Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Jesus Cropped from the Picture

calling Traditional, Pragmatic, and Emerging (see Appendix 5, “The Splintering of Western Protestantism).

Each method was formed out of the best of intentions for the glory of God and has been instrumental in the salvation of millions worldwide. However, each method represents a variation of SLIM (Spectator, Linguistic, Individual, Mental), defined by the following categories: Assumptions about culture View of nostalgia (what it considers to be “the good old days”) What it is reacting against (the common antagonist ) Assumptions About Culture Culture is a pattern of behavior, often expressed in terms of preferences for food, language, clothes, and a sense of what is beautiful or repulsive. Culture is also defined by the rules that make sense of the world (its worldview). Cultural differences are critical to the purposes of God. He shows his love of cultural diversity in the Abrahamic covenant to include “all peoples” in his redemption (Gen. 12.1-3), fulfilled at the consummation that includes “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5.9). In fact, Jesus affirmed that the event which triggers his Second Coming is when the gospel of the Kingdom goes out as “a testimony to all nations” (Matt. 24.14). When it comes to cultural differences, no other world religion is as hospitable as Christianity. Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and other religions associate certain food, clothing, and activities as essential elements of their religious practices. However, in Christ, there is no “Christian”

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