Communication Between Cultures

found, there stands at the center a profound and enduring commitment to the

person of Jesus Christ.”^60

Core Assumptions

In spite of the assortment and variety of Christian denominations, this tradition has a

basic foundation of beliefs that offers its followers a guideline for understanding life

and death. Three of the most common guidelines can be found in a few basic tenets

and ideologies. Hale expands on these in the following:

Essentially, Christianity is a monotheistic tradition centered on faith in God (the eternal cre-

ator who transcends creation and yet is active in the world) and in Jesus Christ as the savior

and redeemer of humankind. Christianity holds that God became incarnate—fully human—

as Jesus of Nazareth. Christians believe that Jesus died on a cross and was resurrected, physi-

cally rising from the dead. The belief in the Trinity, the sacred mystery of Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit as one, triune (“three-in-one”) God is central to the Christian tradition.^61

A number of important precepts emerge from Hale’s summary.

• Thereis a single God who created the universe and also“gave the world”his only
  son, Jesus Christ. Part of this“giving”involves Jesus giving his life on the Cross
  (the Crucifixion).


• Christianity is a total worldview that includes both the religious and the secular
  dimensions of life. Part of this unification of the ways of life is drawn from the
  belief that Jesus lived among the people and suffered; hence, he understands
  human pain, problems, and enticements.


• Christians believe that humans are created in God’s image and have a responsibil-
  ity to God.^62


• The concept of“atonement”is a crucial component of Christian theology.“It is
  the belief that the things that Jesus did during his lifetime in healing people and
  restoring them to God, no matter how great their sins may have been, is now done
  for everyone who has the faith that it can be so.”^63


• The Christian God is personal in that he is not only a God of energy and power
  but also a personal God.

Cultural Expressions of Christianity

An important question is how these and other tenets of Christianity are reflected in

daily life. Although there are thousands of directives that Jesus and his apostles car-

ried to the world, we have selected a few of those that not only have shaped the

Christian tradition but also apply to the study of intercultural communication.

Christianity and Community

In the introduction to this section we pointed out that community was an essential com-

ponent of Christianity. The link between the community and Christianity has roots that

go back to the inception of the religion. For example, from the beginning of his practice,

Jesus gathered others to share in his ministry. These relationships were“not a nebulous

118 CHAPTER 4•Worldview: Cultural Explanations of Life and Death

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