6. Irish Scribes
5th Century AD
Gave the Celts a written language,
Preserved their cultural heritage
In art form in the Book of Kells
And written folklore
7. John Eliot
1604 - 1690
Gave the Massachusett Tribe a
written language, enabling them to
preserve cultural heritage
10. Cherokee Nationalism
1776 - 1843
“Leaders of the Cherokee Nation…
used Christianity to in
fl
uence national
movements”
11. Continuity
Preserving Cultural Heritage
One way we serve a people -group is by
protecting their cultural heritage and
helping them transmit it to the next
generation so that it is not lost
35. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created
him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And
God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and
fi
ll the earth
(Gen 1:26–28 ESV)
36. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his
wife, and they shall become one
fl
esh.
(Gen 2:24 ESV)
38. The LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred
and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will
make of you a great nation…So Abram went, as the LORD had told
him, and Lot went with him…And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his
brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the
people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the
land of Canaan.
(Gen 12:1–5 ESV)
42. Abraham instructs Eliezer to
fi
nd a wife for Isaac in Haran
The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and
prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and
from my father’s house.
(Gen 24:40 ESV)
43. ‫ָה‬‫ח‬ָ‫ď„‬ְ‫שׁ‬ִ‫מ‬ mishpochah
Clan, extended kinship group, relatives beyond the household & land
Eliezer had to travel to Haran to
fi
nd them.
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds. (1906) BDB. Accordance electronic edition, version 4.5. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
44. ‫ָה‬‫ח‬ָ‫ď„‬ְ‫שׁ‬ִ‫מ‬ mishpochah
God honored the larger, extended family ties, and called it a clan
Today, Jewish people still refer to their relatives as mishpochah
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds. (1906) BDB. Accordance electronic edition, version 4.5. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
45. The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai…“Take a census of all the
congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the
number of names, every male, head by head…there shall be with you a man from
each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers.
(Num 1:1–4 ESV)
46. ‫ָה‬‫ח‬ָ‫ď„‬ְ‫שׁ‬ִ‫מ‬ tribe
Branch, sta
ff
, rod, tribe
Descendants of one ancestor, comprised of multiple clans, headed by
one tribal leader. Not geographically bound. Comprises a nation.
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds. (1906) BDB. Accordance electronic edition, version 4.5. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
47. ‫ָה‬‫ח‬ָ‫ď„‬ְ‫שׁ‬ִ‫מ‬ tribe
God honored people identifying according to extended tribal groups
God honors ethnic identity.
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, eds. (1906) BDB. Accordance electronic edition, version 4.5. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
48. Kinship and Family in the Bible
Married Couple — Parents, one man & one woman, single location
Nuclear Family — Parents and their immediate children, single location
Household — Bayit Nuclear family and servants, extended relatives, single location
Kindred — Moledet, Extended family beyond one household, but close to nuclear family.
Clan — Mishpochah, Multiple households extended far beyond one location
Tribes — Mateh, Multiple clans, all descended from one ancestor.
Ethnic Group — Ahm, Goy, Ethnos, Nation, a large people group of many tribes and clans inhabiting a region
sharing common language, culture, and ancestry.
49. Ethnic Group
Tribe Tribe
Clan Clan Clan
Household Household Household Household Household
Family Family Family Family Family Family Family Family Family Family
Parents Parents Parents Parents Parents Parents Parents Parents Parents Parents
51. Kinship
the ways in which people selectively interpret the common human
experiences of reproduction and nurturance.
Howell & Paris, 2019, p. 225
52. Descent
Social rule that assigns identity to a person on the basis of her or
his ancestry.
Howell & Paris, 2019, p. 226
53. Unilateral Descent — Traced through one parent
Bilateral Descent — Traced through either parent
Patrilineal Descent — Traced through the father
Matrilineal Descent —Traced through the mother
Howell & Paris, 2019, p. 226
54. Why does descent & lineage matter?
Material inheritance — who gets the material possessions of the family?
Leadership — who is the next in charge?
Ethnic identity — how is ethnic identity determined?
55. Judaism
Lastname — Patrilineal (ex. Shimon ben Ma’ir)
Tribe — Patrilineal (ex. Cohen, Cahn, Cohn, Levine, Levy)
Jewishness— Matrilineal (must have a Jewish mother)
Material Heir — Bilateral (If no male heir, female inherits)
56. African American Community during Slavery
Lastname — Household, slaves took their owner’s names
Family — Often Matrilineal (Rape, and fathers were sold o
ff
)
Race — Bilateral (Considered Black if either parent was Black)
59. Cognatic Descent
Identity passed down through both father and mother (ex. North America)
Bilateral — children are related to family of both parents (ex. ancestry.com)
Ambilineal — Married adults choose to identify with their biological parents, or
spouse’s family (in-laws)
61. Confucian Tradition — Filial Piety
• Father — serves emperor, cares for his parents, leads the family
• Mother — raises children, cares for house, oversees
fi
nances
• Oldest Son — takes care of parents in old age, heir to household
• Younger Son — works outside the home until marriage. Gives salary to family
• Daughters — lives in the house until marriage
• Young wives — Moves into husband’s home, becomes daughter-in-law
62. Confucian Tradition — Filial Piety
• Wife moves out of her parents house
• Moves in with her husband’s family
• Becomes a part of their household
• Identi
fi
es with his family
• Cares for his parents if he dies
65. Post-Ethnic Identity
Emerging Adults have diverse cultural experiences and select
which apspects of their heritage, culture, and ancestry they
identify with
Biale, D. Galchinsky, M. (1998). Insider/Outsider. University of California Press: p. 29
67. Postethnic Identity
Emerging adults select different aspects of their parents’
heritage (ex. Religion, Ethnicity, Culture) they identify with.
68. Benchmark Questions
• What is a household in the culture?
• How is descent passed down (patrilineal, bilineal?)
• How is ethnicity passed down?
• Who can they marry (not marry)?
• What are the implications for Christian ministry?
71. Marriage
Definition:
A publicly recognized
social or legal union
that creates a socially
sanctioned context for
sexual intimacy,
establishes (in whole
or in part) the
parentage of children,
and creates kinship.
â—‹ Produces affinal kin
through marriage.
â—‹ Produces consanguineal
kin through birth.
â—‹ Universal existence of
incest taboos (beyond
that, rules for marriage
avoidance and preference
vary a great deal).
72. Cousin Marriage
â—‹ Cross or parallel cousin marriage
may be the preferred form of
marriage.
â—Ź Keeps families together, including
inheritance and land.
â—Ź Preexisting trust and knowledge makes a
good match easier.
74. Marriage and Economic Exchange
Bridewealth/service
â—‹ Involves exchange of goods
or services from family of
groom to family of bride.
â—Ź Represents the loss to the
natal family of the bride’s
service, employment,
companionship, offspring, and
other resources.
â—Ź Creates bonds of indebtedness
and trust between families.
○ Example: Jacob’s
brideservice for his
marriages to Leah and
Rachel.
Dowry
â—‹ Exchange of goods from
bride’s family to groom’s
family or to the bride as
a gift to bring into the
marriage.
â—‹ Reflects the view that
groom’s family is taking
on the financial
responsibility of
supporting the bride.
75. Plural Marriage/Polygamy
Polygyny
â—‹ The marriage of one
man to two or more
wives.
â—‹ Provides for larger
households, more labor,
and larger lineages.
â—‹ Can serve to create
multiple alliances.
â—‹ Multiple marriages can
represent wealth or
bring prestige.
Polyandry
â—‹ The marriage of one
woman to two or more
husbands.
â—‹ More rare.
â—‹ Most well-known example
involves brothers marrying
one woman.
