{"id":11212,"date":"2017-01-26T14:51:47","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T22:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=11212"},"modified":"2017-01-26T14:51:47","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T22:51:47","slug":"speaking-in-context","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/speaking-in-context\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaking in Context"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As someone who coordinates cross-cultural partnerships for our church, including the leading of mission trips and providing support to missionaries, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the practical ramifications of contextual theology, especially as it relates to evangelism. This week\u2019s readings by Stephen Garner and Stephen Bevans have given me great insight into this subject:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Bevans, Models of Contextual Theology (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2004).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Garner, \u201cContextual and Public Theology: Passing Fads or Theological Imperatives?\u201d Stimulus: The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice 22, no. 1 (2015).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Garner\u2019s brief but meaty article is a good introduction to the idea of contextual theology. In it, he states \u201cAll theology is inherently contextual in that it has been shaped by the historical, social, and cultural contexts of the individuals and communities doing theology.\u201c<sup>1<\/sup> Garner goes on to bring up the concept of \u201cpublic theology,\u201d which is theology which seeks the welfare of the city before protecting the interests of the Church\u2026\u201d<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This reminded me of a conference that I attended at Granger Community Church in Granger, Indiana. At the time, the church was considering a radical rebranding of their large facilities. They were making plans to take down the \u201cchurch\u201d signs and label their building something like \u201cGranger Community Center.\u201d Instead of a church that had ministries, they wanted to provide a place for local organizations (support groups, social service providers, community education, etc) to meet. They would then say \u201cby the way, our church meets at the Community Center on Sundays.\u201d \u00a0I don\u2019t\u2019 think that they ever pulled this off, but it seemed to me to be a practical application of \u201cpublic theology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I found Bevans\u2019 book well written and well organized. As a Baptist, I was surprised how applicable this book was, being written by a Catholic theologian. Bevans sequentially lists the varying models of Contextual Theology, from most conservative to most radical. They are:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Countercultural Model<\/li>\n<li>Translation Model<\/li>\n<li>Synthetic Model<\/li>\n<li>Praxis Model<\/li>\n<li>Transcendental Model<\/li>\n<li>Anthropological Model<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I enjoyed the explanations and illustrations about each model. To be honest, when I first hear the term \u201cContextualization,\u201d I think of the problems with syncretism that have plagued missions in past centuries. For example, Jesuit missionaries to the Oglala Sioux Indians in America \u201cChristianized\u201d their pagan Sundance ritual, which involves a great deal of torture and self mutilation (has anyone seen the film \u201cA Man Called Horse?\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The same thing happened in the Philippines, where Catholic missionaries combined the Easter narrative with mutilation rituals of their native animism. This resulted in the gory, Passion Week rituals that performed to this day, complete with devotees being cut with razor blades and nailed to crosses.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/NItfxWdweBQ\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/NItfxWdweBQ<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11219\" style=\"width: 379px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/xphil.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11219\" class=\"wp-image-11219\" src=\"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/xphil-300x200.jpg\" width=\"369\" height=\"246\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-11219\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Filipina is Crucified at Easter<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One of the most pronounced examples of syncretism can be found in the religion of Santeria in Haiti. Santeria is essentially voodoo, with pagan deities being substituted with Christian saints.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As you can see, I have some negative opinions about extreme models of contextualization being applied on the mission field.\u00a0\u00a0 With this perspective, both of these works do a good job of making the case that all ministry is contextualized, whether it is intentional or subconscious.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For example, when talking with someone about Baptism, I have sometimes showed a person my wedding ring. I unpack the analogy that my ring is a symbol of my commitment to my wife, it means that my wife and I are family. It is a symbol, but is not JUST a symbol. It has a deep meaning for me. I then talk about the meaning of baptism. This explanation would mean very little in a culture that do not utilize wedding rings, or worse, a culture where rings took on a negative connotation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One of the greatest challenges that any pastor, missionary, or Christian leader face is knowing how to make an ancient book relevant to the contemporary hearer. For example, passages about women covering their heads, or God\u2019s commands for armies to slaughter entire families is simply left out of modern teaching.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Missionaries in Muslim contexts constantly wrestle with the extent that they can contextualize the gospel with a people who love God and love Jesus, but have a prophet and holy book that we do not accept. \u00a0 Something that is currently being debated is the &#8220;C1-C8 Spectrum&#8221; developed by John Travis. \u00a0It is a classic example of an attempt to do contextual theology for a people (Muslims). \u00a0A lot of the criticism is focused on believers who still call themselves &#8220;Muslim,&#8221; follow dietary and dress codes, and\/or go to the mosque.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"QKQyAQ9B3K\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepeopleofthebook.org\/about\/strategy\/c1-c6-spectrum\/\">C1-C6 Spectrum<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;C1-C6 Spectrum&#8221; &#8212; The People of the Book\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thepeopleofthebook.org\/about\/strategy\/c1-c6-spectrum\/embed\/#?secret=lE4zPYOpR6#?secret=QKQyAQ9B3K\" data-secret=\"QKQyAQ9B3K\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The models that Bevans provides are refreshing. Instead of condemning all contextualization as \u201csyncretism,\u201d or ignoring difficult teachings of the Bible, Bevans provides options for Christian leaders to consider. \u00a0Each one is treated with respect and both advantages and critiques are outlined for each one.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As a trained social worker, I saw the value of the Praxis and Synthetic models listed in the book, but the Transcendental and Anthropological models reminded me too much of a Unitarian theology (or humanist philosophy).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As you might guess, I was inspired by the Countercultural model. I firmly believe that God\u2019s word, interpreted correctly with a grammatical \/ historical hermeneutic, can have a life-changing effect on a person and a culture. Simply put, I want to interpret my experience via God\u2019s Word, not the other way around.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Yet, as someone who has studied (and experienced) missiology, I see the value of the Translation model. I know that there are more than just language differences between people groups. Concepts of time, money, family, marriage, forgiveness, etc. vary in different cultures. It is a challenge to communicate the Bible clearly to a people whose worldview is so different than mine.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, I would highly recommend these works to anyone in ministry. While they are only an introduction to Contextual Theology, they do a good job of making the reader thirsty for more.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup> Garner, p. 21<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup> Garner, p. 25<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As someone who coordinates cross-cultural partnerships for our church, including the leading of mission trips and providing support to missionaries, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the practical ramifications of contextual theology, especially as it relates to evangelism. This week\u2019s readings by Stephen Garner and Stephen Bevans have given me great insight [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":11214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[747,600,796],"class_list":["post-11212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cocanougher","tag-contextual-theology","tag-lgp7","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}