4. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and
besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah
into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of
God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the
house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of
his god.
(Daniel 1:1–2 ESV)
5. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to
bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family
and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good
appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with
knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to
stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature
and language of the Chaldeans.
(Dan 1:3–4 ESV)
6. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the
king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be
educated for three years, and at the end of that time they
were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And
the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he
called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael
he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego
(Dan 1:5–7 ESV)
10. Culture is
Is the total way of life of a group of people that is (a) learned, (b)
dynamic, (c) shared, (d) power laden, and (e) integrated
(Howell & Paris, 2019, p. 64)
13. Culture
• Learned — All cultural behaviors are acquired.
• Dynamic — culture constantly changes and adapts to peoples needs.
13
14. Cultural Essentialism:
The erroneous belief that racial categories are somehow always associated with distinct,
fi
xed, and stable cultural
patterns
15. Culture
• Learned — All cultural behaviors are acquired.
• Dynamic — culture constantly changes and adapts to peoples needs.
• Shared — Culture is socially constructed. It is not individual.
15
16. Culture
• Learned — All cultural behaviors are acquired.
• Dynamic — culture constantly changes and adapts to peoples needs.
• Shared — Culture is socially constructed. It is not individual.
• Power Laden — Culture is not neutral. People use cultural resources to attain
goals.
16
17. Culture
• Learned — All cultural behaviors are acquired.
• Dynamic — culture constantly changes and adapts to peoples needs.
• Shared — Culture is socially constructed. It is not individual.
• Power Laden — Culture is not neutral. People use cultural resources to attain
goals.
• Integrated — All aspects of culture are related to other parts of culture.
17
18. What aspects of Western Culture are rooted in ancient pagan religions?
18
26. Ethnography is how we exegete culture
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, October 27). ethnography. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/ethnography
27. Ethnography
The descriptive study of a human society or the process
of making such a study. Contemporary ethnography is
based almost entirely on
fi
eldwork and requires the
complete immersion of the anthropologist in
the culture and everyday life of the people who are the
subject of his study.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2023, October 27). ethnography. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/ethnography
28. An ethnographer…is a person who writes a description of
a cultural group or situation using participant observation
and informant interviews. The product of the research is
the ethnography.
Shalinsky, Audrey. Ethnographer. In James Birx Ed. Encyclopedia of anthropology. Vol. 1 Sage Publication. p. 849
41. Components
1. Focus
2. Research Question
• Short & concise
• Speci
fi
c question with a speci
fi
c answer
41
Research
Question?
42. Research Questions
• How do Muslim college students at GCU engage with Christian curricula?
• How do Haitian Christians relate to their non-Christian family members who still practice
Voodoo?
• How many Vietnamese Buddhists in Phoenix actively practice Buddhism?
• What Hindu holidays do Indian Christians practice?
42
43. Research Questions
• TPS — What are some questions you have about the culture you’re studying?
43
46. Quantitative — large numbers
a. Surveys and Demographics
b. Large studies
c. Huge budget
d. Findings published in national news
e. Graphs, Charts, Figures
53. Intentional Lenses
• Critical Lens — Exposing racism in a classroom
• Transformative Lens — Seeking to eradicate gender discrimination in a church
• Constructivist lens — discovering how immigrants create new life in the US
• Positivist lens — determining if an evangelistic method is effective
• Theological lens — Approaching the study with a Christian Worldview
53
58. Ethnographic Study of Seinfeld’s “The Pie” 1994
1. What cultural artifacts were in the scene?
2. What were people’s role in the scene?
3. Describe the social organization participants.
4. What rituals were done in the scene?
5. What values were in conflict?
6. Describe the two cultures depicted and their differences.
