The Challenge of Contextualization

                                                                              by Glen G. Scorgie, Ph.D.

                                                           Professor of Theology, Bethel Seminary San Diego

 

Introduction

The passion of Bethel Seminary=s youthful and promising campus in San Diego is to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ among all people in culturally-sensitive ways. To do this it must develop creative responses to the opportunities and challenges of its own distinctive environment.

Southern California=s fans and critics agree that it is a place like nowhere else.  It is known as a region with wonderful climate and geography, and enviable recreational opportunities.  It is also a place energetic innovation and historical amnesia.  It is a locale where rugged individualism plays itself out with fewer restraints or courtesies.  Potent secularism stands cheek by jowl to strong church communities.  Novelties that will eventually grow to national trends tend to show up early here and in striking and extreme forms.  In many ways the culture previews the continental future.

The ethnic diversity of the West Campus=s immediate southern Californian  environment is astonishing.  Non-Hispanic whites comprise just sixty-two percent of the San Diego regional population in 1995, down from seventy-four percent in 1980.[1] The magnitude and vigor of the local Hispanic-American community here on Mexico=s northwestern border, for example, is probably unmatched  anywhere in the United States. And San Diego is becoming an increasingly strategic entrepot and partner with Asian countries on the dynamic Pacific Rim. 


In view of these realities there is a settled conviction that the cultural mosaic of Bethel West=s situation is a defining clue to its mission.  The obvious challenge is to find ways to facilitate the gospel taking root in sub-cultures other than our own. We must begin to view our home turf as a missionary challenge.[2]

 

A Contextual Approach 

The conviction has taken root here that the West Campus=s mission lies in the direction of developing a contextual approach to preparing persons for ministry. By aspiring to a contextual approach Bethel Seminary West declares its desire to take root in its region, and serve its people well.  When God became flesh in Jesus Christ, He set an example of how effective ministry is to be done.  Bethel wants, if you will, to live out the principle of the incarnation by connecting with the experience of humanity around it also.

How is this to be done? For one thing, we are engaged in institutional bridge-building to various churches and constituencies, and making special efforts to connect with other ethnic groups.  For another, we are making curricular and program modifications for the purpose of making seminary studies more accessible, affordable, attractive and meaningful. But it might well be argued that such initiatives by themselves are little more than effective marketing techniques. If the adjustments we make are to be more than cosmetic, we also need a contextual way of thinking about the faith.  We need a paradigm shift in our thinking.  We need to take collective ownership of a transformative new way of viewing the business of higher education for ministry--one that will probe deeper than what we do, or how we do it,  to who we are.

 

Setting the Record Straight

Within evangelical circles there is widespread suspicion of the term contextualization, and there are legitimate historic reasons for such suspicion.  Some of those who used the term, when it was coined twenty-five years ago, meant by it an approach to theology that was consciously opposed to building upon the foundation of authoritative Scripture.  Instead of beginning with God=s revelation in Scripture, such liberal contextualists encouraged people to look to contemporary events to discern what God was doing in the world.  The idea was to construct their theology out of that while only looking sort of sideways at Scripture as they pressed ahead.[3]

Bible-centeredness has always been a defining feature of what it means to be evangelical.[4]  So it is less than surprising that it did not take evangelicals long to respond, and respond decisively.  The famous Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, which met in 1974, sounded a warning against this spin on contextualization. Scripture must remain the source and starting point for Christianity.  The Christian faith, the Congress insisted, stands to judge every culture of the world, destroying elements that are incompatible with the Word of God.[5]

A few years later, a number of these same Lausanne leaders reconvened to give focused attention to a proper interpretation of contextualization.  Their report, known as the Willowbank Report, is a ringing endorsement of the abiding primacy of Scripture in all evangelical efforts to contextualize the Gospel.[6]  Bethel stands squarely in this evangelical tradition and resonates with its priorities.

 

The Importance of Culture

But with the air cleared on this point, evangelicals can see ourselves clear to acknowledge that human cultures (the shared, learned beliefs and behaviors of peoples) are profoundly important human creations and deserve the attention and respect of all evangelists and missionaries.  It is not hard to find historical instances of well-intentioned Christians trampling on the cultures of others.  Not only did this undermine the effectiveness of their evangelistic endeavors, it also diminished the people to whom they went, since the culture being scorned was actually the product of that people=s industry, and the collective expression of their God-given ability to craft a viable way of life.

Some anthropologists have, by way of reaction to the historic abuse of cultures, taken the extreme position that all non-Western cultures are pure and pristine. The biblical vision, by contrast, is balanced and realistic.  Culture-making  is a legitimate human endeavor, and every culture contains good evidence that its creators possessed a likeness to God.  Every culture displays impressive coherence and genius, admirable themes, and an array of surprising, pleasing and whimsical features.  Nonetheless, each one is also systemically tainted by sin and needs to be judged and corrected by the revelation in Christ. It is absurd and naive to assume that the entrance of Christianity will not be culturally revolutionary.  At the same time it is wrong to assume that the revolutionized culture will not possess significant continuities with the features and genius of its earlier form.  As Donald McGavran boldly put it, AIt [Christianity] purges all cultures--Christian, partially Christian, and non-Christian alike.@[7]  Note that this includes our own culture as well.

Culture-making is a worldwide expression of humanity=s godlike creativity, and should be respected as such.  As well, we can recognize that God=s Spirit has, to some extent, been superintending and guiding developments within cultures. Certainly we would not suggest that the complex and sometimes ambiguous course of history should be the first place we look to discern the voice of God.  Nonetheless, if God is truly the Creator and Sovereign over history, no less than the Redeemer of humanity (and we believe that He is both), we may expect to see (admittedly fainter) signs of his grace in culture as well, and respect cultures more as a result.

For Bethel West, then, a commitment to contextualization will involve working to achieve the following goals:

 

1.         Truly Grasping the Gospel

The essential starting point for any authentic contextualizing of the Gospel is a deep and insightful appreciation of its very heart and essence.  No shallow or superficial view of it will do.  The Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh expressed his artistic passion this way: AI must grasp life at its depth.@[8]  Just so, those whose passion is to contextualize the Gospel must settle for nothing less than a full and true vision of what it is all about. This is the only way to discriminate between what is essential and what is peripheral. 

When people lose sight of the deeper ethical intent of Christianity, for example, they resort to the unsatisfactory substitute of a simplistic legalism.  A translator=s need to produce dynamic equivalents presupposes an understanding of the difference between form and meaning.  Likewise contextualization demands that we grasp the internal genius and soul of the Gospel.  Only thus can we envision with spiritual discernment how the Gospel connects with the varied expressions of  brokenness in our world.

 

2.         Paying Attention to Culture

It was Karl Barth who is reputed to have advised Christians to read their Bible in one hand while they held the daily newspaper in the other.  It is an apt image for those who have been called to mediate the Gospel to the world.  It is not enough to know the doctrinal content of the message; as an ambassador, one must know the language or dialect of the nation to which you have been assigned.  From the Old Testament we have the commendable example of the men of Issachar, who discerned the times, and knew what Israel should do (I Chron. 12:32).  It is important, particularly with things changing so rapidly, that we be discerning students of our times.

 

3.         Connecting Doctrine to Real Life

Sound doctrine is important, and required systematic theology courses are a rite of passage at any respectable seminary.  Millard Erickson=s massive Christian Theology textbook--known affectionately as Athe Green Monster@--is studied and underlined for examinations, but, in some cases at least, it may safely be predicted to be destined for a neglected future. The problem is that doctrines have acquired an image of irrelevance, and an investment of time with them is perceived as an Aivory tower@ indulgence.  Theology is seen as a constellation of shining truths that hang suspended in mid-air, without meaningful connection to anything going on below.

John Calvin was always calling for a theology that did more than flutter about in the brain; he longed for theology to take deep root in the heart.[9]  Likewise we need a theology that connects with and takes root in the soil of real life.  All theology, says Adrio König, should be contextual in the sense that the questions it treats arise from the context, and the answers it gives affect the context.[10]  It should be forged in the crucible of real life.  AOne does not float about in the free air while one studies the gospel,@ assures König, Aand only afterwards decide where one will land in the situation.@[11]

Theology is not the same as doctrine.  Doctrines are summary statements of biblical truths.  Theology is the quest for an overall grasp of biblical truth and its application to life.  Theological method, then, must begin with the questions of the culture, and end with answers to those questions.  It is far more than an intellectual exercise in memorizing doctrines and proof-texts.  It is a spiritual challenge, and one that should be conducted in dependence upon the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit.

 

4.         Valuing Others and Their Cultures

Never before has there been as great a need for the respecting of others= cultures.  So strongly is this need being felt that some contemporary postmodern philosophers now maintain that any attempt to assert a universal truth claim, or express a binding judgment on another=s behavior, is a disguised attempt to impose your will upon others. As such it constitutes a form of aggression and violence.[12]  Christian belief is lumped in with other oppressive ideologies.  Aggressive approaches are particularly unwelcome in our emerging post-modern era.  Evangelists are advised to tread carefully and respectfully.

At the same time it is an unfortunate fact that on the international scene North Americans are perceived (regardless of what the reality actually is) as pushy and rude.  We can resent this assessment of our motives and behavior, or we can work with it by cultivating more respectful, gentle and culturally-sensitive approaches to others. The methods of Christian evangelization must protect smouldering wicks from being snuffed out (Isaiah 42:3). Military metaphors, particularly when relating to Latin Americans with their tragic memories of Iberian religious conquistadors, should be reserved for the cosmic battle against Evil.

One feature of globalization is its tendency towards standardization and homogenization.  More than endangered species of wildlife are at risk today.  Local varieties of cultures are being annihilated by powerful and seemingly-inexorable pressures towards standardization.  Not only in the United States, but all over the world, cultural minorities are feeling the squeeze--an alarming intuition that the precious and familiar things are being taken from them.  There is a feeling of grief, disorientation, and of resentment. For better or for worse, our culture is an essential element of our identity, and we cling to our own with a deep and sometimes involuntary inward loyalty.

It is imperative that we not skim over this next point.  It is absolutely pivotal.  And the point is that God=s plan is for cultural diversity.  He celebrates it.  It is not a transitional compromise to be endured. It is destined to stay. Permanently. It is part of the eschatological vision of the New Testament. 

Diverse cultures also have a functional significance.  A people=s collective history shapes its members= beliefs, values and perspectives.  With respect to the latter, one=s culture helps a person to see things that others of us miss.  As an example, Adrio König describes how the two main racial factions in South Africa have Aseen@ the biblical story of the Exodus quite differently, according to their respective situations.  The white Afrikaners see it as a story which stresses God=s will that different peoples (in this instance, Israel and the Canaanites) keep strictly separate from one another. But the black South Africans, on the other hand, see it as the inspirational story of a people (Israel) being liberated by God from an oppressive situation (slavery in Egypt).[13]

5.         Expanding Our Limited Vision of Christ and His Gospel

Caucasian Americans need a good dose of humility about the acuity and adequacy of their way of Aseeing@ Christ.  David Hesselgrave, a recognized evangelical authority on contextualization, points out that contextualized approaches are having the positive effect of sensitizing us as never before to the cultural influences on, and culturally-induced limitations of, our own theologies.[14]

It is fair and right for us to believe that we have been blessed with some light on the subject, but the truth is that it is only some light.  We see only in part, with blinkers on. For example, it is not easy for us to get beyond seeing God=s purpose for existing as primarily to make us happy, and help us get ahead.  We see what we are conditioned to see.  Perhaps this is why our presentations of the Good News sometimes seem to lack punch.  They lack some intangible element of fizz, like soda left too long without a lid on the bottle.

I know of a grandmother who later in life appreciated assistance when she walked, and when she tried to climb a set of stairs.  Her main problem was that her sight was impaired.  She used to say, AI can always use an extra pair of eyes.@  The truth is that we all can.  Others help us see with new eyes.

Experience, we say, is a great teacher.  A visit to Europe, a day spent with those scavenging at Manila=s massive garbage dump, can prompt us to see and feel things in new ways.  I can recall flying home to Canada after an exhilarating week in Hong Kong.  We landed in Vancouver, one of Canada=s major metropolitan centers.  It is far larger than Medicine Hat or Moose Jaw.  Vancouver=s international airport, which had always seemed vigorous and cosmopolitan to me, now seemed strangely vacant, still and provincial.  The airport had not changed, but I had.  I saw it through new eyes. 


An even more significant potential outcome of worshiping, fellowshipping and studying as Christians in a multicultural context is that we thereby gain a much bigger and exhilarating vision of the richness of Christ--which was precisely the Apostle Paul=s prayer for the Ephesians (Eph. 1:17). It is Atogether with all the saints@ that we grasp the full dimensions of Christian experience (Eph. 3:18-19).[15] The fullness of Christ=s glory is seen only in the collective adoration of a human community worshiping Him from many angles and perspectives.  In anticipation of heaven, though to a far lesser degree, we begin to see Him more truly as He is.  Contextuality, then, culminates in doxology.

 

Summary and Conclusion

We have briefly summarized the newly-focused vision for Bethel West, and presented a biblically-faithful contextual approach as the best means to its realization. Contextualizing the truth of Christ involves more than franchising our McChristianity everywhere.  Bethel can become a place where contextualization--a passion for the incarnational principle--is so modelled that it becomes an inspirational ethos.  Those who come to Bethel West, and already breathe by instinct the atmosphere of a given culture, can be sensitized to the seminal features of that culture and encouraged to develop creative responses to it.

No mere methodology, even one with a catchy new name, is likely to ensure any institution a thriving future.  But the qualities implied and demanded by a contextual approach--a profound grasp of the Gospel, a resolve to connect doctrine to real life, a sensitivity to context and a regard for others= cultures, and an ever-expanding vision of Christ=s glory--these things do have powerful transformative potential.  We cannot help concluding that these themes are close to the heart of God. .

Bethel West makes no claim to have achieved these ideals yet.  It is one thing to sketch out a visionary plan, and quite another to achieve it. While our grasp of contextualization is still tentative, and subject to revision, we have more than a toe in the water.  We are wading in.  We invite you to join us as we take the plunge.


[1]APopulation and Income Characteristics of the San Diego Region,@ SANDAG Info, May-June 1996, 6-11.

[2]George Hunsberger and Craig Van Gelder, eds.,  The Church Between Gospel and Culture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996).

 

[3]For a valuable summary of recent literature on contextualization, see Stephen Bevans and Norman E. Thomas, ASelected Annotated Bibliography on Missiology: Contextualization/Inculturation/Indigenization,@ Missiology 19 (January 1992):105-108.

[4]David Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain (London: Unwin Hyman, 1989), 2-19.

[5]Byang H. Kato, AThe Gospel, Cultural Context and Religious Syncretism,@ in Let the Earth Hear His Voice: International Congress on World Evangelization, Lausanne, Switzerland, ed. J. D. Douglas, 1222.  Minneapolis: World Wide Publications, 1975.

[6]Willowbank Report.  Wheaton: Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, 1978.

[7]Kato, quoting Donald McGavran, Ibid., 1223.

[8]Quoted by Don Postema, Space for God (Grand Rapids: Bible Way, 1983), 12.

[9]John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Faith, 1.5.9.

[10]Adrio König, AContextual Theology,@ Theologia Academia 13 (December 1981): 38.

[11]König, Ibid., 39. See also Andrew F. Walls, AThe Gospel as the Prisoner and Liberator of Culture,@ Missionalia 10 (November 1982):100.

[12]See the assessment of postmodern philosopher Michel Foucault by Stanley J. Grenz, A Primer on Postmodernism (Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, 1996), 124-138.

[13]König, Ibid., 42.

[14]David Hesselgrave, AContextualization in Theology,@ in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. Walter Elwell (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984), 272.  See also David J. Hesselgrave and Edward Rommen, Contextualization: Meanings, Methods, and Models (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989).

[15]See Willowbank Report, 11.