Ray Porter, formerly Director of World Mission Studies at Oak Hill Theological College and Chair of Global Connections responds to the article ‘The contextualised gospel – delightful, doubtful or damnable’ published in the February issue of en.
The history of contextualisation has almost as many failures as successes. Dr Wells and his daughter have questioned some patterns of contextualisation that are embraced in mission circles today and suggested that they in fact represent ‘another gospel’.
Those who are engaged in a cross-cultural ministry of the gospel are conscious that there are many barriers to hearing and understanding the message of salvation in Christ Jesus. Some have made the uncomfortable discovery that the tried-and-tested methods of evangelism with which they have grown up do not play out in a different culture.
Avoiding significant confusion
Many years ago one young man on short-term ministry in Thailand was astonished to discover that his careful presentation of ‘Two Ways to Live’ was interpreted by a young Thai as a demonstration that Manchester United had been less successful since David Beckham had left the team!
Paul met a similar situation in Athens when his proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus was interpreted as a message about a god and goddess. He then had an opportunity for a longer explanation of his message that began with aspects of Athenian culture and belief and led to a proclamation of a risen Christ and a call for repentance.
In many cultures there are barriers to an understanding of a gospel of deliverance from sin and its punishment. Some, like Japan, have no word for sin that does not mean a crime. We need to work hard to find how to explain the gospel so that we do not make our hearers criminals, or thinking that we are obsessed with the fortunes of Manchester United.
The Wells question the use of ideas of shame and honour, fear and power, as concepts within which a Biblical gospel can be proclaimed. Is there a gospel message about ‘shame and honour’?
Rather than go to a list of texts to examine whether such a message can be found in them, let us do a brief Bible survey.
The first mention of ‘shame’ is in Genesis 2:25 where Adam and Eve are without shame in their nakedness. So to be without shame is a Biblical definition of sinless innocence.
The result of their transgression is that they hide themselves from the face of God because they are conscious of their nakedness. They are no longer without shame.
The God who covers their nakedness with animal skins is the one who casts His cloak over the naked Israel and entered into a covenant with her (Ezek.16:8). But even more He is the one who is hung naked on a cross (emphasised by all the details of the disposal of his garments); taking our nakedness and shame so that we might be clothed in fine linen and stand before God without shame.
There are the great promises of Isaiah 54:4 and Romans 10:11 or 1 Peter 2:6 (quoting Isa.28:16) where it is made clear that those who are without shame before God are the ones who believe in Jesus. We have here our unacceptable state before God; the substitutionary work of Christ; the promise of being able to stand before God without shame only because we believe in Jesus.
But what of fear and power? The story of God’s conquest of the powers of evil and the freeing of His people from fear and tyranny is of course to be found in the story of the Exodus. Here magic and the gods of Egypt are defeated. Here is a God who has power to redeem His people from slavery. Hebrews 2 testifies to the death of Jesus being a victory over the devil and death and thereby freeing those held by fear of death.
These do not supersede or replace the familiar message of Christ dying for our sins, but sit alongside it as other aspects of the multifaceted gospel which providentially can have resonance for those who categorise life as shame/honour or fear/power. It is a wise workman who knows which tool to use in any particular circumstance. It is a good pastor who will be concerned to present to his hearers the whole council of God stage by stage as they are ready to receive it. Missionaries may at times get it wrong in contextualisation, but they are to be encouraged to continue to pray and think and proclaim, so that the whole world might know our Saviour.
