Paul Hiebert in his article "Critical Contextualization" describes three types of contextualization: Non-contextualization, Uncritical Contextualization, and Critical Contextualization. One can, however, say more. As Jackson Wu states in his book One Gospel for all Nations, "Contextualization is inevitable." That is, in effect, non-contextualization is still contextualization, just done very poorly. "David Sills drives home the …
Tag: Paul Hiebert
Missiological Implications of “Judging Not”
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the same measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2) People with little knowledge of the Bible often know these verses... these words of Christ in his famous "Sermon …
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Is Christian Missions a Destroyer of Cultures?
Cover of Christ and Culture (Torchbooks) It has often been charged that Christian missions destroys culture. In my view, the response to this is clear...SOMETIMES. To consider this further, we need to recognize some truths. 1. Cultures are not static. They are constantly in flux... changing. Only dead cultures do not change. Living cultures change. …
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Miscegenation and Missions, Part II
Some questions as a follow-on to Part 1 of this post topic. Does interracial or intercultural marriage lessen the foreignness of the Christian faith? In Asia and Africa the “Sword and Taxation” method of Islamic conversion had begun to falter well before that religion reached Southeast Asia. And yet some of the greatest successes of …