|
| Christian news worldwide |
 Home |
 Archives |
 Subscriptions |
 Adverts |
 Find a church |
 About us |
 Contact us |
 Site Map |
 PrintableVersion Contextualisation in the New TestamentPatterns for theology and missionHome thoughts from abroadCONTEXTUALISATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT There is a lot of nonsense talked about contextualisation, and many attempts at making the gospel relevant in different cultures end up stripping the gospel of much of its content. It is possible even worse when people receive a form of the gospel that never addresses their heart problems so that they have a Christian skin that covers, say, a Buddhist heart. Dean Fleming looks at the patterns of contextualisation that are in the New Testament, believing that we should go to the New Testament not only for the content of what needs to be communicated, but also for the method of conveying truth between cultures. Fleming is the rare combination of a New Testament scholar and a cross-cultural missionary. He did his doctoral research on contextualisation in Paul and then followed that by teaching in the Philippines, pastoral work in Japan and at present teaching in Switzerland at the Nazarene European College. Now he has brought all this background together in this splendid book that should be read by everyone with an interest in communicating the New Testament in the modern world. The book has ten chapters, of which six are on Paul’s letters. Two chapters on Acts give an introduction to the ways in which the gospel crossed cultures and a study of Paul’s evangelism in Acts. Fleming qualifies using Paul as a pattern for cross-cultural mission by underlining the fact that, as a diaspora Jew, he was an insider to both the cultures. His brief academic remarks on which Pauline epistles he is dealing with should not put anyone off the book, since he does in fact deal with all the letters as authentic, including contextualisation in the Pastoral Epistles (p109f). He argues that it is the context that causes Paul to chose particular vocabulary and also on which parts of his theology he will focus. No one letter can be taken to summarise all his theology. However, it is the gospel that directs Paul’s theology not the context and he never tries to contextualise the ‘basic content of the gospel itself’ (p.112). Pastoral PaulPaul uses both OT Scripture and existing Christian tradition to address concrete issues. He is not doing historical exegesis, but rather ‘offering a pastoral contextualisation for a new situation’. Fleming argues that this is what we must do when we bring the Scriptures into a new context. Some may want to debate with him here, arguing that his apostolic office gave Paul greater liberty than we might have in rephrasing Scripture to minister into specific situations. After his general chapters on Paul, outlining how he does Theology in context, engages culture, and interprets Scripture, Fleming applies these principles specifically to Corinthians and Colossians. He focuses on food offered to idols in the former and syncretism in the latter. Walsh and Keesmat’s book, Colossians Remixed, applies Scripture in a similar way, but focuses more on the opposition to Caesar’s Empire. Four criteriaSubsequent chapters look at the gospels and Revelation, leading to a final chapter on Contextualising the Gospel Today. Here he sets out four criteria for legitimate contextualisation: first, the biblical witness to what God has done in Jesus Christ is fundamental; second, our theologising must be led by the Spirit; third, Christians in different local settings must test their theologies in the light of the wider Christian community; fourth, authentic contextualisation will bear fruit in furthering Christian mission and transforming individuals and communities. This is a very stimulating book which I will reread and interact with. Anyone reading it will gain new insights into Scripture and how to apply its message to different cultures in the modern world. Only people who don’t want to think outside familiar tramlines should avoid it. Ray Porter, © Evangelicals Now - October 2006 |
|
