Attempting cross-cultural communication

The attempt at cross-cultural communication enabled Newbigin to formulate two
problems. The first is concerned with the gospel and culture (singular): here the question is how
can one avoid the twin problems of syncretism and irrelevance? The evangelist must use the
language of the hearers. Yet that language uses terms that reflect the worldview by which the
hearers make sense of their world. The Tamil language, for example, is a shared way of
understanding the world that reflects Hindu faith commitments. As such it expresses
commitments that are irreconcilable with the gospel. Therefore, there will be a clash of ultimate
commitments between the gospel and Hindu culture. Thus cross-cultural communication of the
gospel will call into question the underlying worldview implicit in that language. The problem is
how to use the language and yet call into question the worldview that shapes that language.

Because the Christian faith is a global faith, it is culturally contextualized from one time and place to another. It’s not a franchise with the same menu everywhere.

Lest anyone think this isn’t something marvelous, we’d like to give you this challenge. Find ten people from your local area having similar backgrounds, who speak the same language, and all are from basically the same culture. Then separate them and ask them to write their opinion on only one controversial subject, such as the meaning of life.

When they have finished, compare the conclusions of these ten writers. Do they agree with each other? Of course not. But the Bible did not consist of merely ten authors, but forty. It was not written in one generation, but over a period of 1,500 years; not by authors with the same education, culture and language, but with vastly different education, many different cultures, from three continents and three different languages, and finally not just one subject but hundreds.

And yet the Bible is a unity. There is complete harmony, which cannot be explained by coincidence or collusion. The unity of the Bible is a strong argument in favor of its divine inspiration.

Let's discuss Paul's approach to institutions and to movement in the direction of freedom and his understanding of and sensitivity to culture. On the one hand, Paul and other New Testament writers seem to have viewed their world and its structures as a part of God's design. They could encourage the church to "submit to" the institutions of the world (1 Pet 2:13) and (as far as possible) through generally acceptable behavior to make a redemptive impression in it (1 Thess 4:11-12; 1 Tim 3:7; 6:1). But this was a view held in tension with a firm belief that the world is an evil force at war with God. Consequently, the church was by no means to allow culture or society to dictate its policies; however, where possible, peaceful coexistence would be a help to the church's evangelistic mission. The New Testament household codes give some evidence of social awareness and cultural sensitivity, but they never advocate conformity for conformity's sake, and when we are reading them, we need to distinguish between categories of relationships as we do in Galatians 3:28. Ultimately, it is reasonable to think that Paul or any other New Testament writer would have stopped short of advocating the immediate abolition of slavery because the culture might perceive it as a threat. But it does not automatically follow that his concern was precisely the same when he addressed the woman-man relationship.

What is God’s view of culture? Is there a group of Scriptures which gives us more indication of how to understand this? 

a. Jerusalem conference and its relation to the question of culture and contextualization- Acts 15 

1) What is the setting of this and why the meeting? 

2) What were the results of the conference? 

3) How do they relate to culture and contextualization 

b. Romans 14 and how it related to the Jerusalem conference, culture and contextualization 

1) What are the issues in this passage? 

2) How do they relate to culture and contextualization.

Though contextualization within a new culture risks a nativistic kind of syncretism, a Christianity that is dominated by foreign cultural forms with imported meanings is anti-scriptural and just as syncretistic. The continual balance of being in but not off the world. 

Intercultural Communication Adventure