Western society is strongly individualistic in orientation. This reality stems, in large part, from its roots in the Enlightenment and the philosophical and industrial developments of the Modern period. One can even trace such roots further back to early Greek philosophy (see Carver Yu, Being and Relation).
This individualistic orientation has also found a home in Western Christianity, particularly within evangelicalism.
Many American Christians, believing strongly in the ideals of personal dignity and liberty, fail to appreciate the Bible’s emphasis on community. Certainly, we should affirm such ideals as the worth and freedom of individuals—these are biblical (e.g., Gen 1:26; Dt 24:16; Gal 5:13).
Yet we shouldn’t allow our affirmation individual-oriented ideals to cloud Scripture’s broader portrayal of God’s people as individuals-in-community. That is, God created us to live in community with others, not as isolated individuals awaiting a future kingdom. As Hwa Yung explains, “It is important to remind ourselves that we are created to live within a total set of relationships—with God, with ourselves, with fellow humans, and with nature. Salvation is not concerned only with saving spiritually the individual person, but also with the redemption of the whole creation and the healing of all our broken relationships, including communal ones.”
One passage that highlights this communal aspect to Christianity is 1 Peter 2:9. In it, the author declares, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Notice that each of the descriptors used to describe believers here are communal in nature:
- Chosen race
- Royal priesthood
- Holy nation
- People for God’s own possession
Each of these descriptors imply a group of people. Together, they underscore the truth that as individuals repent and believe the gospel, they become part of a larger community of God’s people—the church.
This is but one example, but it ought to encourage thus those of us from the West to search the Scriptures and reevaluate our individualistic worldviews in light of the Bible’s portrayal of God’s people as individuals-in-community. In doing so, we will not only find that rampant individualism is out of step with the Scriptures, but also that there is much to gain from life together. As Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity!”
