The church service the next day is amazing. The building is full, scores of people, some from other villages, singing hymns, taking communion, and some of them even reading from the Bible. The tribal chiefs are there too, singing and worshiping with the rest. The mission is an obvious success, and you don’t miss to record it on video.
Then comes Monday morning. The missionary has told you that he needed to travel to the nearest mechanic shop to fix his car, so you are left in the village, and you have the opportunity to sleep late and then spend some time with the local people. You are awakened early in the morning by monotonous singing of several male voices. You look through the window and you see not far away a dozen of men on their knees before something that looks like a Tapir hide on a pole. They sing a few words, then lay prostrate before the pole, then back to their knees and sing a few more words. When you look at the faces of the men, you can recognize some of them from the church service the previous day, and in fact, you can also recognize the village chief who read from the Bible the day before!
Read the rest at
The American Vision » “I’m Not a Social Reformer, I’m Here to Preach the Gospel”.
There is no such thing as Christian hunting, because hunting only has to do with whether you catch something or not.
There is no such thing as a Christian way to care for the aged, because caring for the aged only has to do with whether the aged are cared for “appropriately” (and there’s no Christian definition for that word.)
There is no such thing as Christian education, because after all, .a pig cut up after being tortured is just as cut up as one swiftly and humanely killed, and all we’re trying to do is teach the kids how to successfully cut up a pig.
Where have I heard all of these things?
I don’t get why Col 3:17 doesn’t put all this silliness to rest.
The Christ/Culture debate is a well worn one (and for some interesting perspectives on Niebuhr’s book see Authentic Transformation, ed. Glen Stassen), but I just want to point out that in several of the miracle stories in Luke, Luke draws attention to the fact that Jesus not only heals people, but he also restores them to their social situation.
Of course it helps to occasionally read the prophets if one would like to understand the gospels. We were studying Haggai ch 2 this week which has this lovely verse: “The glory of the new Temple will surpass that of the old, says Yahweh Sabaoth, and in this place I shall give peace…”
If someone claiming to bring the gospel is not bringing peace, there should be a question or two.