Bøger i American Society of Missiology Monograph serien

Can Christians read biblical meaning into qur'¿nic texts? Does this violate the intent of those passages? What about making positive reference to the Qur'¿n in the context of an evangelistic presentation or defense of biblical doctrines? Does this imply that Christians accept the Muslim scripture as inspired? What about Christians who reside in the world of Islam and write their theology in the language of the Qur'¿n--Arabic? Is it legitimate for them to use the Qur'¿n in their explanations of the Christian faith? This book explores these questions and offers a biblically, theologically, and historically informed response. For years evangelical Christians seeking answers to questions like these have turned to the history of Protestant Christian interaction with Muslim peoples. Few are aware of the cultural, intellectual, and theological achievements of Middle Eastern Christians who have resided in the world of Islam for fourteen centuries. Their works are a treasure-trove of riches for those investigating contemporary theological and missiological questions such as the apologetic use of the Qur'¿n.

In many oral cultures local proverbs are highly regarded for their wisdom and prized for their aesthetic expression. In this study Jay Moon provides an in-depth look at the use of local proverbs among the Builsa culture of Ghana, West Africa. In particular, the author's research shows how local proverbs can facilitate contextualized expressions of Christianity that are both biblically authentic and culturally relevant. The process of initiating and sustaining this form of expression is explicated with the help of an engaging narrative, providing valuable insights for those striving for genuine and meaningful expression of Christ in culture.This study will be especially beneficial to the missionary community, particularly for the purposes of appreciating oral literature in primary oral cultures, finding proper roles in the contextualization process, identifying cultural values via the window of local proverbs, training missionaries in cultural understanding, and tailoring discipleship training to incorporate significant aspects of orality

Children are the focus of marriage in African cultures. Marriage is considered full and functional only if the couple has children--in many cultures preferably a boy. Becoming a parent also contributes to one's full adulthood in the sense that childlessness blocks ascent towards full personal dignity as an adult person in the community. As a result, childlessness is often a major disaster for both of the spouses. It has social, economical, and personal consequences, quite often including divorce.This book explores in depth how childlessness is perceived, dealt with, and coped with in two Christian communities in Machame on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Childlessness is approached through narratives of the spouses concerned and the members of their communities. Their stories reveal pain and courage, brokenness and strength, faithfulness and betrayal. Christianity presents itself in an ambiguous light, on one hand, pressuring spouses to keep up facades supporting oppressive structures. On the other hand, Christian faith provides childless couples with personal hope in the afterlife that the African traditional culture offers only to those with children.This study proves that childlessness is not only a personal but also a communal problem. Childlessness and the fear of having no children contribute to family structures and sexual behavior. In this way, they have a considerable impact on the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. However, this study reveals that the attitudes and practices towards marriage and children need not be petrified, but rather that traditions can, and do, change.

Description:""For Thais, face is a fact,"" writes Flanders. However, ""whether in theology, evangelism, or issues involving sin, salvation, or atonement, Thai Christians and missionaries alike seem either uninterested in or possibly incapable of addressing issues related to face. This glaring incongruity between the value of face for Thais and the lack of intentional engagement within the Thai Christian community is deeply troubling.""Surely, such a lack of careful attention to face is a dangerous posture. Uncritical views of face, furtively attaching to the theology of the Thai church, are potentially detrimental for its life and mission. Such seems to be an unavoidable situation without proper attention to face. Additionally, to ignore face is to run the risk of missing valuable cultural resources, implicit in the Thai experience of face, for the critical task of authentic Thai theological reflection.""This lack of engagement with face raises critical issues with which we must wrestle. How is it that such a central sociocultural issue has not been a more significant part of the Thai Christian vocabulary or experience? How pervasive are these negative attitudes regarding face? What lies behind them? Might this lack of self-conscious engagement with face have any relationship to the persistent Thai perception of Christianity as a foreign, Western religion? How should Christians understand this notion of face and how it relates to the ways we understand and proclaim the gospel?""Endorsements:""Chris Flanders is a missiological theologian! In About Face, he challenges us to think about atonement as Theosis: God participated in our shame that we might be glorified, enabling us to participate in His divine nature. The Western anguish over guilt, legal acquittal for sin, and personal cleansing of sins, Flanders asserts, is foreign to the Thai culture and psyche. About Face provides a contextualized atonement for Asian (particularly Thai) contexts.""--Gailyn Van RheenenFacilitator of Church PlantingMission Alive""Missionaries have tended to have a negative view of 'face' as something that hinders other people from accepting the gospel. Flanders argues, correctly I think, that every society is concerned about 'face' but prioritize issues differently. This is a fresh perspective and a necessary read for those who teach and practice missiology.""--Michael A. RynkiewichProfessor of Anthropology (Retired)Asbury Seminary""Reader, beware. Flanders exposes a strategic area that literally stares expat missionaries and Thai Christians in the face yet both carefully avoid. If you are seeking to understand how concepts of salvation integrate with social constructs in Thai society there is no more thorough study. About Face will challenge readers and Christian practitioners east and west to think missiologically and be changed.""--Paul H. De NeuiAssociate Professor of Intercultural Studies and MissiologyNorth Park Theological Seminary""In this research--integrating history, theology, and social science--Flanders leads his readers to a deeper understanding of 'Thai face' and then examines its relevance for gospel witness and a theology of atonement . . . This book is a critical theological work for both western and non-western mission leaders and scholars, and absolutely essential for any missionary who seeks to work in a Buddhist/Confucian context.""--Sherwood LingenfelterProfessor of Anthropology Fuller Theological Seminary About the Contributor(s):Christopher Flanders is Associate Professor of Missions at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. He also directs the Halbert Institute for Missions at ACU.

Theologies of Power and Crisis provides a case study for Eric Wolf''s research directive to better comprehend the interplay of cultural (webs of meaning) and material (webs of power) forms of social life. More specifically, the book demonstrates how theological discourse and practice engage with historical and material relations of power. It has been normative to speak of power in terms of political and economic processes and theology in terms of interpretive and symbolic experiences. This work breaks new ground by linking theological ideas with political-economic processes in terms of the structural relations of power.Ethnographically, this research investigates the theological processes of Hong Kong Chinese Christians during a period of significant social change and crisis, precipitated by the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. It shows how local Christians and Christian institutions mediated the significant regional, national, and transnational forces of political-economic change by connecting theological practice to the structural relations of power. The Christian response was a contested process closely intertwined with the broader contested processes of social organization.This study develops an understanding of Christianity that goes beyond ecclesiastical hegemony to encompass struggles over human practice, meaning, and representation in relation to the changing political-economic context. These findings implicate religious ideas and practice as significant to an understanding of social inequalities and powerlessness by connecting ideologies to material conditions. Christian ideas may be used to legitimize an oppressive social order or they may be used to liberate those who are oppressed. Issues related to the policies and practice of development should take seriously the role of religious beliefs and practices.""I was drawn to anthropology in the early 1980s through the work of such cutting-edge anthropologists/missiologists as Charles Kraft, Jacob Loewen, Charles Tabor, Alan Tippett, and Ralph Winter. While obviously influenced by these early innovators, Stephen Pavey is part of a new era of younger missiologically informed anthropologists. His ethnographic study of the church in Hong Kong is both anthropologically sound and missiologically important, and is a great addition to the small yet growing literature on the anthropology of Christianity.""-Steven YbarrolaProfessor of Cultural AnthropologyAsbury Theological Seminary""With Theologies of Power and Crisis Pavey successfully extends anthropological analysis to new realms as he contributes to our understanding of Christian Asia. He demonstrates the intellectual value of ethnography in our quest to understand the world around us. It is an excellent example of anthropology engaged in the world. Perhaps this work will teach and influence those involved with cross-cultural practices in a variety of settings."" -from the afterword by John van WilligenProfessor Emeritus of AnthropologyUniversity of KentuckyStephen Pavey is an applied anthropologist, artist, and activist at One Horizon Institute in Lexington, Kentucky.

Perhaps no era in Christian history since the time of the apostles presented a greater challenge to the spread of faith than the twentieth century. The First World War in particular resulted in nearly disastrous losses for the world mission movement. Christian countries were engaged in fratricidal conflict, missionaries were forced to return to their homelands, and traditional sources of mission funding dried up.In response to the missions crisis, American Catholic youth devoted themselves to a program of ""prayer, study, and sacrifice""--the Catholic Students' Mission Crusade. Beginning with less than fifty members, the movement grew to over one million youth, and worked to foster support for missionaries in the field, promote missionary vocations, and educate youth about the needs of the church throughout the world. In the course of their ""crusade,"" the movement's youth were exposed the complexities and challenges of diverse religious, political, and cultural worlds, including illiteracy in rural America, communism in China and Eastern Europe, and famine and disease in sub-Saharan Africa. In light of this experience, as well as the Second Vatican Council's reformulation of the Catholic Church's approach to missions, by the late 1960s the movement began to question its goal of converting the world, leading to the Crusade's crisis of faith and eventually to its disbanding.By exploring the fascinating story of the Catholic Students' Mission Crusade, this study offers new insights into the growth of the church amidst contemporary obstacles and historically non-Christian cultures, providing a bridge to understanding the current challenges to Christian globalization.

The Christian axis has shifted dramatically southward to Africa, Asia, and Latin America, so much so that today there are more Christians living in these southern regions than among their northern counterparts. In the case of Africa, the African Initiated Churches-founded by Africans and primarily for Africans-has largely contributed to the exponential growth and proliferation of the Christian faith in the continent. Yet, even more profoundly, these churches espouse a brand of Christianity that is indigenized and thoroughly contextual. Further, the power and popularity of the AICs, beyond the unprecedented numbers joining these churches, are attributed to their relevance to the existential everyday needs and concerns of their adherents in the context of a postcolonial Africa. At the heart of Christian theology is Christology-the confessed uniqueness of Christ in history and among world religions. Yet this key feature of Christianity, as with other important elements of the Christian faith, may be variously understood and re-interpreted in these indigenous churches.The focus of this study is the amaNazaretha Church, an influential religious group founded by the African charismatic prophet Isaiah Shembe in 1911 in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The movement today claims a following of some two million adherents and has proliferated beyond the borders of South Africa to neighboring countries in Southern Africa. The book addresses the complex and at times ambivalent understanding of the person and work of Christ in the amaNazaretha Church, presenting the genesis, history, beliefs, and practices of this significant religious movement in South Africa, with broader implications for similar movements across the continent of Africa and beyond.