Native Spirituality/Redeeming the Cultures
Native spirituality/Redeeming the Cultures is a movement that believes that ‘God’ has revealed himself in all cultures and therefore the religious practices of the first people groups, such as the American Indian and Australian Aborigine, are valid means to worship and know ‘God’.
On the contrary to what leaders in this movement teach, God was not worshipped by these cultures. First people groups were pagan, polytheistic, and animistic, that worshipped demon spirits. 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 says “the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons , not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.”
Their religious practices involved sorcery and divination, and thereby invoked the influence of demon spirits. The Bible out-rightly condemns all such practices. When the nation of Israel was about to enter the promised land, God warned:
Deuteronomy 18:9-14
“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft , or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.”
Deuteronomy 12:29-32
“The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates.”
Culture is defined by its practices and believes; its customs and religion. In all of human history, God sanctioned just one culture, and that was Israel, expressly because he gave his Law ( a code of conduct and belief) only to them. People from other cultures (the Bible calls them “Gentile” nations) could become proselytes rejecting their own culture and religion and become an ‘Israelite’ by accepting and embracing the Law. After Jesus came and died upon the Cross, the Law was abolished, the nation of Israel came again under the judgement of God, and people from every culture were given the opportunity to accept God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. (The Law was never able to free people form sin, but rather reveal them as sinners and in need of a Saviour who could free them form their sinful nature – and transform their natures so that they could indeed be righteous and holy.) The result was the creation of a Christian ‘culture’ within the cultures of the world, i.e. the church – a people group who were distinct because of the (new) beliefs and practices:
1 Peter 2:7,9-12
Now to you who believe (in Christ Jesus) … you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people , but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Colossians 3:5-13
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
During the great missionary movement of the 19th century, God sent out missionaries to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far-flung regions of the world. Many people from all cultures were converted to Christianity. The result was to see a dramatic change in the societies so affected. Pagan, shamanistic, idolatrous and ancestral worship practices were largely absolved. Sadly, because of the world-wide falling away form God and his truth (apostasy) these very practices that God hates are being revived. So-called ‘Christians’ who promote native spirituality are heretics and true Christians must not associate themselves with the movement.
Acts 14:15-17, 17:29-31
“We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things (false religion/idolatry) to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way …we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone — an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”