40 maps that explain the world

This is a cool article by the Washington Post.  If you care about global issues and global missions, you will find many of the maps here very interesting.  For example there are maps that show where foreigners are most and least welcome, maps that show which parts of the world are least racially tolerant, maps that show where people feel loved the most.  It's really valuable stuff.  Check it out!

40 maps that explain the world:

The Mythical Link between Contextualization & Syncretism: Lausanne Theology Discussion (7 of 7)

Welcome to the seventh of seven articles in response to the Lausanne Theology Working Group's paper on "The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World."  If you've not had a chance to read the paper, you can do so by following these links:

"The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World: Reflections of the Lausanne Theology Working Group" (condensed version)

"The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World: Reflections of the Lausanne Theology Working Group" (full version)

You can also read all seven parts of this series here.
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3. Regarding the Whole World (continued)

And last (but not least), I want to share a word of appreciation for what is said in this paper regarding world religions and the issue of contextualization.  In particular, may the whole Church latch on strongly to this statement:

“We need to repent of approaches to people of other faiths that reject or denounce their existing religion as wholly evil or satanic, with no effort to understand, critique and learn, and to discern through genuine encounter, friendship and patient dialogue where there may be bridges for the gospel” (p. 28, full version).

Let me say directly that I am personally counting very much upon the Nepalese, Indian and Bhutanese delegations to take this statement back to their contexts.  As one who has endured much grief as a direct result of just such a prejudice while working in the Hindu context, I need my South Asian brothers to sound this call to the South Asian Church.  

Related to that though is my continued concern that while the LTWG paper affirms those who are pursuing contextualization, it still does so in a way that lends credence to the myth that there is some kind of an inherent link between contextualization and syncretism.  I reject the notion that such a link exists and would suggest that no evidence can be shown to demonstrate that those theologically orthodox Christians who intentionally pursue contextualization are in any greater danger of syncretism than Christians who do not.  On the contrary, I believe that honest and balanced analysis will find even more syncretism (if we are defining this term as a sinful conformity to “pattern of this world”) in local churches that haven’t made any intentional effort to contextualize the Christ-life in their context.  The reality is not as the C1-5 scale suggests, that continued pursuit of contextualization inevitably leads to syncretism.  Rather, I would contend that, providing the contextualizer begins on theologically solid ground (an unwavering commitment to uphold the Bible), that the pursuit of contextualization actually serves to produce a much more thoughtful and theologically rich expression of Christian faith and practice than otherwise.   But alas, I cannot go any further into this right now. 

Question #7 – Upon what evidential basis does the LTWG feel it necessary to warn about syncretism in the same sentence as it mentions contextualization?  Doesn’t this sentence only serve to affirm an unfair prejudice against contextualization by repeating the unproven notion that contextualization and syncretism are especially and intrinsically linked?  

Okay, okay there is much more that I could say.  I’m already kicking myself for spending this much time on this.  My little blog post has evolved into a full week of posts.  So, let me wrap it up. I greatly look forward to reading and interacting with your responses.  May the Spirit enrichen and use this conversation.

Environmentalism & Missions: Lausanne Theology Discussion (6 of 7)

Welcome to the sixth of seven articles in response to the Lausanne Theology Working Group's paper on "The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World."  If you've not had a chance to read the paper, you can do so by following these links:

"The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World: Reflections of the Lausanne Theology Working Group" (condensed version)

"The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World: Reflections of the Lausanne Theology Working Group" (full version)

You can also read all seven parts of this series here.
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3. Regarding the Whole World

The final section of the LTWG paper seeks to answer the question, “What is the World?”  This is also capably accomplished in calling our attention to the world of physical creation, the whole human race, and the world as “an interlocking web of systems and structures that perpetuate the effects of our falleness and sin” (p. 30, full version).  I have here two items to highlight. Let me take only the first today.

First, I was profoundly impacted by the section on “The World of God’s Creation.” Christian environmentalism has tended to make me very nervous.  Still now, I have great concerns about the environmentalist movement that seems to be very often driven by political agendas and ideologies that do not arise out of or even appear compatible with a Biblical worldview.  I think we have to be very careful in this regard.  But the biblical theology on this issue that is encapsulated in the LTWG’s paper is compelling.  In particular, I’d like to draw your attention to a paragraph on p. 25:

“Many Christians’ understanding of the gospel seems to start in Genesis 3 (“We’ve got a sin problem”), to end in Revelation 20 (“There is a day of judgment coming”), and then presents Jesus as a means to solve the first and escape the second . . . . But it is not the whole of the gospel, for it does not tell the whole biblical story.  The Bible begins with creation (Gen. 1-2), ends with a new creation (Rev. 21-22), and presents Jesus as the one through whom God has reconciled all things in heaven and on earth to himself through the blood of his cross (Col. 1:15-23).  The gospel is good news for creation, for the reason that the gospel is the good news of what God as done in Christ to undo all the effects of human sin and satanic evil and to redeem his whole creation.”

Well, that has just fundamentally moved me in my thinking on this issue.  I’m not at the finish line yet, and I look forward to reading other papers on this topic in the future.  But, this has me thinking quite a lot.  In particular I have found that it has been good for me to consider what I anticipate redeemed creation (new heavens and new earth) to be like.  That is, in the same way that mission has become for me about “presenting everyone complete in Christ” (Col. 1:28)--just as they will be in heaven, so perhaps I should be thinking of stewarding non-human creation in the same vein.  This is something of an “already / not yet” way of thinking about the earth.  Could there be a legitimate component of mission that is focused on moving the fullness of the earth towards God’s ideal which will only be fully realized in eternity?  Hmm. . . perhaps.  If so, what kind of practical goals should flow out of such a mission?  Initially, the following has come to my mind:

·         Certainly eternity will feature clean air, land, and water.
·         The new creation must be a place that is safe and habitable.
·         The new creation will be free from disease.
·         The new creation will be bountiful in resources.
·         The new creation will reflect the creativity of God through biodiversity.

Question #6 – How can the Church reframe the issue of environmentalism and take the lead in cause of “creation care” so as to ensure that we are working towards a truly Biblical vision of creation, the world, and reality?