Part 1
Culture is not a part of one’s religion, as such, but is the very incarnation of one’s religion. It is never an end unto itself, but an expression of one’s faith in God. There are atheistic cultures, and heathen cultures, and Christian cultures. Culture, however, is not neutral. It expresses the values, principles, and way of life in what a people truly believe. So said again, it is a means of expressing one’s religious faith.

Henry VanTil said it this way, “culture is any and all human effort and labor expended upon the cosmos, to unearth its treasures and its riches and bring them into the service of man for the enrichment of human existence to the glory of God. As such it is always a human enterprise.” Remember that culture began as “tending the garden of God,” and spreads its endeavor from there.

Culture is an aspect of man’s dominion mandate as image-bearer of God, and is distinguished from animal instincts and nature. Neither man nor culture evolved, but was God’s design for man whom He created from the beginning. Animal instincts remain unchanged from generation to generation, but man, in making history, develops his work and himself in that work (Van Til). The bee has been stinging its victims in the same way for thousands of years, but a surgeon improves his methods and tools from age to age. Birds build their nest from instinct, but man has developed and changed his building materials and methods from primitive living huts to architectural marvels.

Nature is also different from culture. A river is natural, a canal is cultural. A horse is natural, a Tennessee Walker is cultural. Grapes are natural, wine is cultural. Wheat is natural, bread is cultural. Speech is natural, a Shakespeare drama is cultural. You get the idea by now – culture is a human enterprise that requires ingenuity and work.

Culture is such a part of man’s design and being that God emphasizes it in Psalm 104 in the way He provides sustenance for man in clear distinction from the rest of nature. While the Psalm indicates that God provides food directly for His plants and animals, it states that He provides work for man (from which he gets his sustenance).

“He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart. . . . Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.” (Psalm 104:14-15, 23).

Wine, oil, and bread are all a part of man’s cultural endeavor made for our enjoyment, and that which requires his work, whereas a cow just walks around chewing his boring ole cud. Our culture also becomes the means by which we live. If a man isn’t willing to work, neither should he eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Culture and life are inseparable.