Much like there have been times in church history where people have embraced the idea of "holy language" (Hebrew, Koine Greek, Latin, Middle English) there have been periods of time and places where a similar sanctification has been placed on culture. The Jerusalem Council struggled with this during the first century. Does a Greek have …
Tag: Jerusalem Council
The More Difficult Task
A relevant question that could come up here is which is more difficult? Is it harder to to make theology relevant to a community, or faithful to God's Word. At first glance, it may seem that it really depends on the person. For example, an untrained person who is fully enculturated (born into) culture “B” …
Is the Bible Translatable? Part 3
Part 1 of this overall topic I suggested options regarding the translatability of the Bible. I suggested that the Bible is translatable, meaning that the Bible translated is still the Bible. Part 2 suggests the ramifications of saying that the Bible is translatable. It is a challenging viewpoint. Abd al-Jabbar in 995 AD (reference “Translating …
Religion and Problems of POWER and CONTROL
I am left with a belief that these numbers on poorly advertised presentations from an (admittedly) obscure compiler suggests that this topic is a BIG concern. Oh sure, it could be that the hits are from fully secularized individuals who, to feel good about their god-free life choices, like to look up pages on people …
Who is the Contextualizer
Missions commonly today focuses on the idea that contextualization is necessary. Contextualization is the enculturation of the gospel message. A Christian 1st century Greek did not, and should not live like a Christian 1st century Jew. The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 recognized Unity within Christ while maintaining Diversity in Culture. Today, in missions we …
Christmas Musings
Living in the Philippines, Christmas is a big event. It has at least as much noise, food, gifts, parties, songs, and fellowship as the United States. But there are two major groups here (groups that draw from a common Christian heritage) that do not celebrate Christmas. One of these is "Jehovah's Witness" while the other …