17在二章八节、十八节和二十、二十一节，保罗题到好几样事物：哲学、传统、世上的蒙学、卑微、敬拜天使和规条。事实上，这些项目都能总括在一个辞─文化里。哲学是人类文化的最高产品之一。传统也与文化有关。事实上，传统来自文化，而文化具体化于传统。若没有文化，就没有传统；若没有传统，也就没有文化。不仅如此，世上的蒙学，就是一些基本教训的初阶原则，也是文化的一面。卑微是最有文化的人中才有的美德。越有修养、越有文化的人，就越谦卑。越无文化、越野蛮的人，就越缺少谦卑。因此，卑微与文化的修养有密切的关系。不仅如此，敬拜天使也是在有高尚文化的人中间才有的。文化低的人可能敬拜野兽，但是文化较高的人也许就敬拜天使。实际上，敬拜天使乃是一种高尚的拜偶像；今天在天主教里还有这种作法。有些人也许为敬拜天使辩护说，那比敬拜野兽好多了。末了，人的规条也与其文化有关。规条是与我们生活方式有关的规则。譬如，餐桌礼仪乃是规条。越有文化的人就越有规条。越有文化的人就越会说，『不可拿，不可尝，不可摸。』
17In 2:8, 18, and 20, Paul mentions a number of matters: philosophy, tradition, elements of the world, humility, angel worship, and ordinances. Actually, all these items can be summed up in one word—culture. Philosophy is one of the highest products of man’s culture. Tradition also is related to culture. In fact, tradition comes from culture, and culture is embodied in tradition. If there is no culture, there is no tradition; and if there is no tradition, there can be no culture. Furthermore, the elements of the world, which are rudimentary principles of basic teachings, are also aspects of culture. Humility is a virtue found among the most cultured of people. The more refined and cultured a person is, the more humble he is. But the more uncultured and barbarous a person is, the less humble he is. Thus, humility is intimately related to cultural refinement. Furthermore, the worship of angels is found among people of high culture. Those with a rather low culture may worship beasts, but those who are more highly cultured may worship angels. The worship of angels is actually a refined form of idolatry, a practice still to be found in today’s Catholicism. Some people may even justify the worship of angels by arguing that it is better than the worship of animals. Finally, man’s ordinances are related to his culture. Ordinances are rules related to our way of living. For example, table manners are ordinances. The more cultured people are, the more ordinances they have. The more cultured a person is, the more he will say, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.”