Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category
Saturday, May 15th, 2010
Having been busy with many Wycliffe events over the last few weeks I haven’t been able to blog a great deal, but I came across an article the other day written by Krish Kandiah about the positive effect of cultural diversity on the church. From the Lausanne Global Conversation website, it’s the kind of piece that sums up exactly what I think, but have never been able to quite put into words.
Krish talks about how following Jesus is something that we should do in and through our diverse cultures, rather than thinking we have to leave our uniqueness behind to become like everyone else.
As we navigate our pluralist societies we need to avoid two dangers tourists often fall into. We do not want to be the tactless tourist who presumes that shouting louder will make our foreign tongue more decipherable. Nor should we be the reluctant tourist who seeks out McDonalds in Madrid, Dunkin Donuts in Delhi, or Burger King in Bangkok. But unfortunately these are the approaches the church has often adopted when engaging pluralism.
Tactless Tourism
The tactless approach to pluralism can lead the church to retreat into an arrogant absolutism. Out of fear and misunderstanding we end up believing we have nothing to learn from people from other cultures and religions and so we resort to shouting the truth of the gospel at them and often not hanging around to listen to the response. I would like to balance Chan’s dire warnings of the dangers of postmodernity with the positive things postmoderns can bring to the discussion. Postmoderns help us recognize that we are all culturally biased, and therefore in every missionary encounter we have something to learn. The apostle Peter spent three years on the road with Jesus and preached the Pentecost sermon where thousands were converted, yet he still had more to learn about the implications of the gospel. It was only as he crossed cultural boundaries to evangelize that he realized “God does not show favouritism but accepts those from every nation who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34-35, TNIV). I believe the gospel is God’s unique truth, but I also believe that we Christians cannot claim to have comprehended it exhaustively. We must learn the boldness to speak but also the humility to listen and learn.
Reluctant Tourism
The second danger is that we are reluctant to engage other cultures and so retreat into our own ghettos. I have eaten in McDonald’s on Hong Kong’s Repulse Bay, on Moscow’s Pushkin Square and on Hollywood Boulevard, and I know that as I walk through the door, it doesn’t matter which continent I am on. I get the same sense of cultural dislocation when I walk into many churches around the world, as I find recognizable books, songs, and fashions. I agree with Chan that the gospel is “universal truth”, but when this is emphasized at the expense of valuing culture, we can end up with a bland “Mcdonaldized” evangel. A fast-food message cannot compare to the nourishment offered by a local flavoursome organic church. read more
In cross-cultural mission it’s so easy to think in terms of what is easiest, most efficient and quickest, particularly if you are coming from a position of power. But this article reinforces for me the importance of not just shouting the gospel from a distance, but really engaging with each person in their own language and culture, so that like Peter we can learn at the same time as we proclaim Christ, and he can be lifted up in the glorious diversity of peoples serving him.
Another great reason not to teach everyone English!
(Image from Tim at Bible and Mission)
Tags: Culture, Diversity, Gospel, Lausanne, Unity
Posted in Church, Culture, Theology, Under the Baobab Tree | No Comments »
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
One of the challenges in working cross-culturally is the human tendency to naturally assume that everyone else thinks the same way as we do. We presume that others have the same problems, the same goals and aspirations, the same fears, that they value what we value, and that they see the world just as we see it.
In Christian mission this can mean that we naturally assume that when we move into a different culture, we know what people’s needs are, what the solutions are to those needs, and how to get from the problems to the solutions.
Onesimus has posted the transcript of a fascinating discussion between mainly African Christians, on the subject of African theology. What does theology look like in Africa?
Do have a read through the discussion, as it touches on how an African understanding of God through the Bible is different from the way that many western Christians read scripture, and the vital importance of having an African theology if Christianity is really going to impact the day to day lives of Africans.
GO: Why in churches where there are dealing with issues of barrenness and poverty, these are the churches that are thronged with people? Because they are addressing the felt needs of the people.
TJ: It’s because the African people are asking these questions. And they are asking, ‘Where is God in this situation?’ No one is asking about the virgin birth or the nature of Christ. They are more concerned about action rather than theological concepts. In my home area, there is an active volcano, and when the mountain shakes, the people go up on the mountain to offer sacrifice to calm the mountain spirits down. This is the real need of the people, and the churches are not meeting the need, and they don’t stop the mountain from shaking. The geologist don’t understand nor can they stop the situation. But the traditional practitioners deal with the actual situation and provide a solution.
MM: When the gospel came to Africa, it was foreign to the way of life of the people. It provided answers to questions nobody was asking. When crisis came, they had a fallback plan, which was to go back to the traditional answers to the pressing questions of the culture. Especially in the issue of marriage, naming of children, initiation, there was nothing in the imported Christianity that dealt with the felt needs of the people. What is the implication of the gospel for me who is an African and a Christian? read more
To borrow an idea from a Qom pastor from Argentina (quoted by David Smith in Mission after Christendom), there is no longer a need for westerners to go and teach the Bible to those in Africa, Asia or South America, so much as to read the Bible together with people in these places, each in his own language and culture, with each person bringing his own unique perspective on the glory of God.
I think that seeing more of God through different cultures and languages is something that should be at the heart of our theology of mission. Ultimately knowing God in our own language and culture isn’t just for our own benefit, or even for the benefit of the global church. The apostle Paul explains that God’s purpose in bringing the diversity of all the nations into his kingdom is to bear witness to his great wisdom.
God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:10)
Tags: Africa, Bible, Scripture, Theology
Posted in Bible, Bible translation, Culture, Language, Theology, Under the Baobab Tree | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
After commenting on a couple of blog reviews of the new movie Avatar, I thought it was time I wrote some thoughts myself. We saw the movie in 3-D a couple of weeks ago when we were in the US, and I have to say that although the combination of science fiction and crazy computer effects doesn’t normally make me very excited, I was moderately entertained by the 3-D-ness.
The plot was fairly predictable, but what I thought was interesting was the overall message of the film, which dealt with interaction between very different cultures. Without wanting to spoil the plot for people who haven’t seen the movie, it basically looks at how two cultures, which are very different with no previous contact, interact with each other. One culture is very dominant and aggressive, always fighting its surroundings to achieve its goals, and the other is more passive and at one with its environment, content to maintain the status quo.
Some Christians have expressed concern at the way paganistic rituals are glorified in the movie, but I think this criticism actually proves the point the movie is making. It’s very easy to sit and point out faults in a very alien culture to us, when we haven’t made the effort to understand people in it, and when we’re blissfully unaware of the problems of our own culture. How many of the people who were shocked at the pagan aspects of the minority culture also complained at the greed and consumerism in the majority culture?
I think the movie is an allegory, so I wouldn’t take the details of the pagan rituals of the minority group too seriously, just as I wouldn’t take the “science” part of the movie too seriously. Both the questionable science and the questionable paganism are parts of the story, and set the stage for the overall message of the movie. While I wouldn’t subscribe to the idea that holding on to a huge tree with your tail will solve all your problems, I thought the movie did very well in portraying the unseen relationships, values and wealth in so many minority societies around the world.
There are plenty of things to find fault with in the movie, but my concern is that those who criticise it are doing so for the wrong reasons. The movie doesn’t fit into a worldview of accumulating wealth, seizing opportunity and fighting against whatever or whoever stands in your way, but I don’t think that makes it a bad movie.
If you’re looking for something that reinforces this way of thinking, go and watch any other Hollywood movie. But if you’re open to thinking from a different perspective you might enjoy more than just the 3-D effects of Avatar.
Tags: Culture, Fiction
Posted in Culture, Mission | No Comments »
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