, as Christians should explore the philosophy of infidelity. Justin Martyr found discussion with Tryphno very stimulating because the two ended up sharing similar viewpoints on important religious philosophies. (Justin, Dialogue with Tryphno, Ch.1,2)

First of all, as in any intelligent discussion or argument, each opponent can use the knowledge of the other to put their own claim in understandable terms and analogies. (Tertullian, Apology, ch.21) By gathering facts about the non-Christian culture such as social interactions and entertainment sources, Christians can understand what kind of mind set the non-Christians are in and better explain how Christianity can improve their life. While Christians should build up relationships with other Christians, they should not limit themselves from the entire non-Christian culture because they can use it to understand the world and why God is needed. Looking into non-Christian media such as movies and music groups can help Christians see what non-Christians are thinking about the world through pictures and how they feel about the world through music.

Next, when God send Jesus into the world to save the human race from sin, Jesus lived as a believer in an unbelieving world. He saw the views of both his followers and all the sinners who refused to accept him and he embraced both sides equally. It was not until Jesus came and experienced a human life for himself that humans could a real feel for Him as a divine being. It is necessary for non-Christians to live their life devoted to Christ but also to experience the same things that the rest of the people in the world are even if they happen to have religious differences. People can become wiser to the benefits and all the good that God is when they have seen how foolish the world is.

(Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ, Ch.5) To continue, as there are certain stages to understanding the Bible and religion as whole, there should all be certain stages to understanding the world and its people. Looking at the world and religions as a quest from a lower level to a higher level, it is necessary to be aware of the lower level to understand how to get to the higher one. Then it is easy to go "advancing through each stage to a better condition." (Origen, On First Principles, Ch.6) Once Christians use their knowledge of the non-Christian culture as a basis for understanding their own, they can achieve those higher levels of thought and knowledge, and use the lessons learned from their journey to help others along the way.

Matthew 16:26 warns "what good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul?" because it is easy to get caught up in worldly