Jesus Cropped from the Picture

SLIM’s Shaping Forces

food, clothing, or other cultural expression. God has made it possible for entire cultures to express their faith in Christ by retaining their cultural identity, not losing it. For example, Asian Christians will practice their faith in Christ differently than Africans, and Europeans different from Latinos. As a result, the primary task of a missionary is to root through the elements of culture and separate them into three categories: those which are consistent with God’s character (virtue); those which are contrary to God’s character (vice or sin); and those which are neutral to God’s character (neither virtue nor vice). Every culture has elements that are consistent with, contrary to, or neutral to God’s character. Contextualization Another missionary task is called contextualization , the process of learning cultural elements of a people group so they can be employed to communicate the gospel. The goal is to eliminate barriers that hinder understanding, while creating bridges to the gospel message, so the receiving culture can hear the message, forming Christian expression within their indigenous culture. But the process of contextualization is complicated. Two errors are possible. One is to be too casual regarding the receiving culture, forming an unhealthy blend of Christian faith and local culture. This is called “syncretism,” where the “stamp of approval” of orthodox faith is given to a particular culture. An example was the blending of Latin American pagan rituals with Christian practices. Syncretism places too much in the “neutral” or “virtue” categories, and is not rigorous enough in its critique to place items in the “vice” category.

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