‘So much of the reporting of the Middle East at the moment reflects war and human misery; it’s inspiring to find, in this thoughtful and engaging book, a message of hope from what Fr Nadim calls that region of the world that God chose to live in when he took human form ’
Edward Stourton
‘The ultimate question of this
book is, why does it matter to me, a human being, to know the culture of God,
and what impact should that have on my own life and existence? The culture of
God is the antithesis of the culture of the Pharisees - yet again and again
we fall into the trap of condemning or excluding others. Understanding the
culture of God helps us to uncover God’s image within us, a shining jewel
buried deep under the dirt of our selfishness and greed, and helps us to
shine as God intends us to, re-forming our relationships with God and with
each other in our amazingly diverse world.’
It is as
we read the Bible, argues Father Nadim Nassar, that we are invited to
discover what ‘the culture of God’ - the community of love that makes up the
Trinity - looks like, and how it might transform our lives and our faith. But
in order to do so we need to understand the culture of the Bible itself, as
well as the particular culture that forms our own worldview. Ultimately it is
Jesus who has direct access to the culture of God; and so we also need to
understand Jesus within his first-century Levantine context.
Father
Nadim Nassar is the Church of England’s only Syrian priest and an outspoken
advocate for western Christians to recognise the Middle-Eastern roots of
their faith. The fresh and provocative reflections in The Culture of God,
his first book, are informed by his experience of growing up in Syria
and living through the conflicts in the region, especially the civil wars in
Lebanon and Syria. Taking us on a journey through the mystery of the
incarnation, to Jesus’ role as storyteller - Al-Hakawati - his relationship
with a disparate cast of people as narrated by the gospels, and finally his
death and resurrection, Father Nadim unfolds for us the culture of God and
what it can mean for a world that so desperately needs both freedom and a way
to embrace diversity.
‘Fr Nadim’s personal experience of the painful effects of war and conflict in the Middle East is an insightful lens into the brokenness of humanity that leads to the ongoing violation of the God-given sanctity and dignity of life. At the same time, the paradox of the Crucifixion and Christianity is presented as a key to understanding the restoration of that same humanity, and the possibility of reconciliation with God and one another if the life and teachings
