I have had several conversations in recent weeks with different people on this issue. Should theology by honored in terms of being cultural or supracultural. Stephen Bevans likes to say that all theology is contextual. However, as one of my dialogue partners noted, it could be taken to mean that their is norm... or nothing …
Continue reading Theology in Terms of Locality and Catholicity
How does one contextualize theology while still being Evangelical. I struggle with this a bit. On one side, I believe that good context theology must have two invariants: (1) It must be true to God's revelation. (2) It must be relevant to the culture it is meant to be contextualized to. The failure to meet …
The following is the very first draft of the very first chapter of the book on Missions and Theology I am working on. It is not meant to be highly in-depth, but more for Bible schools. Chapter 1 Theology as a Contextual Activity Contextualization has become a well-respected term in missions, since the term was …
Made a few changes and updates, especially in the criteria for evaluation of local (contextual) theologies.
I just started working on my newest book. Not sure what it will be ultimately titled. So far, it is just called "Theology and Missions." Note... it is not "Theology OF Missions." Actually, I am still working on a book with my wife "The Dynamics of Pastoral Care" as a follow-on to "The Art of …
This last Friday, my wife and I began the 6.5 hour trip from Baguio City (a city built by Americans during their occupation of the Philippines) to Laoag, the "center" of the Ilocano language and culture. On the way, we had a pitstop near Vigan, one of the best preserved Spanish colonial cities. Along the …
I have been doing a lot of thinking about Contextualized Theology, and reading works by Stephen Bevans, Paul Hiebert, Jose de Mesa et al. But I think I will use the term Local Theology here, since (REALLY) all theology is contextual. There is no such thing as supracultural theology. God works in and through cultures, …
I finished teaching an 8-week course in Theology of Missions at Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary. I wasn't sure how best to do this, since this is the first time I have taught the course, and it is the first time it has been taught at our school. So I decided to hit as much as …
All Theology is Contextual. So when I speak of the "foul lines" of contextual theology, I mean the "foul lines" of ALL theology. The use of the term "foul lines" as it pertains to contextual theology, comes from Stephen Bevans, who in turn draws it from Justo Gonzales. I will be returning to Bevans later. …
Many believe that there is a universal Christian theology... or a theological interpretation of the Bible that is unaffected by culture. Western theology (I am here thinking of Reformed Theology, but other Western Theologies can apply as well) typically seems to be viewed as a supra-cultural theology. Those who embrace Reformed Theology tend to think …
Continue reading Supra-cultural Theology and Feelings of Alienation