tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post4081521155185013276..comments2023-05-23T06:10:26.399-05:00Comments on Borderless Blogging: The Lausanne Global Analysis of Highly Contextualized MissionsAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13991218555078662281noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post-78105208580857925972011-08-31T23:34:46.491-05:002011-08-31T23:34:46.491-05:00Is this a different "Anonymous" or the s...Is this a different "Anonymous" or the same as before? Anyway, interesting question though I'm not sure what exactly you are driving at. Of course one cannot hold to any meaningful doctrine of the sovereignty of God and dismiss the historic fact and details of the incarnation as incidental. <br /><br />But, I'm afraid I do not know what your point is. In particular, please rephrase your final question as it is very unclear to me. What does it mean to "look at our own context and apply it to a new culture"?<br /><br />Also, do note that the audience of this blog is global so I'd suggest that you not assume that the Western context is "our own."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13991218555078662281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post-88576946043142207412011-08-31T15:10:29.504-05:002011-08-31T15:10:29.504-05:00Do you think Jesus' incarnation as a (1st cent...Do you think Jesus' incarnation as a (1st century) Jew was incidental to His incarnation as a human or did the Old Testament and the Messianic prophesies (as well as the Torah as the tutor to Messiah) prepare the way for Him? Was it perhaps not an accident that He was born as a Jew? To what extend should we still take account of His Jewish context instead of just looking at our own (Western) context and applying it to a new culture?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post-14140105851944122142011-08-06T16:01:27.050-05:002011-08-06T16:01:27.050-05:00Thank you, Anonymous, for your comments. Very insi...Thank you, Anonymous, for your comments. Very insightful. Contact me through my email, I'd like to know who you are. Blessings! CodyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13991218555078662281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post-49374556991119955382011-08-06T15:07:28.043-05:002011-08-06T15:07:28.043-05:00Since assessing who a weaker brother is appears su...Since assessing who a weaker brother is appears subjective, I have always applied those verses toward adopting a heart posture of patience and understanding with the body as a whole; teaming up and sacrificing what I can as the Spirit leads. I'm sure there are many that view those intentionally pursuing contextualization in ministry as weaker brothers. <br /><br />We're obviously not going to step down from shepherding the flocks we've been given to shepherd or advocate to a group that giving in to cultural cleansing (in the traditional sense of the word; see Bhutanization) is what you need to do to be Christians, but if we search there are always smaller sacrifices that will greatly bless our brothers and sisters who are incidental practitioners of contextualization. Working against tradition is always a process. <br /><br />It's when we stop searching for the battles we can give into for the "weaker brother's" benefit that we need to check ourselves. <br /><br />Along the same lines of how terrible it is to turn someone off to the gospel before they interact with it by being a poor communicator, it is terrible to harden someone's heart toward contextualization because we were a poor communicator. I've just recently grown aware of the cruciality of this and I wish it had been sooner. It is likely more important than "it is something that I try to bear in mind."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post-83292580392943838882011-08-05T16:09:17.872-05:002011-08-05T16:09:17.872-05:00Yeah, the Lausanne article title 'Highly conte...Yeah, the Lausanne article title 'Highly contextualized' I think feeds into this unnecessary misunderstanding. Maybe it should be something like 'Thoughtfully contextualized,' 'Carefully contextualized,' or 'Intentionally contextualized.' Because highly is a measure word, and I think that everyone is contextualizing all the time, so people don't do it more or less, they simply do it well or badly.Ian Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02840668701283536587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post-83131760518040378742011-08-05T10:36:41.352-05:002011-08-05T10:36:41.352-05:00The weaker brother considerations are good things ...The weaker brother considerations are good things to ponder, but without the other side of that equation -- that is, where the weaker brother refrains from casting judgment on those who don't agree with him -- it is pretty difficult to operate. But nevertheless, it is something I try to bear in mind.<br /><br />I agree with you on the non-contextualized v. contextualized issue. I have made the same point elsewhere. Contextualization always happens. The variables are questions about intentionality, contextualization to what, etc. For this reason, I have taken up and been pushing the phrase "the pursuit of contextualization".Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13991218555078662281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post-30944941672018466892011-08-05T08:58:00.654-05:002011-08-05T08:58:00.654-05:00I also think the conversation needs to change from...I also think the conversation needs to change from 'contextualized and non-contextualized' or 'scales of contextualization' to good and bad contextualization.<br /><br />I even made the mistake above in the first paragraph when I wrote 'many non-contextualized...' Instead I should have written something like, 'many individuals and ministries that do not recognized their own context, or reject contextualization despite their own unconscious contextualization...'<br /><br />Because the truth is that whenever anyone tries to share the Gospel or act out their Christian faith they are in fact interpreters and contextualizers--they are putting their faith either in words or actions into a context--ie. contextualization. The important thing is recognizing the difference between people and ministries that do this well and those that fail to do this well. Those that are affirming of the context that they are in and those that are rejecting the context they are in.Ian Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02840668701283536587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9206660347169327219.post-538046001461629762011-08-05T08:53:34.628-05:002011-08-05T08:53:34.628-05:00I agree with you that contextualization doesn'...I agree with you that contextualization doesn't necessarily lead to syncretism--and in fact many non-contextualized ministries/individuals are syncretistic in their beliefs despite rejecting cultural-religious forms of their backgrounds. <br /><br />With that being said, one of the struggles I have been having recently is to what extent does Paul's admonition to consider the weaker brother apply to this situation. 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 and Romans 14 bring about this theme. Those most opposed to contextualization tend to be those from the cultures we are trying to minister among who have come to faith through badly contextualized ministries. I wonder to what extent we should curtail our rights when considering the weaker brothers.Ian Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02840668701283536587noreply@blogger.com