Linking Christianity to Culture through Narrative

It interested me that both Ethiopian culture and Anglo-Saxon culture used similar strategies to link Christianity to their culture—the use of lineage and idea of cultural superiority. The second reading of the Kebra Negast notes how, “the land that is ours is the land of inheritance, which God hath given unto us according to the oath that HE swore to our fathers, and a land flowing with milk and honey…” (44) It is clear that the idea of heritage is strong in this passage. Similarly, the Anglo-Saxons note that they are “the children of Israel” and the “inheritors of the Promises of God.” This struck me as interesting because both cultures link their culture to Christianity through the idea of cultural superiority. Both cultures use narratives that combine the origins of Christianity to their culture. If the narrative is unrealistic or lacking evidence (as the Anglo-Saxons call their narrative a “great story”), this is obsolete. Through the means of propaganda (the magazine), Anglo-Saxon culture was able to spread the narrative even more. Though their narrative (at least from what the magazine said) seemed unrealistic, stating that the “Anglo-Saxons everywhere” were the children of God, the appealing ideas of the narrative (that Anglo-Saxons are God’s divine children) seems enticing, and does not need evidence to gain popularity. In hindsight, though both cultures use the idea of lineage for evidence of their link to Christianity, the ideas are so enticing for the culture it is directed at, evidence is seldom necessary.