The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story

by Craig G. Bartholomew

"Culture" is the name we give to organized activities within society, such as making things like music or building houses or founding economic or political structures. Genesis 1:26-28 is sometimes described as the cultural mandate because the human task there commanded, to exercise royal stewardship over God's good creation, involves developing the hidden potentials of God's creation. Then the whole of creation may more and more declare God's glory, like a great symphony. Royal stewardship thus includes exploring and developing what can be achieved in architecture, farming, art, and family life. God has always intended that we should be involved in this kind of work. In Genesis 4 we read about Cain (who built a city called Enoch), Jabal (the ancestor of those who live in tents and keep livestock), Jubal (the ancestor of those who play the lyre and pipe), Tubal-Cain (who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools), and Lamech (who wrote poetry). We thus must not assume that all this cultural activity is a result of sin. On the contrary, these cultural achievements come about when men and women develop the potentials that God has built into his creation. Such pursuits are essentially good, not evil.