One of the principle themes of postmodernity is cultural difference and particularity. Even in Christian circles, we fixate on how people from other cultures are different; on the difficulties of communicating across cultural and ethnic lines; on the need to contextualize.

Fine. That’s all true. 

What increasingly strikes me when I’m abroad, however, is how similar human beings everywhere are. I haven’t traveled as much as some. But I have lived in Britain, Belgium, and Grand Cayman. I’ve spent over a month in Muslim central Asia and another month in Greece. I'm presently visiting South Africa. I've lived in ten U.S. states...

At one point last week, one of the young Khosa (indigenous South African tribe) pastor apprentices whom we were teaching raised his hand and asked, “How do I fight against caring what people think of me as a pastor?” Goodness. That sounds familiar. 

Different cultures have different idols, but we’re all idolatrous to the core. Different ethnicities have different mechanisms for self-justification, but we all center our existences on it. Different nationalities have different ways of passing the blame, but find me one that doesn’t. Different economic classes may love different worldly treasures, but every man loves the world.

For all the time we spend talking about the differences of Adam's scattered sons, they're all his. I suspect that, if we as postmoderns had a more holy view of God, we might talk less about cultural particularity and more about our pathetic and predictable similarity.

Yes, Paul acknowledged the differences between Jews and Gentiles, barbarians and Greeks. But didn't he spend far more time talking about the sin we all share--as well as the one great hope?