Journal of Global Christianity

VOLUM E I V / I SSUE I / FE B RUARY 2018 Journal of Global Christianiy EDITORIAL A Perspective on Christian Leadership Theory: Supporting More Voices from Europe, Africa, and Asia For A Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 H. H. Drake Williams, III ARTICLES A Vision and Philosophy for Developing a Curriculum of Non-Formal Cross-Cultural Theological Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Jonathan D. Worthington The Need for Russian Commentaries, Exegetical and Practical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Volodymyr Lavrushko Contextualization and “Encroachment” in Muslim Evangelism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Fred Farrokh Jia Yuming (1880–1964)—A Chinese Keswick Theologian: A Theological Analysis of Christ-Human Theology in Jia’s Total Salvation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Baiyu Andrew Song BOOK REVIEWS .................................................................................................................... 84 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY About the Journal of Global Christianiy The Journal of Global Christianity seeks to promote international scholarship and discussion on topics related to global Christianity. The journal addresses key issues related to the mission of the Church in hope of helping those who labor for the gospel wrestle with and apply the biblical teaching on various challenging mission topics. Understanding that there is a lack of trained and theologically educated leaders around the world to lead the Church and prepare future leaders, JGC targets an audience of pastors, missionaries, and Christian workers. The educational level of our audience ranges from those who have completed a bachelor level degree to those who have completed a master level as well as those in school preparing for ministry. We realize that there are theology students, professors, and other scholars who will read and take interest in the content of this journal, but our main focus is on those working with the global church or those who are considering work with the global church. The journal assumes a high level of education among its audience but is not strictly academic. The Journal of Global Christianity is published one time per year online at: www.TrainingLeadersInternational.org and presented in PDF and HTML format. It is also made available in multiple languages. The Journal of Global Christianity is copyrighted by Training Leaders International. Readers are free to circulate it in digital form without further permission (any print use requires further permission), but they must acknowledge the source and not change the format. 2 4 . 1 / 2 018 EDITORS Dave Deuel Darren Carlson General Editor Academic Dean Emeritus of he Masters Academy International Senior Research Fellow for the Christian Institute on Disability Drake Williams Contributing Editor Professor of NT Language and Literature at Tyndale heological Seminary Managing Editor President of Training Leaders International Aubrey Sequeira Contributing Editor Associate Pastor at Evangelical Community Church, Abu Dhabi Travis L. Myers Book Review Editor Assistant Professor of Church History and Mission Studies at Bethlehem College & Seminary EDITO R I AL BOAR D Jonathan Hoglund Sydney Park Professor of New Testament at Hanoi Bible College Associate Professor of New Testament at Beeson Divinity School Vijay Meesala Jeff Morton President of Reach All Nations Pastor at Hillside Baptist Church Fred Farrokh Bob Yarbrough Ambassador-at-Large at Jesus for Muslims Network Professor of New Testament at Covenant Seminary ARTICLES Articles should generally be about 4,000 to 7,000 words (including footnotes) and should be submitted to the Managing Editor of The Journal of Global Christianity, which is peer-reviewed. Articles should use clear, concise English, following The SBL Handbook of Style (esp. for abbreviations), supplemented by The Chicago Manual of Style. They should consistently use either UK or USA spelling and punctuation, and they should be submitted electronically as an email attachment using Microsot Word (.doc or .docx extensions) or Rich Text Format (.rtf extension). Special characters should use a Unicode font. REVIEWS The book review editors generally select individuals for book reviews, but potential reviewers may contact them about reviewing speciic books. As part of arranging book reviews, the book review editors will supply book review guidelines to reviewers. 3 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY A Perspective On Christian Leadership Theory: Supporting More Voices from Europe, Africa, and Asia for a Change H. H. Drake Williams, III L eadership is of great interest within the global Christian church. In the global south and east, the need for Christian leadership is great. In Operation World Mandryk states that one of the greatest needs in the world is for trained Christian leaders. For example, there are ive out of six churches without a pastor in India.1 In places in Africa, the church is recognized to be a mile wide but an inch deep. Shortages of Christian teachers in Bible schools in Africa and Asia are also common. With the epicenter for Christianity projected to be south of the equator by 2025, the needs will likely increase.2 In North America, there seems to be an abundance of discussion about leadership. Entering the word leadership on Amazon.com nets over 224,878 results.3 A similar search on Christianbook.com found over 218,000 results.4 Most of these results, of course, are North American in origin. Many North American seminaries and Christian colleges ofer leadership programs. As one analyst of leadership trends in the global church has said, “Most currently popular management theories are made in the USA, and implicitly based on US ways of thinking.”5 Unfortunately, aside from Europe, North America is the area of the world where the church is growing least with only a .59% increase.6 While many of these books and programs from North America have merit, the purpose of this editorial is to encourage biblically and theologically informed voices from the global south and 1 J. Mandryk, Operation World, 7th ed. (Colorado Springs: Biblica, 2010), 17, 405–15. 2 P. Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, 3rd ed. (New York: Oxford, 2011), 21–50. 3 https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&ield-keywords=leadership (accessed December 19, 2017). 4 https://www.christianbook.com/page/personal-growth/leadership?search=leadership (accessed December 19, 2017). 5 G. Hofstede, “The Applicability of McGregor’s Theories in South East Asia,” Journal of Management Development 6, no. 3 (1987): 13. 6 Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, “Status of Global Christianity, 2017, in the Context of 1900–2050,” accessed December 19, 2017, http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/ StatusofGlobalChristianity2017.pdf. 4 4 . 1 / 2 018 east to contribute to global leadership discussions. Furthermore, it also aims to encourage those from the global north and west to pay greater attention to those who are leading the church in other areas of the world. The following are three reasons for the church from the global south and east to speak more and for those of us from the global north and west to listen more attentively to those from this area of the world. 1. The Christian Church Began and was Led Well by Those From the Global South and East The irst and most obvious reason for paying attention to voices from the global south and east about leadership is that the Christian church and thus Christian leadership began in this area of the world. Jesus ministered in Galilee and Judea in the Middle East. The irst place where Christians were so named took place in Antioch (Acts 11:26) which is in modern day Turkey. Paul was irst sent as a missionary from that city, and he traveled irst in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. It was not until Paul received a vision from the man from Macedonia in Acts 16:9 that the Christian message came to Europe: to modern day Greece in eastern Europe. Many of the churches that were essential to the development of early Christianity were founded in the global south and east including the church in Jerusalem, which many scholars believe was irst led by James, the brother of Jesus. The church in Antioch was also a major contributor to early Christian leadership, sending Paul and Barnabas to the mission ield (Acts 13:1–3). In addition, the Gospel of Matthew, the Didache, which is a book that describes worship practices, and the Apostolic Constitutions, the largest surviving collection of ecclesiastical law, were presumably written in Antioch. The School of Antioch also became a major source for theology and exegesis during late antiquity. Another signiicant city in the ancient Christian church is Ephesus, which has been recognized as a major hub of Christian leadership. Signiicant igures such as John the son of Zebedee and Timothy were associated with the church. The Gospel of John is frequently connected with Ephesus. Some of the earliest letters on Christian leadership (i.e., 1 and 2 Timothy) were written to Timothy in Ephesus, assuming Pauline authorship. Besides these churches, there are many church leaders from the early church who came from the global east. The Cappadocian Fathers—Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nanzianzus—who made major contributions to the discussion of the Trinity came from modern day Turkey. John Chrysostom from Constantinople continues to inluence the worldwide body of Christ through his homilies. While many of the examples given so far are from Asia Minor, Africa also had a substantial inluence on early Christianity. Alexandria in modern day Egypt is well-known for the signiicant leadership that emerged in the early centuries. Major leaders from Alexandria within the early church 5 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY included Clement, Origen, Cyril, and Athanasius. The catechetical school of Alexandria was also a major center for Christian education in late antiquity. Further to the west in Africa were other great Christian centers. Carthage gave the church the fathers Tertullian and Cyprian. The contribution of Africa to the thinking of the Christian church historically is signiicant.7 As Thomas Oden has written, “African Christianity is foundational for classic teaching. … Early modern Christianity is oten portrayed as an essentially European religion. This is regrettable because classic Christianity has its pre-European roots in cultures that are far distant from Europe and that preceded the development of early modern European identity, and some of its greatest minds have been African.”8 Besides the inluence of signiicant igures and cities, some of the most important matters for the Christian faith have been decided in the global south and east. The major leadership councils of the early church all took place in what is considered the global east. These councils took place at Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon which are all located in modern day Turkey. Some of the issues decided at these councils include the deity of Christ, original sin, Trinitarian issues, and the celebration of Easter. Some of the inest leadership throughout Christian history has emerged from the global south and east. While modern situations need to be addressed at least in part by current thinking, the heritage of Christian leadership in the global south and east is great and their decisions still deine the way that Christianity is perceived today. 2. Some of the Most Signiicant Global Problems can be Uniquely Addressed by Christian Leaders from the Global South and East Complex issues in our modern world deserve a voice from Christian leaders in the global south and east. Many from the West know these problems, but they do not have the same close contact with these issues. For example, poverty is afecting the world globally. Approximately 767 million people live below the poverty line of $1.90 per day. Just fewer than ten percent of the world’s workers live with their families on $1.90 per day. The overwhelming majority of those who experience poverty live in either sub-Saharan Africa or in southern Asia.9 A second large problem in our world is HIV-AIDS. In 2016, approximately 36.7 million people globally were living with HIV. In the same year, it was estimated that 1.8 million people became 7 See further T. C. Oden, How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010). 8 T. C. Oden, Classic Christianity: A Systematic Theology (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2009), xvii. 9 United Nations, “Sustainable Development Goals; 17 Goals to Transform our World,” accessed December 19, 2017, http:// www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty/. 6 4 . 1 / 2 018 newly infected with HIV. Also that same year, approximately 1 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses. This brought totals of deaths from HIV-AIDS to approximately 35 million people and 76.1 million since the start of the epidemic in 1981.10 The largest number of cases of HIV-AIDS is found in sub-Saharan Africa. The global church is also experiencing persecution. Each month on average 322 Christians are killed for their faith. Open Doors also reports 214 churches or Christian properties are destroyed per month. Violence is also committed against Christians. On average there are 722 cases of violent acts committed against Christians, which include beatings, abductions, rapes, arrests, and forced marriages.11 Nearly all of the countries on the worldwide persecution list are countries in the global south and east. While leaders in the west may know of persecution, those from the global south and east have much closer contact with it. Other issues can also be uniquely addressed by Christian leaders in the global south and east. While the West deals with atheism and secularism, those from the global south and east are confronted with large numbers who are following some of the great religions of the world. For example, Hinduism is known for being the largest religion in India with over 827 million people adhering to it (over 80% of the nation).12 Besides being a religion in India, it is also a complex faith that has spread worldwide. Hindus live in urban and rural conditions. Some have Hindu ideas that are mixed with secular practice. New understanding is needed for Hindus who are following new forms that emerge from old Hindu practices such as yoga and guruism.13 Hinduism is on the rise globally (+1.34%) with over 822 million people following this religion.14 Certainly, Islam and Buddhism, but also cults and prosperity theology are present in countries in the global south and east in number. Those in the global south and east have encountered these religious expressions more frequently. As the church confronts these issues globally, voices from the global south and east provide a unique perspective. Those from these areas of the world are experiencing and leading the church through these diiculties. Their voices deserve to be heard on a grander scale. 10 United Nations, “Fact Sheet - Latest Statistics on the Status of the AIDS Epidemic,” accessed December 19, 2017, http:// www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet. 11 Open Doors, “Christian Persecution,” accessed December 19, 2017, https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/. 12 Oice of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. “Religion,” accessed January 9, 2018, http://censusindia. gov.in/Census_And_You/religion.aspx. 13 See the forum on Hinduism on the Lausanne website: https://www.lausanne.org/networks/issues/hinduism. 14 Center for the Study of Global Christianity, “Status of Global Christianity.” 7 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 3. There Are Voices About Christian Leadership That Are Coming From Other Parts of the World With much attention focusing on North American leadership books and programs, it would help if more attention could be placed on leadership ideas that are not emanating from North America. This is not to push aside North American contributions but to provide needed balance. Several institutions are thoughtfully addressing leadership concerns worldwide in the body of Christ. From an academic perspective, the Institute of Leadership and Social Ethics based at Evangelische Theologische Faculteit in Leuven, Belgium, is aiming to become a signiicant resource for Christian leaders worldwide.15 The institute has reached out to scholars, professionals, and students at a variety of levels. It is also providing high quality, peer-reviewed research volumes on leadership and social ethics of the day in the series Christian Perspectives on Leadership and Social Ethics published through Peeters Press. Topics have included the place in current leadership for morality, spirituality, and authority.16 One of their recent volumes was entitled Christian Leadership in a Changing World: Perspectives from Africa and Europe. This compilation of essays speciically focuses on the need for Christian leadership perspectives from diverse points in the world,17 addressing leadership topics such as liminal leadership, crisis leadership, blind spots in ethical leadership, missional leadership, transformational leadership, female leadership, political leadership, leadership in higher education and in mission agencies. Contributors come from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Uganda, and South Africa, Other partner organizations such as the University of South Africa18 and the Gesellschat für Bildung und Forschung in Europa, which is based in Germany, contributed to this efort on leadership.19 Several institutions in the global south and east are now seeing the need for more leadership theory in their part of the world and are ofering programs speciically focused on leadership. For example, Africa International University in Nairobi, Kenya, and the University of South Africa are 15 See https://www.etf-ilse.org/. 16 P. Nullens and J. Barensten, Leadership, Innovation, and Spirituality, Christian Perspectives on Leadership and Social Ethics 1 (Leuven: Peeters, 2014); P. Nullens and S. van den Heuvel, Challenges in Moral Leadership, Christian Perspectives on Leadership and Social Ethics 2 (Leuven: Peeters, 2015); J. Barentsen, S. van den Heuvel, and P. Lin, The End of Leadership? Christian Perspectives on Leadership and Social Ethics 4 (Leuven: Peeters, 2017). 17 J. Barentsen, V. Kessler, and E. Meier, eds. Christian Leadership in a Changing World: Perspectives from Africa and Europe, Christian Perspectives on Leadership and Social Ethics 3 (Leuven: Peeters, 2016). 8 18 See www.unisa.ac.za. 19 See www.gbfe.org. 4 . 1 / 2 018 both ofering accredited master degrees in education and organizational leadership.20 South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies in Bangalore, India also has a branch of the school specifically devoted to leadership.21 Asian Theological Seminary in Manila, Philippines ofers an MA in Transformational Urban Leadership.22 These and other universities in the global south and east are addressing leadership concerns in their area of the world. They can also provide a signiicant vehicle for providing ideas for Christian leadership from a global south and east perspective. 4. Conclusion Christian leaders are greatly needed in our world. While the church in North America has much to contribute in the way of leadership theory, it has a disproportionate voice globally. Although ideas from North America can be helpful, they are frequently out of touch with problems that the church in the global south and east experiences such as poverty, HIV-AIDS, and persecution. In contrast, the church in the global south and east is exposed to these issues regularly. It is also blossoming and will likely continue to grow for years to come. Although leaders from the global south and east have had a signiicant voice in the past, they are not being heard enough proportionally now. There are implications, too, for the training of global Christian leaders. Because the church is growing the fastest in the global south and east and demands contextual leadership training, those who wish to train leaders for and from the global south and east must listen to these regions of the world. Furthermore, the global biblical training community should respect and resource indigenous global south and east training ministries.23 Lanin Sanneh in his volume Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity has rightly stated, “Christianity is the most diverse religion in the world. More people pray and worship in more languages and with more diferences in styles of worship in Christianity than in any other religion. Well over three thousand of the world’s languages are represented through Bible translation, prayer, liturgy, hymns and literature.”24 With such diversity, it will assist us all to listen more attentively to leading voices from the global south and east, provided that these perspectives emerge from a sound biblical and theological framework. 20 https://www.aiu.ac.ke/ 21 http://www.saiacs.org/ 22 http://www.ats.ph/ 23 I am thankful for David Deuel for this point. 24 Lamin Sanneh, Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (Oxford: OUP, 2007), xx. 9 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY A Vision and Philosophy for Developing a Curriculum of Non-Formal Cross-Cultural Theological Education Jonathan D. Worthington Jonathan D. Worthington is Director of Curriculum Development at Training Leaders International in Minneapolis, MN USA. He has a Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Judaism from Durham University (England) and is a Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy through work on student motivation at Queen’s University Belfast (Northern Ireland). He has served as an assistant professor of biblical studies in Northern Ireland and England, has lectured and designed courses in Scotland and the USA, and has taught biblical studies and theology in non-formal education setings in Chile, India, Tanzania, and Romania. ABSTRACT This article illustrates a philosophy of developing a sensitive and robust curriculum for non-formal, cross-cultural training in understanding and communicating Scripture. First, I establish the desired end, including a vision and aligned educational goals. Second, I analyze our participants, including trainees and trainers. Third, I examine the contexts in which our curriculum functions, including essential cultural elements and associated educational concepts. Fourth, I make explicit the core educational principles that give rationale for what we offer and how we design it. Fifth, I describe the scope and sequence of courses—the curriculum proper—including their content and associated skills. Sixth, I propose resources that best help our trainers teach well and our trainees learn well within the system outlined above. Seventh, I highlight elements of evaluation for maintaining and enhancing this program’s effectiveness in design and delivery. Finally, I outline a concrete and manageable action plan for developing and implementing the content proposed and achieving the end goals and vision for strengthening the global church by equipping her leaders. 10 4 . 1 / 2 018 1. Introduction T he word “curriculum” is used in various ways in educational literature.1 Here we use the term to refer to the entire “racecourse” or program of learning that we design for our trainees.2 Thus, our curriculum includes courses (subjects) set in sequence. But developing a curriculum—in its fuller sense—involves many other considerations. In the sections that follow, we explore the eight curricular elements3 listed below: • End Point: a speciic end, involving both a vision and aligned educational goals • Participants: well-deined participants, including the trainees and trainers • Contexts: well-deined contexts in which our curriculum functions, including essential cultural elements and associated educational concepts • Principles: core educational convictions that give rationale for what we ofer and how we design it • Content: the scope of subjects and skills that we cover, including their best sequence • Resources: resources we provide to help our trainers teach well and trainees learn well • Evaluation: how we will evaluate this program’s efectiveness in design and delivery • Action Plan: a concrete plan for developing and implementing the content proposed In the sections that follow, we explore each briely as we develop a curriculum for non-formal theological training for global use.4 1 See Shao-Wen Su, “The Various Concepts of Curriculum and the Factors Involved in Curricula-making,” Journal of Language Teaching and Research 3, no. 1 (Jan 2012): 153–58. Cf. J. Wiles, Leading Curriculum Development (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2009), 2. 2 Historically, the “curriculum” word group in Latin had to do with “running” (verb: currere) and the “course” on which a race was run (noun: curriculum). The active idea of running a race and the static idea of the racecourse itself are both still helpful for understanding education (contra P. Slattery, Curriculum Development in the Postmodern Era (New York: Garland, 1995), 56; M. Schwartz, “For whom do we write the curriculum?”, Journal of Curriculum Studies (2006): 1–9, both of whom favor the active notion only). 3 These were stimulated by and expanded beyond the helpful 5-S principle in L. Ford, A Curriculum Design Manual for Theological Education: A Learning Outcomes Focus (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2002), 50–52. 4 United Nations Educational, Scientiic and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) deines “Non-Formal Education” (NFE) as “a structured and sustained body of educational activities that takes place outside of formal education.” See M. Ahmed, The State and Development of Adult Learning and Education in Asia and the Paciic: Regional Synthesis Report (Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, 2009), 7. 11 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 2. The End of our Curriculum: Vision and Goals We must irst deine the end of our racecourse. Where are we taking our trainees? The answer includes our vision for what our overall program of courses must accomplish and the educational goals that will realize that vision. 2.1. Vision for Trainers and Trainees Our program of non-formal theological training must contribute to our organization’s overarching vision. The vision of Training Leaders International (TLI) is “to establish and strengthen local churches and their leaders around the world.”5 TLI uses two means to accomplish this vision, like two edges of a single sword: (1) TLI mentors and sends people who already have theological training (2) to train pastors and other Christian leaders around the world who have little or no access to theological training, who in turn will train other indigenous leaders. Our non-formal program of theological training likewise has a double-edged vision. At the end of our non-formal program, we envision two types of people emerging: 1. trainers who, through easy-to-use resources for TLI’s non-formal training environment, are equipped to guide untrained pastors and leaders around the world in face-to-face learning with cultural and educational sensitivity; 2. formerly untrained pastors and leaders around the world who, through the Bible, humble conidence in God and his Word, and foundational skills and knowledge, are equipped to preach or teach any part of God’s Word accurately and relevantly and to equip others to do likewise. Our program of non-formal education must be driven by this double-edged vision. Our discussions below of curricular participants (§3) and resources (§7) will relect both edges. Now, in §2.2, we will focus on the creation of educational goals only for our trainees, for it is the trainees whom the curriculum designers and trainers together seek to bring to the envisioned end.6 2.2. Educational Goals for Trainees We must set speciic, measurable goals that, when reached, enable the trainee side of our double-edged vision to be realized.7 The following ive educational goals advance our vision (above) for our trainees. By the end of the course of study, our trainees will have gained: 5 Training Leaders International, accessed December 20, 2017, https://trainingleadersinternational.org/about/what-we-do. 6 See the helpful distinction between “curriculum users” and “curriculum receivers” in Schwartz, “For whom do we write the curriculum?”, 1–2. 7 12 B. Ott, Understanding and Developing Theological Education, trans. T. Keefer (Cumbria: Langham Global Library, 2016), 297. 4 . 1 / 2 018 1. a sound understanding of the uniied and diverse content of the Bible; 2. the ability to use basic interpretive principles to rightly understand any type of passage in the Bible; 3. a sound grasp of fundamental theological categories; 4. a basic ability to communicate any type of passage in the Bible with clarity and relevance; and 5. a basic ability to train others in these skills and knowledge. Within the remainder of our philosophy outlined below, we will see how vital the end is as we develop ways to help our trainees run the course well, meet these ive goals, and attain the vision. 3. Participants in our Curriculum: Trainees and Trainers We must now specify the participants in our program of courses. These include the trainees whom we help to achieve the ive speciied goals above. These also include the teachers/trainers whom we equip and deploy to help the trainees achieve the goals. In our context, both groups of curricular participants are highly diverse—and that matters for what we design and how we design it.8 3.1. Trainees Ability in Western-style Theological Education Our trainees are strikingly varied. They are diverse in language; culture; worldview; geo-political situation; socio-eco+ nomic position; possession and availability of resources, in II I general and speciically in theology; religious upbringing; reIII b IV b ligious majority context; daily safety; pressing life struggles; III IV age; gender; educational level; educational style; learning style; IV a primary occupation; church involvement; Bible knowledge; – III a – + type and depth of theology. Access to Already Established Theological Education The chart (right) shows four quadrants into which potential trainees can be divided. Each quadrant demands a diferent response in theological training. The horizontal axis depicts how little (–) or much (+) access they have to already established theological education. The vertical axis depicts how little (–) or much (+) ability they have in Western-style theological education. (NB: the + and – symbols convey quantitative levels in these categories, not qualitative value.) 8 According to a signiicant amount of literature on cross-cultural theological education, the speciic details of the “whom” afect what subjects we deem most appropriate and the order in which we cover them, not to mention the methods in which we deliver them. See the ICETE (International Council for Evangelical Theological Education) Manifesto on the Renewal of Evangelical Theological Education (accessible in Ott, Understanding and Developing Theological Education, 24–31, quote from 26). See chapter 2 of Ott for further argument and literature on this issue. 13 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Quadrant I is not the target of this curriculum of non-formal training. TLI’s department of formal training targets Quadrant I. Quadrant II, however, is our primary target area. This is for two reasons. First, our non-formal department’s mission is to bring theological training to those with little or no access to such training. Thus Quadrants II and III are our primary targets. Second, our curriculum team and trainers are currently better equipped to design and deliver more Western-style training, which places us more comfortably in Quadrant II. For the second reason mentioned above, Quadrants III and IV are more complicated for us to work within than is Quadrant II. In contexts III and IV, more signiicant ethnographic research and changes to Western curriculum structure and delivery methods are necessary for meaningful learning. That said, there is a spectrum in Quadrants III and IV. People in IIIb and IVb are somewhat more able to cope with more Western-style design and delivery than people in IIIa and IVa. As Western aspects of curricular design and delivery are toned down, and as trainers’ cultural sensitivity is increased, the learning experience of the trainees in IIIb and IVb will be enhanced. To be realistic and frank, staf at TLI are simply not equipped to train people in IIIa and IVa. The educational styles are too divergent. However, we can meaningfully grow in our efectiveness in training people within IIIb and IVb, and we must, for they come to our non-formal training with those from Quadrant II anyway. Our trainees are diverse, coming from Quadrants II, IIIb, and IVb. Thus, and as is explored and addressed in §3 and §6, TLI’s curriculum team and trainers must continuously grow in cultural and educational sensitivity if we are to design and deliver an efective curriculum of non-formal theological education. Then we can better meet the various needs of our diverse trainees. 3.2. Trainers Our trainers are also variegated. They have diverse levels of investment in TLI, as some are full-time International Trainers (ITs) and most others are occasional Associate Trainers (ATs). Our ATs are diverse in types of employment outside TLI: professors, pastors, seminary students, laity. ITs and ATs come with various levels and types of education: Ph.D. and D.Min., M.Th. and M.Div., B.Th. and other. Our trainers have diverse amounts and types of cross-cultural experience. They have diferent levels of experience with TLI itself. They have a range of expectations of what they will and want to gain from a trip. This range of trainers carries curricular consequences. Their ability to crat lesson plans is on a spectrum, as is their capacity to engage trainees in educationally and culturally sensitive manners. These spectrums of abilities demand various levels and types of resourcing, training, and mentoring in order to adequately equip each trainer—which is half of our double-edged vision—to best help our trainees attain the end. 14 4 . 1 / 2 018 4. The Context(s) in which our Curriculum Functions We must now specify the context(s) within which our curriculum functions. Context is signiicant for a curriculum’s design and thus for a delivery that is intentionally harmonious with its content. Despite our grossly diverse contexts (from Haiti to Romania to Tanzania to India, etc.), a few signiicant unifying features do emerge. All our trainees are (1) adults, (2) not indigenous to the US, and (3) primarily oral-preference learners. These common features of our curricular context(s) are educationally signiicant for the design and delivery of our curricular content. They demand engagement with topics such as andragogy, cultural dynamics, and orality in the process. Below are a few classroom-speciic principles extrapolated from engaging scholarship in these educational and cultural categories. A central theme will emerge: our curriculum team and trainers must deliberately and constantly increase our understanding of how our trainees learn best, for this touches curriculum structure and design as well as teaching strategies. 4.1. Adult Learning (“Andragogy”) Andragogy is the art and science of “leading adults” in learning. It is signiicant that we are training adults.9 Diferently than children, adults tend to seek training because they have particular needs and interests; they are interested in “subjects” insofar as these address life-situations; and they have many experiences that are signiicant learning resources. Below are four examples of andragogic principles that afect how we develop curriculum for adult learners. First, our adult trainees will learn more efectively if their perspectives of their own learning needs are heard, engaged, and thereby valued.10 9 See M. Knowles, E. Holton III, and R. Swanson, The Adult Learner, 6th ed. (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005). 10 E. Lindeman, who is considered the father of andragogy, contrasts andragogy and pedagogy in many ways no longer seen as valid, but his insights about the power of student-centered learning for adults are still worthwhile: E. Lindeman, The Meaning of Adult Education (New York: New Republic, 1926), 8–11. Cf. Ott, Understanding and Developing Theological Education, 111–12; Knowles, Holton, and Swanson, The Adult Learner, 7th ed., 38–39; S. Hoke and B. Taylor, Global Mission Handbook: A Guide for Cross-Cultural Service (Downers Grove: IVP, 2009), 138. 15 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Thus, while our curriculum team and trainers set the program of courses that we deem strategic for meeting our trainees’ needs, we must pay constant and increasing attention to their perspectives on their own needs—both through research and personal engagement.11 Second, course material and even titles will better resonate with adult learners if they are expressed and approached more like active life-situations than abstract, static subjects. According to Ott, “The content of adult education is less determined by the subject matter of classic courses and more structured around problems and challenges relevant to the (adult) learner’s life and work.”12 Thus, course titles can be worded like active life-situations rather than static subjects (e.g., our combination of theology, bibliology, and ecclesiology becomes “Knowing God, Scripture, and Ourselves”). And course content that traditionally covers issues topically as author/recipients/ date/occasion is covered by asking questions that correspond to ordinary life situations: e.g., Who wrote this? Why? What was going on? (See §5 below.)13 Third, efective teaching methods for adult learners include both lecture, which provides categories and knowledge to help trainees analyze their experiences,14 and participation-based active learning moments. 11 Our approach is known as top-down design, in which a design team and/or teachers set the course of learning rather than the students setting their own (known as bottom-up curricular design). Our top-down design method is still importantly learner-centered. The andragogic literature that equates andragogy with bottom-up design has faulty foundations. First, the efectiveness of bottom-up over top-down design is questioned on empirical grounds: see S. Rosenblum and G. Darkenwald, “Efects of Adult Learner Participation in Course Planning on Achievement,” Adult Educational Quarterly 22, no. 3 (1983): 147–60; cf. S. Merriam and R. Cafarella, Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide, 2nd ed. (San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 1999), 90–91. Second, the equation of andragogy with bottom-up curriculum design is especially criticized on cultural grounds. Bottom-up design is likely too Western to help us in our context(s). Many andragogic suggestions are based on psychological and educational research done primarily among the WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) community, who make up only 25% of the world’s population. See A. Tulloch, “Adult Learning across Cultures,” Neuroanthropology (blog), May 30, 2014, accessed April 19, 2017, http://blogs.plos.org/neuroanthropology/2014/05/30/adult-learning-across-cultures/; T. Hatcher, “Towards Culturally Appropriate Adult Education Methodologies for Bible Translators: Comparing Central Asian and Western Educational Practices,” Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics 2, no. 3 (2008): Appendix 3, http://www.gial.edu/documents/ gialens/Vol2–3/Hatcher-Adult-Ed-Methodologies.pdf. G. Hofstede and G. J. Hofstede observe that “traditional psychology” itself “is a product of Western thinking, caught in individualist assumptions” in Cultures and Organizations: Sotware of the Mind (London: McGraw-Hill, 2005), 108; S. Merriam, R. Cafarella, and L. Baumgartner write that “the knowledge base that has developed around learning and adult learning has been shaped by what counts as knowledge in a Western paradigm” in Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide, 3rd ed. (San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2007), 217. Indeed, a strong inluence in much of Western educational theory is Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” in which “self-actualization” is the pinnacle. Hofstede and Hofstede counter that self-actualization “can only be the supreme motivation in an individualistic society. In a collectivist culture, what will be actualized is the interest and honor of the in-group, which may very well ask for self-efacement from many of the in-group members. Harmony and consensus are more attractive ultimate goals for such societies than individual self-actualization” in Cultures and Organizations, 108. Cf. R. Tucker and S. Ang, “The Academic Acclimatisation Diiculties of International Students of the Built Environment,” Emirates Journal for Engineering Research 2, no. 1 (2007): 1–9. 12 Ott, Understanding and Developing Theological Education, 112. Cf. Knowles, Holton, and Swanson, The Adult Learner, 7th ed., 38–39. 16 13 See another example of a similar shit in Knowles, Holton, and Swanson, The Adult Learner, 6th ed., 68. 14 Ott, Understanding and Developing Theological Education, 112. 4 . 1 / 2 018 It is crucial to help adult trainees actively relect on their past experiences and actively plan for future experiences in light of the new categories, frameworks, questions, and material; therefore, lecture is a crucial ingredient of adult learning. Yet their learning experience must also involve active, humble, and inquisitive discussion of what they are experiencing and struggling with, how they might apply insights from the present course to their life-situations, and how the previous course’s insights actually afected their experiences (or not).15 Fourth, adult learning must incorporate the whole person: their perspective and knowledge (cognitive domain), their emotions and hopes (afective domain), and their concrete plans and actions (practical domain)—all set within a communal sensibility. Merriam, Cafarella, and Baumgartner, in their newest edition of Learning in Adulthood, have a welcome addition on non-Western andragogic insights.16 Comparing education based in Confucian, Hindu, Maori, Islamic, and African indigenous perspectives, they argue: “In non-Western traditions, education and learning are in the service of developing more than just the mind. They are also to develop a good person, a moral person, a spiritual person, one who not only contributes but also uplits the community.”17 Non-Western education also tends to be “interdependent, communal, holistic, and informal”18—the last meaning “embedded in everyday life” and “lifelong.”19 The principles of adult learning mentioned above, and especially those which have taken shape in research in non-Western contexts—similar to nearly all of our contexts—must afect our curricular design and delivery. The same is true regarding certain cultural patterns and their efect within cross-cultural educational contexts—similar to all of ours. I will now outline a few crucial cultural categories. 4.2. Crucial Cultural Categories P. Hiebert, R. D. Shaw, and T. Tiénou, among numerous other cultural anthropologists and missiologists, have tried to describe essential quests or longings that transcend cultures.20 Yet cross-cultural 15 T. Ward, “The Split-Rail Fence: An Analogy for the Education of Professionals,” Learning Systems Institute report (East Lansing: Learning Systems Institute and Human Learning Research Institute of Michigan State University, 1969), 64. Cf. S. Burton, Disciple Mentoring: Theological Education by Extension (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2000), chapter 5. 16 Merriam, Cafarella, and Baumgartner, Learning in Adulthood, 227–38. 17 Ibid., 238. 18 Ibid., 188. 19 Ibid., 238. Cf. T. Fosokun, A. Katahoire, and A. Oduaran, The Psychology of Adult Learning in Africa (Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Education and Pearson Education South Africa, 2005), 36. 20 P. Hiebert, R. D. Shaw, T. Tiénou, Understanding Folk Religion: A Christian Response to Popular Beliefs and Practices (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999). Cf. T. Stefan, “Storytelling,” in Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, ed. A. S. Moreau (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), 909. 17 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY educationalists sometimes express that “almost no practices [have been] found that could be implemented globally.”21 This is because culture deeply inluences “the way we perceive, organize and process information,” “the way in which we communicate, interact with others and solve problems,” and “the way we form ‘mental categories’ and retrieve them in order to create patterns which allow us to generate new knowledge by means of previously acquired knowledge.”22 All of this necessarily afects students’ preferences for, values for, and deeply ingrained abilities in various types of “thinking, relating to others, and… classroom environments and experiences.”23 Many teachers get frustrated with student responses and patterns in cross-cultural classrooms, while others sense an occasional disconnect with trainees but cannot put their inger on what is not quite working. Many of the responses, patterns, and disconnects are rooted in deep and pervasive (and well-documented) cultural features. Some curriculum developers have not designed and produced material that aids teachers well in such non-Western education contexts. Key cultural categories can and must be explored by our trainers and curriculum team if we are to be increasingly efective in our contexts. Some cultural categories are more pertinent to short-term educational contexts than others. The following cultural issues should be prioritized: 21 See “The Learning Curve 2013,” The Economist Intelligence Unit (explore http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com/). Cf. H. Wursten and C. Jacobs, “The Impact of Culture on Education: Can We Introduce Best Practices in Education across Countries?” accessed April 20, 2017, https://geert-hofstede.com/tl_iles/images/site/social/Culture%20and%20education.pdf. See T. Hatcher’s helpful counter to Stefan’s comments about storytelling as universally transferable: Hatcher, “Towards Culturally Appropriate Adult Education,” Appendix 3. 22 G. De Vita, “Learning Styles, Culture and Inclusive Instruction in the Multicultural Classroom: A Business and Management Perspective,” Innovations in Education and Teaching International 38, no. 2 (2001): 165–74, 167; quoting A. Grasha, “Using Traditional Versus Naturalistic Approaches to Assessing Learning Styles in College Teaching,” Journal of Excellence in College Teaching 1 (1990): 23–38, 26. 23 De Vita, “Learning Styles,” 167 (see 165–74). Cf. D. Pratt, “Conceptions of Self within China and the United States: Contrasting Foundations for Adult Development,” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 15, no. 3 (1991): 285–310; Tucker and Ang, “Academic Acclimatisation Diiculties,” 1–9; S. Charkins, D. O’Toole, and J. Wetzel, “Linking Teacher and Student Learning Styles with Student Achievement and Attitudes,” The Journal of Economic Education 16, no. 2 (1985): 111–20; Y. Yamazaki, “Learning Styles and Typologies of Cultural Diferences: A Theoretical and Empirical Comparison,” International Journal of International Relations 29, no. 5 (Sept 2005): 521–48. 18 4 . 1 / 2 018 • How does communication happen? (e.g., high context vs. low context)24 • How are wrongs conceived and dealt with? (e.g., guilt–innocence; shame–honor; fear–power)25 • How do people relate to others and to learning itself within an education environment? (e.g., power distance; individualism–collectivism; uncertainty avoidance)26 • How do people relate tasks and relationships to time? (e.g., monchronicity vs. polychronicity)27 Each of these major cultural categories has implications for how our trainers can conduct a classroom environment in an educationally and culturally sensitive manner within our curriculum of non-formal training in our cross-cultural context(s). How we design our curricular material for these contexts can aid or hamper our trainers. (See §6 below.) 4.3. Orality and Literacy According to the Lausanne Movement, “70% to 80% of the world does not depend on textual transmission; they depend on aural, or oral-visual, means to receive, process, remember, and pass on 24 See E. T. Hall, Beyond Culture (New York: Anchor, 1981). C. B. Halverson and S. A. Tirmizi, eds., Efective Multicultural Teams: Theory and Practice (Netherlands: Springer, 2008); C. B. Halverson, “Cultural-Context Inventory: The Efects of Culture on Behavior and Work Style” in 1993 Annual: Developing Human Resources, ed. J. W. Pfeifer (San Diego: Pfeifer and Company, 1993). For a popular-level summary, see B. Neese, “Intercultural Communication: High- and Low-Context Cultures,” Southeastern University Online Learning (Aug 2016), http://online.seu.edu/high-and-low-context-cultures/. 25 See J. Georges, “From Shame to Honor: A Theological Reading of Romans for Honor-Shame Contexts,” Missiology 38, no. 3 (2010): 295–307. Cf. J. Georges, The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame and Fear Cultures (Timê Press, 2016). For one example of the complexity of this scheme, see R. Nisbett and D. Cohen, Culture of Honor: The Psychology of Violence in the South (Boulder: Westview Press, 1996) for an exploration of how a deeply-rooted shame culture among Whites in the South plays a signiicant role in the higher rate of violent crimes among southern Whites than other Whites in the US. Likewise, Y. Wong and J. Tsai show that in collectivist cultures the notions of shame and guilt can be less pronounced, and among the Swahili people in Mombasa (at least) the sense of communal shame is more closely associated with their actions than their being, which blurs the lines between guilt and shame in typical deinitions: Y. Wong and J. Tsai, “Cultural Models of Shame and Guilt,” in Handbook of Self-Conscious Emotions, eds. J. Tracy, R. Robins, and J. Tangney (New York: Guilford Press, 2007): 210–223, see especially 212–13. Biblical scholars are increasingly aware of the power of honor–shame dynamics in the cultures represented in Scripture, but this has not transferred well enough to many teachers in TEE (Theological Education by Extension); e.g., D. deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture (Downers Grove: IVP, 2000), 25; cf. R. Rabichev, “The Mediterranean Concepts of Honour and Shame as Seen in the Depiction of the Biblical Women,” Religion and Theology 3, no. 1 (1996): 51–63; R. F. Kensky, “Virginity in the Bible,” in Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East, ed. V. H. Matthews, B. M. Levinson, and T. Frymer-Kensky (Sheield: JSOTSup, 1998): 79–96. 26 See the website dedicated to the work of Geert Hofstede and Gert Jan Hofstede, accessed at https://geert-hofstede.com/ national-culture.html. See also Hofstede and Hofstede, Cultures and Organizations. Cf. A. Tamas, “Geert Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture and Edward T. Hall’s Time Orientations,” http://www.tamas.com/sites/default/iles/Hofstede_Hall.pdf. 27 See E. Hall, Hidden Diferences: Doing Business with the Japanese (Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1987); G. Ko and J. W. Gentry, “The Development of Time Orientation Measures for Use in Cross-Cultural Research,” in Advances in Consumer Research, vol. 18, eds. R. H. Holman and M. R. Solomon (Provo: Association for Consumer Research, 1991), 135–142. Cf. A. Tamas, “Geert Hofstede’s Dimensions of Culture and Edward T. Hall’s Time Orientations,” http://www.tamas.com/sites/default/ iles/Hofstede_Hall.pdf. 19 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY information.”28 In contrast to this, and in relation to curricular issues, D. Sills observes that “over 90 percent of all our tools for evangelism, discipleship, and leadership training has been produced for highly literate people.”29 Following W. Ong’s inluential book, Orality and Literacy,30 R. Arnett points out that “Today, we understand that orality is not simply the inability to read and write a spoken language”; rather, there are “signiicant cognitive and sociocultural diferences” between oral and non-oral peoples.31 Oral and non-oral people “store information diferently”: non-oral people in written and thus semi-permanent form, oral people in active memory. Oral and non-oral people also “organize information diferently”: non-oral people “in a subordinate and analytical manner”; oral people “using perceptual, concrete, functional categories through mnemonic devices such as repetition, narrative, song, and drama.”32 Most of our trainers tend toward literacy-preference learning; however, most of our trainees are oral-preference learners. Due to our training contexts, then, we must take seriously this danger: oral learners are disadvantaged in and sometimes even excluded from text-heavy learning.33 This has major implications for our curriculum, particularly in the resources we provide. For example: 28 • In their initial taste of theological education, face-to-face learning situations will beneit our oral-preference learners more than written material. So, in the irst instance, we must focus our time and resources on better equipping our trainers for face-to-face encounters. (This focus will help meet the irst aspect of our double-sided vision above, which in turn better meets the second aspect of our vision—see §2.1 above.) • We can provide short, “bare bone” written material for the trainees, even at irst. This will be helpful for trainees and trainers, and especially for oral-preference learners if it contains understandable, memorable, repeatable key phrases—and perhaps associated images (although images, symbols, and colors are notoriously culture-speciic). Lausanne Movement, “Orality,” accessed December 22, 2017, https://www.lausanne.org/networks/issues/orality. 29 M. D. Sills, Hearts, Heads, and Hands: A Manual for Teaching Others to Teach Others (Nashville: B&H, 2016), 7. Cf. M. D. Sills, “Primary Oral Learners: How Shall They Hear?” (chapter 9) in Reaching and Teaching: A Call to Great Commission Obedience (Chicago: Moody, 2010) and M. D. Sills, “Reaching Oral Learners” (chapter 5) in Changing World, Unchanging Mission: Responding to Global Challenges (Downers Grove: InterVersity, 2015). 30 W. Ong, Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (London: Routledge, 2002). 31 R. Arnett, “Discipleship in the Face of Orality,” Orality Journal 6, no. 1 (2017): 49–58, 49–50. 32 Arnett, “Discipleship,” 51. 33 H. Klem traces signiicant social damage that has been caused by insensitively introducing literacy into largely oral cultures in Oral Communication of the Scripture: Insights from African Oral Art (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1982). 20 4 . 1 / 2 018 In §4 we have briely analyzed the context(s) within which our curriculum functions. Issues of andragogy, cultural dimensions, and orality are particularly pertinent to our philosophy of curricular design and delivery within concrete context(s). 5. Principles of Education Shaping the Content of our Curriculum Now we must clarify some key principles of education that shape the content of our curriculum. These provide the why that underlies what we ofer and how we ofer it to our trainee-participants to help them reach the ive goals. We will mention three such principles that govern our content design and course delivery. At each point below, we will mention how the principle works regarding the entire scope of content and within individual courses. 5.1. Go Deeper in Fewer Areas In our overall scope of content, we focus our training on understanding and communicating Scripture. This distinguishes us from training organizations that seek to be comprehensive in their scope of leadership training but which, as such, can merely touch on training in interpreting and communicating Scripture. Our irst principle of education is to go deeper in fewer areas. In our individual courses that are focused on interpreting and communicating passages within a certain genre (Courses 3–8, see §6 below), we choose one representative book and do not attempt to cover every passage within it. We select a few passages within that book, in order to focus in depth on the skills of understanding and communicating that type of biblical material. (Discerning a book’s whole organization and message is inherent in responsibly understanding a passage within it and is therefore incorporated into the exploration.) Selection of fewer items enables a deeper grasp and development of the skills and knowledge necessary to the task. This approach protects trainers (and thereby the trainees) from a few common temptations. When there is too much material, trainers—especially less experienced ones—are tempted to rush to “get through” everything. They typically default to lecture and thus mainly pass along abstract content and neglect to give concrete practice in skills. Lecture, content transfer, and abstract ideas are all helpful aspects of learning, but they are not conducive to deep learning on their own.34 A further danger arises from such temptations to cover too much material in insuicient depth and manner. A teacher’s approach presents a “hidden curriculum”, which P. Shaw explains as “the 34 S. E. Jones, “Relections on the Lecture: Outmoded Medium or Instrument of Inspiration?” Journal of Further and Higher Education 31, no. 4 (2007): 397–406. Cf. D. Bligh, What’s the Use of Lectures? (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000); P. Race, The Lecturer’s Tool Kit: A Practical Guide to Learning, Teaching & Assessment, 2nd ed. (Abingdon: Routledge Falmer, 2001). Even though we do not use PowerPoint on the ield, insights from education literature on the limits of PowerPoint in helping students acquire skills are transferrable regarding the sole use of lecture in our contexts: see J. E. Susskind, “Limits of PowerPoint’s Power: Enhancing Students’ Self-Eicacy and Attitudes but Not Their Behavior,” Computers & Education 50, no. 4 (2008): 1228–39. 21 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY potent sociological and psychological dimensions of education, which are usually caught rather than intentionally taught.”35 Educational sociologists have documented that “the hidden curriculum generally overrides the explicit curriculum.”36 In fact, “sadly, this hidden curriculum oten trains our students in the exact opposite way to that which we teach in our explicit curriculum and claim in our purpose statements.”37 Indeed, the abstract, content-driven, lecture-only approach outlined above undercuts our explicitly skill-oriented goals (goals 2, 4, and 5; see §2.2 above). But the temptation toward such an unhelpful approach is reduced and held in check, if not completely avoided, if we adopt the explicit educational principle of going deeper in fewer areas. 5.2. Focus on Skills While Being Rich in Content Foreshadowed in our previous educational principle, and regarding our overall curricular focus, our goal is not knowledge per se; it is the use of knowledge and skills in an activity: e.g., preaching, teaching Scripture. Therefore, acquisition of skills must be our explicit focus. That said, if there is no good, right, and rich content, the use of said skills is dangerous. Our vision for the indigenous pastors/leaders (§2.1) is for them to catch ish on their own, so to speak—i.e., to understand and communicate Scripture without additional resources (including ourselves)—and for other “generations” of indigenous pastors/leaders to catch ish on their own as those whom we train pass the skills on (as in 2 Tim. 2:2). Our explicit focus is therefore on the skills involved in hermeneutics, exegesis, and communication. At the same time, we embrace the fact that this process necessarily and gloriously involves rich content beyond the mechanics of exegesis and teaching. In individual courses, there is a rhythmic focus on how to understand and how to communicate Scripture with others. They are skill-focused. Our educational principle above (§5.1), focusing in depth on a few passages, enhances the possibility of skill acquisition, for it creates time and space for concrete experimentation, practice, and the experience of success in the practice of the skill— all of which are essential to deeply acquiring a skill.38 That said, the passages that are selected are 35 P. Shaw, Transforming Theological Education: A Practical Handbook for Integrative Learning (Cumbria: Langham Global Library, 2014), 79; see 81–88. 36 Ibid., 81. 37 Ibid. 38 Susskind, “Limits of PowerPoint’s Power,” 1228–39. See also the work on practice and the experience of success in the acquisition of skills in G. C. Wolniak, M. J. Mayhew, and M. E. Engberg, “Learning’s Weak Link to Persistence,” The Journal of Higher Education 83, no. 6 (2012): 795–823; J. Perrin, “Features of Engaging and Empowering Experiential Learning Programs for College Students,” Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice 11, no. 2 (2014): article 2; W. J. McKeachie, “Good Teaching Makes a Diference – and We Know What It Is,” in The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: An Evidence-Based Perspective, ed. R. P. Perry and J. C. Smart (Dordrecht: Springer, 2007), 457–74, 471. 22 4 . 1 / 2 018 carefully chosen for their theological potency so that the discussion and practice of skills always involves a furtherance of speciic and fundamental theological content. 5.3. Engage the Text (with Orientation), then Theology In our overall focus, we want to communicate through our explicit curriculum (i.e., what we say we are doing) and through our actual implementation (i.e., our implicit or hidden curriculum) that exegesis is proper, not eisegesis. Thus, our curriculum must encourage the trainees to engage the text of Scripture quickly and directly, moving to theological synthesis and application in light of the text, not the other way around. So, we delay full theological synthesis39 (e.g. Biblical Theology proper, Systematic Theology proper, Practical Theology proper) until ater we engage the text. In individual courses, this educational principle is matched. Relection on theological themes within a biblical book comes ater work on the texts themselves. We engage the text irst before undertaking a full theological synthesis and application. A caveat is needed. Theology and exegesis are related somewhat cyclically. Each sharpens and informs and conirms the other. Thus, some basic theological orientation to the text is helpful. This is especially helpful in our contexts since many of our trainees tend toward two problems: some have little creedal and biblical literacy; others possess Bible knowledge but in disconnected fragments with no sense of Scripture’s overarching coherence or God-centeredness. This means that while we delay any sense of full theological synthesis until ater exegesis, some theological orientation is helpful initially (as long as it is still textually-based): namely, orienting ideas about God, about Scripture, about ourselves as stewards of his Word, and about the Bible’s basic storyline as it reveals God’s plan of reconciliation in Christ from Genesis to Revelation. Even within these orienting precursors to exegetical training, our educational principle of engage the text, then theology is stated (explicitly) and demonstrated (implicitly) at all times. 6. The Content of Our Curriculum: Scope and Sequence We have explored our curriculum’s end vision and educational goals (§2 above), the diversity of our curricular participants including trainers and trainees (§3 above), key aspects of the contexts in which our curriculum functions (§4 above), and our foundational educational principles that undergird what we do and how we do it in our overall focus and in particular courses. We may now deine the scope of content and skills that arise from these explorations, including their most helpful sequence. The entire scope and sequence of courses, including their content and skills, will meet our educational goals and help our trainees to reach the end-vision. 39 The word “full” is important. 23 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 6.1. The Scope of Skills and Knowledge Because of our vision and educational goals, each course targets the development of certain (1) exegetical skills, (2) theological knowledge, and (3) communicative skills. The desired cumulative efect of our entire 9-course curriculum of non-formal training is that the trainees acquire foundational skills and knowledge to understand and communicate Scripture. No one course gives all needed skills or knowledge; they strategically work together to build exegetical and communicative skills and ill in essential theology. Our trainees are thereby “equipped to preach or teach any part of God’s word accurately and relevantly” and to “equip others to do likewise,” fulilling our vision as presented in §2.1. 6.2. The Scope and Sequence of Content The chart below displays our 9-course curricular content in sequence: Foundational Orientation Course 1 – Knowing God, Scripture, and Ourselves Course 2 – Knowing the Bible’s Story Understanding & Communicating (U&C) Scripture Course 3 – Genesis–Exodus: Understanding and Communicating Narrative and Law Course 4 – Mark: Gospels Course 5 – Psalms: Poetry Course 6 – Ephesians: Letters Course 7 – Isaiah: Prophecy Course 8 – Revelation: Apocalypse Applications Course 9 – Doing the Ministry of the Word Courses 1–2 provide foundation and orientation. They ofer our trainees an initial experience of theological study that orients them toward expositional study and communication of Scripture in a manner that is relational, life-situational, and narratival (redemptive-historical). This is particularly helpful since they are adults and (mostly) oral-preference learners (see §4 above). Course 1 orients them relationally to God in his character and nature, to Scripture as God’s uniied Word inspired through diverse human authors, styles, and situations, and to their own role as humble stewards of the authority of God’s Word. Course 2 focuses on the unifying low of Scripture and how each part uniquely contributes to reveal God’s plan of reconciliation in Christ. Such an initiation to theological studies helps participants stay oriented as they then turn to focus on how to understand and communicate Scripture’s diverse parts in Courses 3–8. 24 4 . 1 / 2 018 Courses 3–8 cover Scripture’s major genres. This scope is necessary, for our vision is for our trainees to be able to preach or teach a basic expository message from any part of the Bible. The sequence of these six courses has numerous beneits. Alternating OT and NT courses keeps the trainees constantly in both testaments. Courses 3 and 4 also treat the foundational texts of each testament before seeing how the other biblical literature (in Courses 5–8) builds on them. Also, in light of how we distribute communicative skills (see §6.3 below), this course sequence means trainees preach/ teach and evaluate entire expository sermons/lessons in both OT and NT. Course 9 focuses on using the orientation, skills, and knowledge from Courses 1–8 in a variety of ways: e.g., preaching, teaching in diverse contexts, discipling others, and passing on this training to other leaders as in 2 Tim. 2:2. Though Course 9 does not walk through 2 Timothy in the manner of the previous genre-speciic courses, it uses 2 Timothy to explore the richness of God’s Word-ministry. 6.3. The Sequence of Communicative Skills Each course targets the development of a certain smaller communicative skill—sometimes called “speaking sub-skills” or “microskills.”40 The accumulation of these microskills enables efective preaching and teaching (educational goal 4) and training of others (educational goal 5). For each of our nine courses, there is a communicative task to be accomplished within the course and two communicative tasks to be assigned for the intervening months. Within Course 1, trainees describe and discuss a theological point from a text they are given about God, Scripture, or their own role. In Course 2, they summarize in their own words the Bible’s overall point, the unique contribution of a major part of the Bible, and the relevance of these insights. In Course 3, they summarize in their own words a passage’s main point, its contribution to the book it is in, and its relevance. In Course 4, they structure a talk and explain why it is faithful to a given text. In Course 5, they use textual evidence to defend the main point of a given passage and critique a wrong idea of it. In Course 6, they articulate applications of a passage’s main point into diverse realms (e.g. personal, marriage, counseling, church, society) and defend why the applications are each legitimate. (This task includes guidance and practice in analyzing their own context.) In each of these tasks, loving and constructive criticism is demonstrated, taught, and practiced. This builds critical engagement into the fabric of the class’s culture from the beginning and will serve their engagement with expositional sermons and lessons in Courses 7–8. 40 What follows has been inspired by but developed diferently than the work of H. D. Brown, Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, 2nd ed. (Hoboken, NJ: Pearson ESL, 2000), chapter 17: “Teaching Speaking.” For a similar general approach and examples of practical ways to develop speaking sub-skills, see the booklet: K. Lackman, “Teaching Speaking Sub-skills: Activities for Improving Speaking,” accessed December 22, 2017, http://www.kenlackman.com/iles/speakingsubskillshandout13poland_2_.pdf. 25 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY At the end of Course 6, trainees are each assigned a passage from Isaiah from which to construct a sermon or lesson that they will deliver in Course 7. They must provide a detailed plan for their sermon that is fuller than their subsequent iteen-minute sermonette will be. Trainee plans will be distributed to each trainee in Course 7 so they can see “what is behind” the sermonette. In Course 7, then, they each deliver a whole expository sermon or Bible study lesson (from Isaiah) and constructively critique each other’s. The process is repeated in preparation for and then during Course 8, this time from Revelation. In Course 9, trainees guide a discussion of a text’s main point and applications within diverse forms of Word-ministry (e.g., small group Bible study, discipleship conversation, counseling). This is the inal communicative microskill. It trains them beyond preaching/teaching (lecturing), equipping them to reduplicate and thereby multiply their training with other faithful people. At the end of each course, each trainee speciies a person (by name) whom they will guide through the course they just inished. In the intervening months before the next course, they must follow through with the resources provided (see §7 below). TLI’s national partners—the indigenous leaders of each cohort on the ground—help strategize and oversee a culturally-appropriate accountability system. This 9-course scope and sequence is the curriculum. It includes biblical and theological content and exegetical and communicative skills. It is the racecourse sensitively plotted out for our diverse trainees to run in their diverse contexts. By God’s grace, through this curriculum our diverse trainers will help our trainees meet all ive educational goals and embody TLI’s global vision. Before exploring the evaluation of this curriculum and an action plan for producing and implementing it, one necessity remains: resources that are educationally and culturally sensitive. 7. Resources in our Curriculum: For Trainers and For Trainees In light of all that has preceded, we are now in a position to specify efective curricular resources to equip our participants. Some of these resources equip our trainers to guide the trainees’ learning. Some of these resources help our trainees to run their race of learning.41 41 The approach of equipping the curriculum user (trainer) and the curriculum receiver (trainee) is oten used, though it has pitfalls. The entire approach is critiqued in Schwartz, “For whom do we write the curriculum?”, 2–4 and D. Anderson, “Educational Eldorado: the claim to have produced a practical curriculum text”, Journal of Curriculum Studies 15.1 (1983): 5–16, though in our opinion their critiques should be given weight as helpful stimuli for avoiding pitfalls rather than for abandoning the approach altogether. 26 4 . 1 / 2 018 7.1. Resources for Trainers The resources for our trainers outlined here will enable them to attain the irst half of our vision (§2.1), which is: trainers who, through easy-to-use resources for TLI’s non-formal training environment, are equipped to guide untrained pastors and leaders around the world in face-to-face learning with cultural and educational sensitivity. Our trainers need (1) a curriculum document that includes our clear vision, our overall curricular goals, the individual course goals that clearly align with and contribute to the curricular goals, and speciications of essential content and skills. As well as this macro-level resource, for each course they need (2) a course syllabus, which includes the course description, learning objectives, course logic, lesson schedule, assignment brief, and course-speciic skills and knowledge. Because our trainers have a wide range of experience and abilities in teaching (see §3.2 above), some need more guidance than others in constructing and delivering a successful TLI course. All, however, need clear and non-negotiable boundaries which ensure that the course, however exactly it is delivered, will contribute what it is supposed to deliver within our curriculum. Therefore, within each course we produce (3) “Lesson Essentials.” Beyond the essentials, most of our trainers are best equipped to provide educationally and culturally sensitive face-to-face learning if they have sample lessons that can be used in whole, in part, or merely as a stimulus. Thus, we provide (4) a Guide for Lesson Plans for each course, which includes structure, content, examples of relevant passages of Scripture, ideas for exercises that could be engaging and appropriate, and comments about cultural issues associated with concrete teaching ideas.42 In addition to these four curricular resources, our trainers beneit from the following resources that overlap with but are outside the immediate scope of our curriculum developers: (5) travel and culture documents, both general and location-speciic; (6) video training, including introductions to educational and cultural elements noted above (§4 and §5); (6) ongoing consultation with their team leaders, their location’s site directors, and external specialists (e.g., on orality); and (7) certiication for our team leaders in each course and in key elements that cut across the curriculum. 42 E. W. Eisner believes that “good curriculum materials both emancipate and educate teachers” (“Creative curriculum development and practice”, Journal of Curriculum and Supervision 6.1 (1990): 62–73), though A. Shkedi demonstrates how the teachers themselves rarely consider successful a single curriculum document that contains attempts to both educate and emancipate them (“Can the Curriculum Guide Both Emancipate and Educate Teachers?”, Curriculum Inquiry 28 (1998): 209–29). We use diferent documents within a whole packet so as to keep separate these diverse goals of our curricular material. 27 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 7.2. Resources for Trainees As previously discussed, the majority of our trainees are oral-preference learners to some extent (see §3.2 above). Therefore, the primary resource that will best help our trainees in their initial experience of theological education is this: (1) trainers who are well-equipped to guide educationally and culturally sensitive face-to-face learning environments (see §7.1 above).43 Additional resources are also helpful. The trainees will beneit from (2) a translated syllabus for each course. This will help them know where the course is moving, why, and what is expected of them. They will also beneit from (3) a basic coursebook for each course (translated), perhaps 20 pages in length and including understandable and memorable words and phrases, associated images or icons, white space for notes, and room for extra paper. This is given at the beginning of each week-long course. Each trainee is also expected to train others in the course before the subsequent course. Resources to do this are provided, and these parallel the resources for trainers mentioned above (§7.1). They receive (4) “Lesson Essentials” (translated), which provide the clear snapshots of what each lesson is supposed to do, how, and why. And we provide (5) a Guide for Lesson Plans for each course (translated). They are as described above (§7.1), though modiied with culturally transferable qualities of the coursebooks described above (resource 3). While resources 1, 2, and 3 are provided at the beginning of the week-long course, 4 and 5 are given and explained at its end. These resources for our trainees enable them to attain the second half of our vision (see §2.1 above), which is: formerly untrained pastors and leaders around the world who, through the Bible, humble conidence in God and his Word, and foundational skills and knowledge, are equipped to preach or teach any part of God’s Word accurately and relevantly and to equip others to do likewise. 8. Evaluation of Our Curriculum We must evaluate whether and how well the trainees are reaching our curricular goals. This evaluation belongs during the program of courses, in relation to the concrete learning objectives set for 43 According to Schwartz, “The task of writing curriculum needs a new approach. It should not be written for the student, because students vary from class-to-class. It should not be written in a way that attempts to address every practical situation—because there are just too many of these. The focus of curriculum-writing should be shited away from directing the students, and towards engaging, and even educating, teachers” (“For whom do we write the curriculum?”, 4). In essence, this is the approach we have laid out above. The best resource for the student is the teacher, and thus most of our curricular material is geared toward equipping (even educating) the teacher. That said, this does not mean we cannot provide resources to the students directly. Indeed, because part of our vision for our trainees is for them to then train others, our trainees become trainers and should be equipped as such. 28 4 . 1 / 2 018 each course, and ater the completion of the entire program. Such evaluation must include, at the very least, the following categories: • Evaluation of trainees. The data for evaluation includes self-evaluation by the trainees, evaluation of trainees by the national partner, and evaluation of the trainees by the trainers. Input from national partners is essential for gathering and analyzing data appropriately. • Evaluation of trainers. This is most robust if it includes self-evaluation by the trainers, evaluation of the trainers by the trainees, and peer-evaluation44 (if co-teaching) and/or topdown evaluation (i.e., from the trip leader).45 • Evaluation of individual courses. This includes evaluation by trainers and trainees of the course low and content, deliverability, understandability, and resources for trainers and trainees. • Evaluation of overall curricular scope, sequence, and resources. This includes insights from the curriculum team, trainers (especially team leaders), site directors, national partners, and trainees. Each of these aspects of evaluation must include a method of in-process evaluation and hindsight, relective evaluation. The latter must take place over both short-term and long-term periods. Each aspect of evaluation must also ask these three essential questions: (1) Is the goal being met? (This is a pass/fail question.) (2) How well is the goal being met? (This is a question of grade.) (3) What speciics can be changed to be more efective? 9. Action Plan for Moving Forward in Our Curriculum With all curricular elements targeted, explored, and set, we need an action plan for developing and implementing the curriculum. The chart below is peculiar to our setting. It can, however, be more widely instructive and stimulating. Following the presentation of this chart, we will highlight a few governing principles. 44 Cf. D. Gosling, Peer Observation of Teaching: Implementing a Peer Observation of Teaching Scheme with Five Case Studies (London: Staf and Educational Development Association, 2005); E. Piggot-Irvine, “Appraisal Training Focused on What Really Matters,” International Journal of Educational Management 17, no. 6 (2003): 254–61; J. Byrne, H. Brown, and D. Challen, “Peer Development as an Alternative to Peer Observation: A Tool to Enhance Professional Development,” International Journal for Academic Development 15, no. 3 (2010): 215–28. 45 On the “inspectorial” or “evaluation” model, see P. Race, Making Learning Happen: A Guide for Post-Compulsory Education, 2nd ed. (London: SAGE, 2010), 221. 29 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Date Developing Oct 2017 Plan, Design, Strategize Courses Nov 2017 Plan Course 1, write Course 1, edit Course 1 Dec 2017 Jan 2018 Feb 2018 Mar 2018 Plan, write, edit Course 2 Implementing (Developing a course includes producing for trainers Syllabus, Lesson Essentials, and Guide for Lesson Plans, and for trainees both of those translated along with the basic coursebook translated.) Apr 2018 May 2018 Pilot Course 1 on ield and edit; relect on 1–2; plan 3–8 June 2018 July 2018 Course 1: translate, distribute to trainers Plan, write, edit Course 3 Aug 2018 Sept 2018 Pilot Course 2 on ield and edit; relect on 3 and plan 4–8 Oct 2018 Nov 2018 Course 1: launch (Sept. 2018) Cohort 1 begins training others Course 2: translate, distribute to trainers Plan, write, edit Course 4 Dec 2018 Jan 2019 Pilot Course 3 on ield and edit; relect on 4 and plan 5–8 Feb 2019 Mar 2019 Course 2: launch (Jan. 2019) Cohort 1 begins training others Course 3: translate, distribute to trainers Plan, write, edit Course 5 Apr 2019 May 2019 Pilot Course 4 on ield and edit; relect on 5 and plan 6–8 June 2019 July 2019 Aug 2019 30 Course 3: launch (May 2019) Cohort 1 begins training others Course 4: translate, distribute to trainers Plan, write, edit Course 6 4 . 1 / 2 018 Date Developing Inplementing Sept 2019 Pilot Course 5 on ield and edit; relect on 6 and plan 7–8 Course 4: launch (Sept. 2019) Cohort 1 begins training others Oct 2019 Nov 2019 Course 5: translate, distribute to trainers Plan, write, edit Course 7 Dec 2019 Jan 2020 Pilot Course 6 on ield and edit; relect on 7 and plan 8 Feb 2020 Mar 2020 Course 5: launch (Jan. 2020) Cohort 1 begins training others Course 6: translate, distribute to trainers Plan, write, edit Course 8 Apr 2020 May 2020 Pilot Course 7 on ield and edit; relect on 1–8 and plan 9 June 2020 July 2020 Course 6: launch (May 2020) Cohort 1 begins training others Course 7: translate, distribute to trainers Plan, write, edit Course 9 Aug 2020 Sept 2020 Pilot Course 8 on ield and edit Oct 2020 Course 7: launch (Sept. 2020) Cohort 1 begins training others Course 8: translate, distribute to trainers Nov 2020 Dec 2020 Jan 2021 Feb 2021 Pilot Course 9 on ield and edit Course 8: launch (Jan. 2021) Cohort 1 begins training others Course 9: translate, distribute to trainers Mar 2021 Apr 2021 May 2021 Course 9: launch (May 2021) Cohort 1 begins training others 31 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY A few governing principles must be highlighted. First, we do not want to create a situation where a course must be developed and immediately set in use. Thus, we develop three courses before Course 1 is launched. Second, three months is a realistic timeframe for designing and developing a single course in light of our curriculum staf. This must be taken into consideration. Third, we do not want to launch a course without setting aside time for relection, ield experimentation and discussion with trainers, and editing in light of ield use. Then we will be ready to launch a course. 10. Conclusion The development of our curriculum for non-formal theological training began with TLI’s double-edged vision “to establish and strengthen local churches and their leaders around the world.” We set our own vision for trainees and trainers within this. In light of our vision, we established associated concrete and measurable educational goals toward which we strive, and guide our trainees to strive (§2). Ater clarifying our vision and educational goals, we sharpened and speciied the diverse nature and needs of the participants in our curriculum, both the trainees and trainers (§3). The qualities characteristic of each set of participants proved crucial for our development of what we ofer, how we ofer it, and how we provide meaningful resources. Our planning was sharpened still further by attending to various educational and cultural issues inherent in our trainees’ contexts (§4). Practical suggestions and strategies for curriculum design and delivery began to surface, as did a call for us to more deeply engage the educational and cultural issues (§4). We then made explicit three major educational principles that underpin the curriculum’s content and method (§5). This enables our hidden curriculum to be intentionally aligned with and supportive of our explicit curriculum. In light of all these considerations, we outlined the scope and sequence of our 9-course curriculum. This included the courses’ associated exegetical skills, theological content, and communicative skills (§6). We then highlighted efective resources for our trainers and trainees (§7), resources directly connected to the scope and sequence (§6), but lavored by the educational and cultural explorations of §§3–5 and pointed directly at our double-edged vision (§2). As we evaluate our design and delivery and the trainees’ and trainers’ growth (§8), and as we work out our concrete and manageable action plan for developing and implementing our course material (§9), the likelihood of attaining our vision increases. By God’s grace and power, we have the joy of helping the indigenous pastors and other Christian leaders around the world reach the ive educational goals and thereby be more equipped in the ministry of God’s Word. And they, along with the trainers, will realize the double-edged vision for strengthening the global church. 32 4 . 1 / 2 018 The Need for Russian Commentaries, Exegetical and Practical Volodymyr Lavrushko Volodymyr Lavrushko is a graduate of Zaporozhye Bible College and Seminary (BTh) and Tyndale Theological Seminary (MET). He also serves at a Baptist church. ABSTRACT Russian-speaking believers need an evangelical commentary series that treats the text of the Scripture exegetically and practically. Russian-speakers, both scholars and general readers of commentaries, feel this need. Surveys of available bibliographies reveal most Russian-language commentaries to be outdated, non-evangelical, or inadequately exegetical. Native scholars should be developed and encouraged to write commentaries on each book of the Bible. 1. Introduction No evangelical Bible commentaries were available in the Russian language prior to and during the Soviet era; rather, periodical publications attempted to somehow meet the need for biblical literature.1 Since the fall, the situation has changed for the better; however, as argued here, there is a room for improvement. The goal of writing a biblical commentary is to make the Scripture clear and vivid to contemporary readers by overcoming barriers to accurate understanding of God’s Word and, thereby, to contribute to a vital, deepening knowledge of God. This article argues for the necessity of writing exegetical commentaries, with a practical emphasis, for Russian-speaking evangelicals. Argumentation for such an approach in the Ukrainian/Russian-speaking world will be presented from three diferent perspectives: (1) the need as felt by scholars, (2) the need as felt by readers, and (3) the need as evident in surveys of existing commentaries on the Bible. 1 S. I. Golovashenko, Istoriya Evangelsko-baptistkogo dvijeniya v Ukraine (Odessa: Bogomislie, 1998), 82, 275–277; For more information about evangelical Christians see: Andrey P. Puzynin, The Tradition of the Gospel Christians: A Study of Their Identity and Theology During the Russian, Soviet, and Post-Soviet Periods (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011). The possible exceptions are the study notes published by "Svet Vostoku," for example P. Nikolay, Posobie pri izuchenii poslaniya Apostola Pavla k Philipijtsam, 2 izdanie (Wernigerode a. H.: "Svet Vostoku," 1922). 33 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 2. The Need for Commentaries, as Felt by Scholars According to Russian-speaking scholars, there is a pointed, immediate need for more biblical commentaries for the Russian-speaking Church at large. Aleksandr Gurtaev, a New Testament professor in Samara (Russia), presently working on an exegetical commentary on 2 John, believes that both exegetical and expositional commentaries are needed in the Russian-speaking context:2 “The former is needed in order to put the right foundation for following theological development, the latter is to satisfy spiritual hunger of most evangelical believers.”3 Vladimir Lebedev, a Baptist pastor who has written commentaries on James and 2 Corinthians for the Slavic Biblical Commentary: Contemporary Evangelical Perspective (2016), agrees that “more than one type of commentary is needed.”4 He describes the desired commentaries as “sensitive to our evangelical culture which is largely not critical (plus some other features to be determined by sociological studies which in their turn are yet to be done, because I don’t know of any).”5 Lebedev also mentions the essential characteristics of these commentaries. They “should be based on … careful exegetical work, profound in theological thought and practical application, but easy to read.”6 Concerning the exegetical type of commentary, Lebedev says: We do need exegetical and theological commentaries although there are few readers for those now; but we need them to help our evangelical ministry culture mature in the future; this should help us in many cases to be more true to the biblical text vs. holding fast to certain doubtful but widespread traditional readings of the Synodal Bible.7 It is true the Synodal translation might be improved in several places. For example, there are a number of “mistranslations” in the Russian Synodal Bible, one of which is found in James 3:18. The English Standard Version reads: “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (emphasis mine). The problem in the translation of the Russian Synodal Bible is that in Russian one word means both “peace” and “world.” It is quite common for Russian-speaking Christians to understand this verse as, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in the world by those who make peace.” 34 2 Aleksandr Gurtaev, e-mail message to author, July 11, 2016. 3 Ibid. 4 Vladimir Lebedev, e-mail message to author, July 16, 2016. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid.; the Synodal Bible is probably the most-used Russian translation. 4 . 1 / 2 018 Kenneth Sears, a missionary teacher at Zaporozhye Bible Seminary, identiies other instances where the Russian translation might be misleading: The verse that says “Do not grieve the Spirit, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Most of our Baptist church members think this “day of redemption” is the day they repented, because the Russian can be understood as “in the day of redemption.” And since “you were sealed” is in the past tense, they just go with the low and take the whole verse as pointing to past events. And here’s another example: Russian-speaking believers oten ask why John the Baptist said he wasn’t a prophet, when Jesus said he was a prophet. Of course, the answer is, John said he wasn’t the prophet, meaning the anticipated, ultimate Messianic prophet-igure. But there’s no deinite article in Russian to make that distinction clear. Yet another example: the Russian word “pravda” is pretty generally used today to mean “truth.” It comes from the same root as Russian “pravednost,” which means “righteousness.” … Unfortunately, when the biblical texts are talking about righteousness, the Synodal version uses “pravda.” … Thus, where the apostle John wrote that “all unrighteousness is sin,” your average Ukrainian Baptist church member thinks John is saying that “all untruth is sin.”8 Despite such diiculties, the most popular Russian Bible, the Synodal Version, is still recognized as a good, reliable translation. Probably the most serious challenge for this translation is its date; it was translated in 1876, prior to signiicant discoveries of manuscripts and developments in textual criticism. A better understanding of the Bible might be achieved by an overall revision of the translation, supplemented by good commentaries that provide readers with an in-depth, clear exposition of diicult passages. Mykola Leliovskyi, a teacher at Irpin Biblical Seminary (Kiev, Ukraine) who is preparing an expositional commentary on the Book of Proverbs, states that “biblical commentaries that are most needed in the Russian language are those that deal with exegesis and the original languages.”9 He agrees with Lebedev that more technical, “critical commentaries will, perhaps, have a very limited readership.”10 He also points out that “the need for pastors and preachers is to return to reading, studying and preaching the text. Although, devotional and expository commentaries are also helpful and serve their purpose, a blend between exegetical and expository commentary is vitally needed for the advancement of sound biblical teaching and preaching.”11 In particular, concerning exegetical commentaries in a Russian-speaking context, Leliovskyi notes: 8 Kenneth Sears, e-mail message to author, November 18, 2016; and e-mail to author, December 2, 2016 (emphases original). 9 Mykola Leliovskyi, e-mail message to author, July 12, 2016. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. 35 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY A solid, Evangelical, well-executed commentary, (preferably by a native speaker), of the exegetical variety is a great need for the Russian-speaking church. Although the reading audience would be signiicantly more narrow than, let’s say, a volume from the Bible Speaks Today series, if the technical discussion is executed and presented in an approachable way for those both familiar and unfamiliar with original languages, it will certainly edify many. In my estimation, commentaries like those from Pillar New Testament Commentary series, or Zondervan Exegetical series, or Baker Commentary on the Old Testament would be most appropriate at the present time.12 Leonid Mikhovich, rector of Minsk Theological Seminary in Belarus and author of a practical commentary on the Sermon on the Mount,13 sees a need for materials for small group Bible studies. He states that, while there are many commentaries in Russian, there is always room for “fresh interpretation.” He also stresses the necessity of “the combination of the analysis and the application (for instance, Application Commentary).”14 In summary, Christian teachers, educators, and authors from various parts of the Russian-speaking world (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus) recognize the need for good, accurate commentaries, especially with regard to exegesis. 3. The Need for Commentaries, as Felt by Readers Our reasons for, and methodology of, writing commentaries ought not to be based purely on people’s opinions. All the same, it is important to hear people to gauge their need and respond appropriately. The following is a presentation of research conducted by myself via irst-person surveys. These surveys were published at various places on the internet and also distributed via emails. Various visitors to those web pages had an opportunity to participate in the surveys. The goal of this part is not to forecast how many people would buy the hypothetical commentaries once published, and certainly not to argue for the proitability of such a publishing venture. Rather, the aim here is to provide some indication of the degree to which Russian readers or students of Scripture feel the need for biblical commentaries. These surveys allow us to see the need of writing commentaries from a diferent angle, from the perspective of a reader. The irst survey was initiated in July 2015.15 Its thrust was to give people the opportunity to express their personal opinions and ofer advice on the production of biblical commentaries. 36 12 Ibid. 13 Leonid Mikhovich, Nagornaya propoved: aktualnye voprosy sovremennosti i christianskaya pravednost (Bibliya dlya vseh, 2006). 14 Leonid Mikhovich, e-mail message to author, July 19, 2016. 15 The survey was published here: http://alex-pro-1.livejournal.com/2015/07/14/, accessed February 11, 2017. 4 . 1 / 2 018 Between July 2015 and August 2016, 110 people participated in the survey. The survey was composed and conducted in Russian. The majority of the participants (90.7%) were men. Only 3.7% of the responders preferred commentaries for preachers; 7.5% preferred “practical” commentaries. The greatest preferences, however, were expressed for exegetical commentaries (43%) and commentaries that combined exegesis, exposition, and application (45.8%). Most of the responders would prefer a multi-volume commentary (62.6%), while the next largest preference was for “a few volumes” for each part of the Bible (22.4%); ater that the choices were for a two-volume (8.4%), and a one-volume commentary (6.5%). The majority favored a commentary written by “local authors” (64.8%); while the rest preferred translated commentaries (35.2%). Almost all the participants agreed on the need for more commentaries (98.1%). The participants ofered valuable and illuminating advice on the whole question of commentary production and its associated problems. Many pointed out the scarcity of exegetical commentaries, in particular, in Russian — as one participant replied: “My need is precisely for the exegetical ones. They are more diicult—‘boring’—but they are few in Russian.”16 Others were concerned about commentaries being written from a subjective point of view. “The authors of some commentaries point out only their own view on certain texts of the Scripture and don’t give the reasons why they came to that conclusion,”17 said one of the participants. Another respondent suggested the following solution: “Not avoiding or skipping over problematic questions [but] dealing with them using the model of exegetical digests.”18 Another reader summarized the deiciencies of some commentators, noting that they “skirt the diicult passages, they don’t interpret but retell the text, [and] there is no practical application.”19 One responder underlined the problem of adequately reaching the audience: [There is] a failure to understand the audience. Some commentaries are written by theologians to theologians. However, this audience is too narrow. Others [are written] for simple believers. However, they are not so interested in commentaries, but read simple books. Commentaries are mostly needed for the preachers in the churches, many of whom have no theological education. They need help not only with understanding of the text, but with the structure, which could be a basis for expository preaching.20 The irst survey shows that there is lack of and demand for good biblical commentaries, especially exegetical ones. 16 Anonymous response to the question: What is the biggest problem of contemporary commentaries? My translation. 17 Anonymous response to the question: What is the biggest problem of contemporary commentaries? My translation. 18 Anonymous response to the question: What would you advise to the authors of commentaries? My translation. 19 Anonymous response to the question: What is the biggest problem of contemporary commentaries? My translation. 20 Anonymous response to the question: What is the biggest problem of contemporary commentaries? My translation. 37 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY The second survey sought more data on the participants and provided a stronger statistical analysis. The survey was conducted from March 2016 until October 2016. Eighty-nine people participated in the survey (75% were men, 25% women). Diferent age groups were represented in the survey. The largest class of people included those between 26–40 years old (46.6%); the next largest category was of those 41–60 years old (43.2%). People ages 15–25 (6.8%) and 61 and older (3.4%) were in the minority. The participants represented varied life situations: 5.7% of them were students; 18.4%, workers (at any organization); 19.5%, leaders (at any organization); 6.9%, homeworkers; 42.5%, teachers; 2.3%, retired; and others, 4.6%. The participants in this survey were involved in diferent Christian ministries. Among them, 19.5% were pastors; 5.7%, deacons; 27.6%, preachers; 2.3%, choir directors; 16.1% leaders of a ministry (children’s, youth, etc.); 14.9%, lay people; and 13.8%, other vocations. The usage of commentaries in their reading or Bible study is also varied. More than a third of the people who participated in the survey (38.8%) were using commentaries at least once a week. Others were using them a few times per month (30.6%). Some were using commentaries only once every few months (10.6%), and others (17.6%) used a commentary only whenever an extreme need arose. Some of the participants (2.4%) did not use commentaries at all. There were varied responses to the questions regarding a need for commentaries and the type of commentary needed. In answer to the question, “Do we need more commentaries?” 89.4% responded yes; the rest (10.6%) responded no. To the question “What kind of commentary does the Russian-speaking reader need?” a signiicant number (34.9%) thought an exegetical type (explaining the text of the original language) was the most needed; 10.5% chose “practical” (applying the Bible to the believer’s everyday life). Only 2.3% selected commentaries needed for preachers, to help them in sermon preparation. However, most of the responders (52.3%) preferred the kind of commentary that combines all these types in one volume. Only 12.9% of the participants preferred a one-volume commentary on the whole Bible. Even fewer (7.1%) favored a two-volume commentary (one volume for each Testament). Roughly a quarter of those surveyed (27.1%) indicated that they would like a few volumes for each part of the Bible (the Law, the Prophets, the Writings, Gospels, etc.). Finally, most of the responses (52.9%) favored a multi-volume commentary (one volume for each biblical book). In answer to the question “What is the biggest problem in modern commentaries?” there were the following replies: “Too much unnecessary information” was the answer of 9.3% of the participants; 20.9% felt that commentaries were too expensive; 18.6% saw a problem in the absence of practical application. A high percentage (30.2%) considered commentaries to be too shallow; 8.1% expressed concern about commentaries being written from a liberal standpoint; 12.8% chose the “other” option. 38 4 . 1 / 2 018 Most of the participants (34.5%) preferred commentaries written by local authors; 20.2% preferred a commentary translated from English. Some (26.2%) did not know which option to choose. Nineteen percent chose the option “other.” The two surveys indicated very similar preferences. According to both, the highest preference is for the kind of commentary that combines the various types of commentary (exegetical, practical, and those designed for preachers) into one volume. And the next highest preference, according to both surveys, is for an exegetical commentary. Most of the participants prefer multi-volume commentary — a volume for each book of the Bible — and that the commentaries be the work of local authors, i.e., written in Russian by Russian speakers. 4. The Need as Evident in Surveys of Existing Commentary In the following section the existing bibliography of Bible commentaries in the Russian-speaking context is examined. What kinds of commentaries are available in Russian? How many of them are originally produced in Russian and how many are translations from other languages? Special attention will be given to exegetical commentaries in this section. Many of the conclusions in this article are relevant to commentaries on both the Old and New Testaments; we will concentrate here, however, primarily on New Testament commentaries. 4.1. Types of Commentaries (Classification) First, this examination requires that we classify commentaries by their various types. D. A. Carson rightly notes that “since diferent tasks oten require diferent tools, useful commentaries are of more than one kind.”21 Carson states that commentaries can (1) help “to understand meaning accurately” (emphasis original); (2) give the historical background; (3) provide guidance in applying the Bible to life in a way faithful to the text.22 Carson asserts, “[A] few commentaries perform all of these functions, but they are rare and usually dated.”23 John Glynn, the author of a reference survey on commentaries, offers the following categorization:24 21 D. A. Carson, New Testament Commentary Survey, 6th ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), 15. 22 Ibid., 15–17. 23 Ibid., 17. 24 The table is based on information found in John Glynn, Commentary and Reference Survey: A Comprehensive Guide to Biblical and Theological Resources, 10th ed. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2007), 16–17, 39, 42, 174. 39 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Types of Commentaries Type Explanation Technical Level Technical “…or exegetical, commentaries concentrate principally on the interpretation of the original languages in the main text” (author’s emphasis) Semi-technical The main text of these commentaries is mostly expositional, and usually all the technical issues are discussed in the footnotes. Exposition “commentaries that are geared towards application” Theological Viewpoint Evangelical All autographs are inerrant and without mistakes Evangelical/Critical “Bible could be in error concerning some minor historical facts” Conservative/Moderate “A moderate view would airm that the inerrancy of Scripture is restricted to its theological content rather than its historical or scientiic statements” Liberal/Critical Denial of the inerrancy of the Bible There is a great variety in English-language commentaries. They are produced for various audiences according to varied aims. In English, the interpreter of the biblical text can choose from a range of introductions and guides to the books of the Bible, as well as commentaries geared towards the diverse areas of biblical studies (culture, sociology, history, literature, rhetoric, etc.).25 The key elements of New Testament interpretation are substantially treated by one or another work within the spectrum of commentaries and specialized literature. Of the types of commentaries presented above, all are available in English. The same is true, for instance, in German. In Russian, however, there is no comparable supply, nor variety, of commentaries. In fact, the scarcity represents a great need especially in the area of exegetical commentaries (critical or technical/semi-technical 25 The enormous number of resources written in English is evident from such books as John F. Evans, A Guide to Biblical Commentaries and Reference Works, 10th ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016) or John Glynn, Commentary and Reference Survey. 40 4 . 1 / 2 018 commentaries). The following provides an overview of the exegetical and “special studies” literature available in Russian.26 4.2. Exegetical Commentaries Translated into Russian In the Russian language there are commentaries both translated from English and written by “local” writers. The following is a review of several exegetical studies written in English that have been translated into Russian. 4.2.1. C. E. B. Cranfield, Evangelie ot Marka. Kommentarij k grecheskomu tekstu27 This is not a translation of Cranield’s book but an abridgement. The person adapting Cranield’s text worked under these guidelines: (1) The Russian version was to be a succinct retelling of the commentary for the student-level reader (State School diploma, or theology students). (2) Commentary on linguistic matters was to be adjusted for Russian speakers. (3) Because the book was published by the Russian Orthodox Church, Orthodox views on some issues were to be supplied. (4) Additional historical and linguistic notes were included. (5) Contrasting positions to Cranield’s views on some issues were incorporated.28 4.2.2. I. Howard Marshall, Evangelie ot Luki. Kommentarij k grecheskomu tekstu29 This commentary was produced by the same Orthodox publisher that published the Cranield text and followed the same guidelines.30 26 There are a number of commentaries translated or written by local authors; however, not many of them are exegetical. For a more comprehensive survey of Russian theological literature, see “Biblejskie Kommentarii,” accessed November 28, 2016, https://rusbiblecommentary.wordpress.com/. Some other important books have been translated into Russian. On cultural, social and historical background, the IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (1993) by Craig S. Keener, has been translated (Craig S. Keener (red.), Biblejslij kulturno-istoricheskij kommentaij. Chast 2. Novij Zavet. SPb.: «Mirt», 2005). Beale and Carson’s special study on the use of the OT in the NT, D. A. Carson and G. K. Beale, eds. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007) has also been translated. (In Russian, this book was published in four volumes: G. K. Beale i D. A. Carson, red., Vethij Zavet na stranitsah Novogo. Cherkassi: «Kollokvium»: Tom I: Ev. ot Matfeya. Ev. ot Marka, 2010; Tom II: Ev. ot Luki. Ev. ot Ioanna, 2011; Tom III: Deyaniya sv. apostolov. Obshie poslaniya. Otkrovenie, 2013; Tom IV: Poslaniya apostola Pavla, 2015). 27 C. E. B. Cranield, Evangelie ot Marka. Kommentarij k grecheskomu tekstu (Moskwa: Centr biblejsko-patrologicheskih issledovanij Otdela po delam molodeji Russoj Pravoslavnoj Cerkvi, 2004). In English see: C. E. B. Cranield, The Gospel according to St. Mark (Cambridge: University Press, 1971). 28 Cranield, Evangelie ot Marka, 4. 29 I. Howard Marshall, Evangelie ot Luki. Kommentarij k grecheskomu tekstu (Moskwa: Centr biblejsko-patrologicheskih issledovanij Otdela po delam molodeji Russoj Pravoslavnoj Cerkvi, 2004). In English, see Ι. H. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978). 30 Marshall, Evangelie ot Luki, 4. 41 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 4.2.3. Other Translations In addition to these Orthodox publications, there were other straightforward translations. The Critical and Exegetical Commentaries by Gareth L. Reese on Acts and Romans have been translated into Russian.31 A very brief commentary on select verses by Cleon L. Rogers Jr. & Cleon L. Rogers III, The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998) is also published in Russian.32 Other exegetical types of literature, which have been translated into Russian, are presented in Appendix A. There are a number of commentaries translated from English into Russian. However, the level of exegesis among these works is varied, and these commentaries do not provide exegetical treatment for each book of the New Testament. 4.3. Exegetical Commentaries Written by Russian-speaking Scholars In addition to translated commentaries, there are some commentaries written by Russian-speaking scholars. Here is a brief overview of those that are available: Georgij Jaroshevskij, “Sobornoe poslanie Sv. Apostola Iakova: opit isagogiko-exegeticheskogo issledovaniya” (Kiev, 1901).33 Georgij Jaroshevskij was an Orthodox scholar of the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. His master’s thesis was dedicated to the isagogical and exegetical study of the Epistle of James. In his research, Jaroshevskij wrestled with the textual variants in the Greek codices and other translations and engaged with the range of scholarly opinion on the biblical passages. He incorporated insights from the Church Fathers as well as the ield of philology.34 There are also other exegetical commentaries dating back a hundred years or more, written by Orthodox scholars (cf. Appendix B). More recently, Irina Levinskaya, scholar at Saint-Petersburg Institute of History (SPbIH)35 has published a two-volume historical-theological commentary on the book of Acts.36 Also in 2005, 31 See in Russian: Gareth L. Reese, Deyaniya Apostolov. Kriticheskij i ekzegeticheskij kommentarij («Vest», 2006); Gareth L. Reese, Poslanie k Rimlyanam. Kriticheskij i ekzegeticheskij kommentarij («Vest», 2004). 32 See in Russian: Cleon L. Rogers mladshij, Cleon L. Rogers III. Novij lingvisticheskij i ekzegeticheskij kluch k grecheskomu textu Novogo Zaveta (SPb.: Bibliya dlya vseh, 2001). 33 See in Russian: Georgij (Jaroszewski), «Sobornoe poslanie Sv. Apostola Iakova: Opit isagogiko-ekzegeticheskogo issledovaniya» (Kiev, 1901). 34 Jaroshevskij, “Sobornoe poslanie Sv. Apostola Iakova,” v. 35 See: http://www.spbiiran.nw.ru/левинская-ирина-алексеевна/, accessed April 8, 2017. 36 See in Russian: Irina Levinskaya, Deyaniya apostolov. Istoriko-ilologicheskij kommentarij. Glavi 1–8 (М.: BBI, 1999); Irina Levinskaya, Deyaniya apostolov, Istoriko-ilologicheskij kommentarij. Glavi 9–28 (SPb.: Fakultet ilologii i iskustv SPbGU, 2008). 42 4 . 1 / 2 018 scholars Andrej Desnickji and Oleg Lazarenko published a commentary on Ephesians and Hebrews.37 Valentina Kuznetsova, translator of the New Testament and commentator, has produced several scholarly commentaries on the Gospels, Acts, and some of Paul’s letters (cf. Appendix C). Currently available biblical commentaries by Russian scholars are: Old New Orthodox At least 8 commentaries (exegetical works), written between 1873 – 1914, on James (2 works); 1 Peter; 2 Thessalonians; Acts 25–26; James, 1–2 Peter, and Jude in one volume; Timothy; and Hebrews. At least eleven commentaries by Kuznetsova on Matthew; Mark; Luke; John; Acts; Romans; 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians; Galatians; Philippians; Colossians and Philemon — 2000~2016. Single volumes by Cranield and by Marshall have been translated and modiied by the Orthodox Church. There are also other commentaries. Evangelical /Protestant The search for old evangelical commentaries produced by local writers yielded no results. The search for new evangelical commentaries produced by local writers yielded virtually no results. The only exception is R. Kapran’s commentary on Romans. It is evident from this table that there are not enough evangelical and exegetical commentaries, though the aforementioned surveys indicate that there is a demand for such commentaries. 4.4. Slavic Biblical Commentary The Slavic Biblical Commentary (SBC), a one-volume commentary on the whole Bible, can be briely described as follows: “Slavic Biblical Commentary: Modern Evangelical Perspective is the collective work of authors who belong to the evangelical tradition of Eastern Europe and are united by the desire to help the ministers of local churches to understand and apply the biblical text in contemporary situations.”38 The commentary’s intended audience is quite wide: pastors, church ministers in diferent areas of service, and theological students.39 37 In Russian: Andrej Desnickij and Oleg Lazarenko, Tolkovij Novij Zavet: Poslanie k Efesyanam, Poslanie k Evreyam. М.: Obshedostupnij pravoslavnij universitet, osnovannij protoiereem Aleksandrom Menem, 2005. 38 Sergey Sannikov (gl. redaktor), Slavyanskij biblejskij kommentarij (К.: ЕААА, Knigonosha, 2016), 9, my translation. 39 Ibid., 10. 43 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY This commentary was launched because the founders of the project recognized the issues I have addressed: “Today, a variety of biblical commentaries is available in Russian; however, the majority of them are either translations of Western publications, or works which are not quite Evangelical.”40 Now, about six years later, the situation has not signiicantly changed. The need for evangelical commentaries by Russian-speaking authors remains. The SBC is a one-volume commentary on all the books of the Bible, plus theological articles. Because of the scope of the material covered in the commentary, many details had to be omitted. In the guidelines for the authors it is stated: The authors must not overload the text with cross-references, with exegetical explication of words, with diverse theories concerning the sense of the text in view, with data from archeology and geography, with Greek and Hebrew words in transliteration or with archaisms. All of these things must be in such proportion so as not to distract the reader from the elucidation of the passage, literary-theological exposition or practical application.41 The SBC should be a helpful tool for Bible study. It is still necessary, however, to provide more extensive treatment of the biblical text, especially in relation to exegesis, as argued above. There may be other considerations necessary to evaluate the quality of the SBC. For example, Dmitriy Shpilko pointed out the problematic interpretation of 1 Peter 3:21. 42 SBC comments on 1 Peter 3:21 as follows: For precisely this reason, Peter, continuing the thought, comes to the conclusion: “baptism… saves.” The context leaves no doubt that it is not water that saves but the resurrection of Christ, received in faith. However, there are no doubts that baptism is one of the conditions to be met by the sinner who wants to be saved. Already on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached: “… Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ…” (Acts 2:38). The call to baptism can be found in many other apostolic sermons in the book of Acts. Even Christ Himself taught: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:16).43 The wording, at least, of this comment does not quite resonate with the standard understanding of the doctrine of salvation among evangelicals, namely Sola Fide. It will take some time for Slavic evangelicals to review and examine the content and usefulness of the SBC. In sum, this survey of the available exegetical literature in Russian points out these realities: 40 “Biblejskij kommentarij: sovremennaya evangelskaya perspektiva, Poyasnitelnaya zapiska dlya avtorov k napisaniyu kommentariya i bogoslovskih statej,” Versiya 7.4 (Slavic Research and Resource Center, EAAA, 25.02.2012), 4. My translation. 44 41 “Biblejskij kommentarij,” 9. 42 See the blog post here: http://alex-pro-1.livejournal.com/692287.html, accessed January 15, 2017. 43 Sannikov, Slavyanskij biblejskij kommentarij, 1480; Bible references in the English translation are given according to ESV. 4 . 1 / 2 018 1. There is a lack of Russian-language exegetical commentaries. 2. A signiicant quantity of what is available represents translation from other languages, especially English. 3. A signiicant quantity of what is available was written or translated by Orthodox scholars from, naturally, an Orthodox theological worldview. 4. A signiicant number of the exegetical commentaries in Russian are old, dating to the end of the nineteenth or beginning of the twentieth centuries. 5. There is no complete exegetical series on all the books of the NT in Russian. 6. The Slavic Bible Commentary is a recent evangelical commentary; however, it does not concentrate on exegetical features of the text. Moreover, there are places where it may need correction. 7. There is no exegetical series written from an evangelical perspective. 5. Conclusion The need for commentaries in the Russian-speaking context is undeniable. Russian-speaking Christian leaders, educators, and scholars recognize that there is a particular need for a more exegetical type of commentary, produced by a writer or writers rooted in the Russian context. The current number and quality of Russian commentaries is insuicient to meet the needs expressed. This conclusion is supported by the results of two surveys and the overview of the literature available in Russian. This research shows what is lacking in the area of commentary writing for Russian-speaking believers. Developing native Bible scholars and facilitating their work on exegetical commentaries is crucial to properly redress the current situation. 45 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Appendix A: Other Exegetical Types of Literature Translated into Russian Russian edition English edition Gospels and Acts Ньюман Б., Стайн Ф. Комментарии к Евангелию от Матфея. Пособие для переводчиков Священного Писания. М.: РБО, 1998. Barclay Moon Newman and Philip C. Stine, A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew, Helps for Translators (London: United Bible Societies, 1988). Джеффри А. Гиббс, Комментарий на Евангелие от Матфея 1:1 – 11:1. Из цикла библейских комментариев «Concordia Commentary Series» Лютеранская церковь – Миссурийский синод, США Jefrey A. Gibbs, Matthew 1:1–11:1 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006). Братчер Р., Найда Ю. Комментарии к Евангелию от Марка. Пособие для переводчиков Священного Писания. М.: РБО, 2001. Robert G. Bratcher and Eugene A. Nida, A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, Helps for Translators (London: United Bible Societies, 1961). Дж. Рейлинг, Дж. Л. Свелленгребель, Комментарии к Евангелию от Луки. Пособие для переводчиков Священного Писания. М., РБО, 2000. J. Reiling and J. L. Swellengrebel, A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Luke, Helps for Translators (London: United Bible Societies, 1971). Ньюман Б., Найда Ю. Комментарии к Деяниям апостолов. Пособие для переводчиков Священного Писания. М.: РБО, 2002. Barclay Moon Newman and Eugene A. Nida, A Handbook on the Acts of the Apostles, Helps for Translators (New York: United Bible Societies, 1993, 1972). Pauline Epistles 46 Мартин Францманн, Комментарий на Послание св. Павла к Римлянам. (abridged) Martin Franzmann, Romans: A Commentary (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968). Грегори Дж. Локвуд, Комментарий на Первое послание к Коринфянам. Из цикла библейских комментариев «Concordia Commentary Series». Лютеранская церковь – Миссурийский синод, США7 Gregory J. Lockwood, 1 Corinthians. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2000). Энтони Тисельтон, 1 Коринфянам, Черкассы: Коллоквиум, 2017. Anthony С. Thiselton, First Corinthians: A Shorter Exegetical and Pastoral Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006) Роберт Л. Томас «О дарах духовных», Систематическое изучение 1 Коринфянам 12–14. Grace, 2006. Robert L. Thomas, Understanding Spiritual Gits: A Verse-by-Verse Study of 1 Corinthians 12–14, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1999). 4 . 1 / 2 018 Пол Э. Детердинг, Комментарий на Послание к Колоссянам. Из цикла библейских комментариев «Concordia Commentary Series» Лютеранская церковь – Миссурийский синод, США Paul E. Deterding, Colossians (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2003). Экзегетический дайджест. Послания Фессалоникийцам Апостола Павла. Под ред. Томаса, Роберта Л. / Пер. с англ. – Новосибирск: НББС, 2005. Robert L. Thomas, Lexical and Syntactical Exegesis, Synthesis, Solutions, I Thessalonians (Talbot Theological Seminary, 1974). Robert L. Thomas, ed., Exegetical Digest of The Epistle of II Thessalonians (Talbot Theological Seminary, 1975). Джон Г. Нордлинг, Комментарий на Послание ап. Павла к Филимону. Из цикла библейских комментариев «Concordia Commentary». Лютеранская церковь – Миссурийский синод, США John G. Nordling, Philemon (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004). General Letters and Revelation Экзегетический дайджест. Послание Иакова. Под ред. Томаса, Роберта Л. / Пер. с англ. – Новосибирск: НББС, 2006. Robert L. Thomas, ed., Exegetical Digest of the Epistle of James (Talbot Theological Seminary, 1976). Эдмонд Д. Хиберт, Послания Иоанна. Экспозиционный комментарий. С.-Пб.: «Библия для всех», 2014. D. Edmond Hiebert, The Epistles of John: An Expositional Commentary (Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 1991). Луис А. Брайтон, Комментарий на Книгу Откровения. Из цикла библейских комментариев «Concordia Commentary Series» Лютеранская церковь – Миссурийский синод, США Louis A. Brighton, Revelation. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1999). Мартин Францманн, Комментарий на Откровение Иоанна. Martin Franzmann, The Revelation to John: A Commentary by Martin H. Franzmann (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1968). The notes by Bob Utley on Matthew, John and his letters, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and Hebrews, with some exegetical information are available in Russian.8 47 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Appendix B: Old Exegetical Commentaries Written by Orthodox Scholars 44 1. Протасов Н.Д. Св. апостол Павел на суде у Феста и Агриппы: Историко-экзегетический анализ содержания 25 и 26 глав книги Деяний по греческому тексту. (М., 1913). (4) Орлин Н. Соборные послания ап. Иакова, 1 и 2 ап. Петра, и ап. Иуды: опыт истолковательного изложения текста их. (Рязань, 1903). 2. Кибалчич И., свящ. Опыт обозрения и объяснения соборного послания св. ап. Иакова. Чернигов, 1873. 3. Суханов В. 1 соборное послание св. ап. Петра: историческое и экзегетическое исследование. (Казань, 1914). 4. Никанор (Каменский), архиеп. Экзегетико-критическое исследование послания св. ап. Павла к Евреям. (докторская работа), (Казань,1903). 5. Страхов В., свящ. Второе послание св. апостола Павла к Фессалоникийцам: Исагогикоэкзегетическое исследование. (Сергиев Посад, 1911). 6. Петр (Полянский), митр., свщмч. Первое послание св. ап. Павла к Тимофею. Опыт историкоэкзегетического исследования. (магистерская работа) (Сергиев Посад, 1897). Appendix C: The Commentaries Written by Valentina Kuznetsova45 1. Кузнецова В.Н. Евангелие от Матфея. Комментарий. М.: Общедоступный православный университет, основанный протоиереем Александром Менем, 2002. 2. Кузнецова В.Н. Евангелие от Марка. Комментарий. М.: Общедоступный православный университет, основанный протоиереем Александром Менем, 2000. 3. Кузнецова В.Н. Евангелие от Луки. Комментарий. М.: Фонд им. А. Меня, 2004. 4. (4) Кузнецова В.Н. Евангелие от Иоанна. Комментарий. М.: Общедоступный университет, основанный протоиереем Александром Менем, 2010. 5. Кузнецова В.Н. Путешествуя с Апостолами: Деяния Апостолов в переводе с древнегреческого: комментарии. М.: Российское библейское общество, 2006, (second edition has been published in 2007). 44 More complete bibliography of the Orthodox literature can be found at https://www.bible-mda.ru/old/e-books/e-books. html#nt-exeg2, accessed August 21, 2016. The bibliography is taken from https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Кузнецова,_Валентина_Николаевна (accessed December 1, 2016) as well as http://knigionline.com/autors/valentina-kuznetsova/ (accessed April 4, 2017). 45 48 4 . 1 / 2 018 6. Кузнецова В.Н. Письмо христианам Рима Апостола Павла. Комментарий. Фонд Александра Меня, 2013. 7. Кузнецова В.Н. Первое письмо христианам Коринфа: комментарий. М.: Общедоступный православный университет: Фонд им. А. Меня, 2007. 8. Кузнецова В.Н. Второе письмо христианам Коринфа. Комментарий. Фонд Александра Меня, 2014. 9. Кузнецова В.Н. Комментарий на письмо церквам Галатии. М.: Общедоступный православный университет, основанный протоиереем Александром Менем, 2003. 10. Кузнецова В.Н. Письма Апостола Павла: Письмо церкви в Колоссах, Письмо Филемону. Фонд Александра Меня, 2016. 11. Кузнецова В.Н. Письмо Апостола Павла церкви в Филиппах. Фонд Александра Меня, 2015. 49 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Contextualization and “Encroachment” in Muslim Evangelism Fred Farrokh Rev. Dr. Fred Farrokh is an International Trainer with Global Initiative: Reaching Muslim Peoples. A Christian of Muslim-background, he completed his PhD in Intercultural Studies through Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in 2014, with a dissertation on Muslim Identity. ABSTRACT This essay seeks to assist Christian messengers by describing the encroachment that is occurring in missional experimentation when Christian messengers utilize Qur’anic textual bridging, the reinterpretation of Muhammad by Christians, and the misuse of the term Muslim. Encroachment occurs in ministry to Muslims when Christian messengers enlist and redefine sacred Islamic texts, persons, and identifiers in a way that usurps from the indigenous communities those texts, persons, and identifiers. Informed Muslims rightly consider these methods deceptive, since these methods seek to create common ground between the biblical and Islamic faiths that does not exist. The essay concludes by recommending alternative contextualized-evangelism strategies that foster more fruitful cross-cultural communication among Muslims and which will not cause unnecessary offense among them. B oundaries have importance in many settings, including theological and missiological ones. Al-Ghazali was a luminary Islamic theologian and philosopher who authored over seventy works. Among these notable works of al-Ghazali, who died in AD 1111, was Faysal al-Tafriqa Bayna al-Islam wa al-Zandaqa1 [The Decisive Criterion for Distinguishing Islam from Heresy]. Faysal al-Tafriqa drew the classical Islamic boundary for marking who was a Muslim and who was not. Ghazali ruled that anyone who believes in Allah as the sole deity and Muhammad as the inal prophet must be aforded protected status as a Muslim. He further ruled that anyone who deems such a believer as a kair (inidel, non-Muslim) is himself a kair. Christians, likewise, have long-contemplated boundaries, even in the area of Christian ministry to Muslims. The main boundary or “ine line” which has provoked controversy in the past several 1 Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Faysal al-Tafriqa Bayna al-Islam wa al-Zandaqa, trans. Sherman Jackson (n.d.), accessed October 1, 2016, http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic888446.iles/On%20Boundaries%20of%20theological%20tolerance.pdf. 50 4 . 1 / 2 018 decades is the distinction between contextualization and syncretism. The tension between these two concepts occurs from the point of view of the messengers, or missionaries. This essay introduces the concept of encroachment as another important ine-line tension which has emerged in ministry to Muslims. Encroachment occurs when Christian messengers enlist and redeine sacred Islamic texts, persons, and identiiers in a way that usurps from the indigenous communities those texts, persons, and identiiers. This essay begins by reviewing the contextualization-syncretism tension that is apparent from the perspective of the messengers. Second, it describes a similar, yet inverse, tension—encroachment—that becomes apparent from the perspective of the intended audience: Muslims themselves. Third, examples are provided of commonly-used ministry paradigms which fall into the category of encroachment. These include Qur’anic textual bridging, the reinterpretation of Muhammad, and the usurpation of the term “Muslim.” Fourth, to aid Christians in understanding encroachment, examples are given of Muslim encroachment in their eforts to propagate Islam. This essay concludes with recommendations that promote a more wholesome, efective, and ethical communication of the gospel to Muslims. 1. The Tension between Contextualization and Syncretism: From the Perspective of the Messengers Contextualization as used in this article, is deined generically as the communication process by which a given messenger makes a given message understandable to a given people in a given place during a given timeframe. To apply this generic deinition, one can consider the term given as a variable, thus the use of blanks above. In cross-cultural missions, the given message is always the gospel. The following is an example of speciic missional contextualization: Jose and Maria make the gospel understandable to Marsh Arabs in Southern Iraq beginning in 2017. This view of contextualization should not be mistaken as unilateral communication from the messengers to the recipients. Indeed, healthy contextualization must include a dialogue in which the messengers learn from and about those to whom they seek to present the gospel. Contextualization of the gospel is crucial as it helps people who do not yet know or believe the gospel to understand it. Examples of legitimate contextualization include preaching the gospel in the heart language of a speciic audience and rendering a Bible for the same audience in that heart language. This type of contextualization helps to fulill the ambassadorial function assigned by God to Christians (2 Corinthians 5:20). When Christian messengers lovingly and prayerfully communicate the gospel in a contextualized fashion, it provides the best prospect for the message to be persuasive. The Holy Spirit undertakes the key role in this process by convincing through conviction. The Lord Jesus, speaking of the 51 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Spirit, states: “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:8–9, NASB throughout). Syncretism, within a Christian framework, is the amalgamation of Christian belief and/or practice with incompatible elements such that the “Christianity” is no longer biblical (i. e., destroyed). David Hesselgrave comments, “Syncretism is sometimes induced by underestimating the uniqueness of the Christian faith while overestimating the validity of competing faiths.”2 The loss of the distinctiveness, or uniqueness, of the message of Christ, or better yet Christ as the Message, comprises a major challenge and concern, particularly in cross-cultural witness. If messengers are unable to bring a clear picture of Christ to their intended audience, then that audience will not be able to respond positively to the gospel. Christ’s cross-cultural witnesses have traditionally sought to avoid syncretism in gospel proclamation, discipleship, and church planting. Anyone involved in cross-cultural ministry has likely contemplated the boundary which separates appropriate contextualization from inappropriate syncretism. Indeed, a primary question in contemporary missions is, “At what point do contextualized initiatives jeopardize, through syncretism, the original, biblical source message?” The tension between contextualization and syncretism, as described above, views the communication process from the point of view of the messengers. This tension is felt and grappled with from the messengers’ perspective, while the audience remains unaware whether or not biblical foundations are undermined. 2. The Tension between Contextualization and Encroachment: From the Perspective of the Receptors Efective communication requires dialogue and awareness. The perspective of the receptors3 is as important to the communication process as is the perspective of the messengers. Christ’s messengers must demonstrate multi-dimensional awareness in ministry to Muslims, in much the same way as a motorist must look both ways when approaching a traic light. The term encroachment has several deinitions and applications. In this essay, encroachment will be used as the noun form of Merriam-Webster’s deinition of encroach: “To enter by gradual steps or 2 David Hesselgrave, “Syncretism: Mission and Missionary Induced?” in Contextualization and Syncretism: Navigating Cultural Currents, ed. Gailyn VanRheenen (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2006), 72. 3 This essay utilizes the term “receptors” as used by Charles Krat, Communication Theory for Christian Witness, rev. ed. (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1994), 10: “Communication requires that there be a message, one or more people to whom the message is directed, and a messenger to take the message across whatever gap exists between the source of the message and the intended receptor(s).” 52 4 . 1 / 2 018 by stealth into the possessions or rights of another; to advance beyond the usual or proper limits.”4 As stated above, Christian messengers commit encroachment in Muslim contexts when they enlist and redeine sacred Islamic texts, persons, and identiiers in a way that usurps from indigenous communities those texts, persons, and identiiers. Christian messengers will be familiar with the biblical faith they seek to impart. From their vantage point, they should be able to tell if they are moving away from that faith as they seek to present it to a given audience through cross-cultural communication. On the other hand, the indigenous receptors, from their vantage point, are much better situated to determine if this cross-cultural messaging encroaches upon, and eventually usurps, their cherished beliefs. Encroachment constitutes an ethical violation. To capture the emotional displeasure Muslims feel when encroachment occurs, Christians should ask themselves if they have an ethical problem with a Muslim ofering the following hypothetical prayer in the presence of Christians: Our God, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come Thy will be done to help all people submit to Islam On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into the temptation of thinking God should have a son. Deliver from the evil of associating partners with the Almighty. Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Christians would rightly protest if Muslims “re-purposed” the sacred biblical text and liturgical form of The Lord’s Prayer to promote Islam. Such a utilization would constitute an encroachment that is easily felt by Christian readers. Such a presentation would deceive under-informed Christian listeners into thinking Islam is a valid expression of Jesus’ message. This article seeks to help Christians understand how informed Muslims feel when well-meaning Christian missionaries encroach on the holy texts, igures, and identiiers of Muslims. 4 Merriam-Webster, s.v. “encroach (v.),” accessed October 15, 2016, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ encroachment. 53 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 3. Encroachment in Ministry to Muslims Muslim contexts have historically provided challenging soil for the gospel to take root in. For centuries, this contextual challenge resulted in little gospel seed being sown in Muslim communities. Modern-day missionaries are to be commended for their intention to remedy this deiciency. Missionary endeavor is similar to other human endeavors in which trial-and-error, experimentation, and creativity are harnessed to accomplish a prescribed goal; however, missions is diferent from many other human endeavors in that it has speciically been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Himself and is guided and governed by His Word, the Bible. The past century has witnessed signiicant missional experimentation in ministry to Muslims. These experiments have precipitated signiicant controversies within the missionary community, primarily as to whether contextualized eforts5 have crossed the line into syncretism. New approaches and paradigms present intriguing possibilities in ministry to Muslims. As early as 1938, Henry Riggs asked, “Shall we try unbeaten paths in working for Moslems?” Riggs’ proposal encouraged “the development of groups of followers of Jesus who are active in making Him known to others while remaining loyally a part of the social and political groups to which they belong in Islam.”6 Riggs has been cited here not only because his recommendation is a prototype of the methodologies which will be evaluated below, but also because of his seemingly irresistible recommendation of the new and the innovative. Little missiological attention has yet been paid as to whether these newer missional initiatives may have crossed the line into encroachment. To a degree, this should be expected, since indigenous persons assess these initiatives from the unique perspective required to evaluate encroachment. Fortunately, the number of indigenous persons is growing who are able to provide this feedback. Discerning encroachment requires contextual familiarity. Indigenous persons who have been born and raised Muslims possess this familiarity and can provide helpful feedback regarding instances of encroachment. Hopefully, this feedback can enhance gospel proclamation to Muslims, and mitigate unnecessary ofense and confusion on the part of indigenous persons who have or would have interacted with these experimental missional initiatives. 5 Readers familiar with contextualization of the gospel among Muslims may know John Travis’ “C-scale.” The scale is not used in this article as Travis did not intend the C-scale as a contextualization scale. In 2015 he explained this with an article on misunderstandings regarding the C-scale: “The irst common misunderstanding has to do with what the letter C represents. It does not stand for ‘contextualization, ‘cross-cultural church-planting spectrums,’ or ‘Christian’—all terms that have been mistakenly used. It stands for ‘Christ-centered communities’; in other words, fellowships or groups of Jesus-followers—biblical ekklesiae,” in John Jay Travis, “The C1-C6 Scale ater 15 Years,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly (October 2015). 6 Henry H. Riggs, Near East Christian Council Inquiry on the Evangelization of Moslems: Report (Beirut: American Mission Building, 1938), II, 6, emphasis added. 54 4 . 1 / 2 018 Muslims appear to be increasingly aware of encroachment by Christian messengers. In July 1987, the Islamic World Review warned Muslims that Christian missionaries were using an “underhanded style” called the “Contextualized Approach”: “It means they now speak in the context of the people and the culture of the country where they are operating, and are less honest in their dealings with simple, oten illiterate, peasants. They no longer call themselves openly Christians in a Muslim area, but ‘Followers of Isa.’”7 This quote indicates that Muslims are not simply concerned about losing adherents, but with deceptive and unethical methods. 3.1. Methodologies Where Encroachment Has Occurred This section provides major examples of experimentation among Muslims where encroachment has occurred. This essay considers one example of encroachment in each of the following categories cherished by Muslims: sacred texts, sacred personalities, and sacred identiiers. 3.1.1. Qur’anic Textual Bridging as Encroachment Anyone in ministry to Muslims will need to be prepared to answer questions and claims Muslims bring forth from their holy book, the Qur’an. This is an inevitable component of talking to Muslims about spiritual matters. A sensitive and skilled witness for Christ may be able to turn these conversations into opportunities to share biblical truths; doing so does not necessarily constitute encroachment. Qur’anic textual bridging constitutes encroachment when a Christian messenger initiates spiritual conversation with a Muslim by using the Qur’an as the starting point of the discussion, and then reinterprets these texts in a way that undermines the overall message of the Qur’an. The consequence of such Qur’anic bridging is therefore deceptive, regardless of the good intentions of the messenger. Again, discerning where encroachment has taken place requires contextual familiarity. As such, it is helpful to illustrate encroachment through illicit textual bridging when done by Muslims. Christians, who are familiar with the Bible, naturally cringed when the Islamic apologist Ahmed Deedat interpreted Jesus’ Upper Room prophecy regarding another “Comforter” as referring to Muhammad rather than the Holy Spirit.8 First, Jesus was speaking to his own disciples when the stated that this Comforter “may be with you forever” (John 14:16). Obviously, Muhammad was never with Jesus’ disciples, so he cannot have fulilled this prophecy. Second, and even more egregious, is the prospect that Jesus would herald and laud a prophet coming ater him to launch a new religion. 7 J. Dudley Woodberry, “Contextualization among Muslims: Reusing Common Pillars,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 13, no. 4 (1996): 173. 8 Ahmed Deedat, What the Bible Says about Muhammad (Chicago: Kazi Publications, 1991). 55 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Deedat’s misinterpretation of the Bible is a clear example of the type of deceptive encroachment Christians should avoid in witnessing to Muslims. Indeed, the prospect of Qur’anic textual bridging entices Christian messengers since Muslims have been taught from childhood that the Bible has been corrupted and is therefore unreliable. This is the Islamic doctrine of Tahrif. Since the Qur’an contains multiple verses about Jesus, Christian witnesses have sometimes used Qur’anic texts that appear similar to biblical texts to begin a spiritual conversation with Muslims. The Qur’an indeed lauds Jesus in a way that it does not typically laud other prophets, attributing to him a miraculous birth and testifying that Allah allowed him to raise the dead (3:49). Given Muslims’ predisposition against the Bible, perhaps this Qur’anic material could provide the textual bridge to the gospel. Perhaps the most popular method of Qur’anic textual bridging is the “Camel Method.” The premise of the Camel Method is to bridge a gospel presentation from Sura 3:42–55 of the Qur’an. Sura 3 indeed contains some material about Jesus that appears prima facie to be true. This includes mention of the annunciation (3:42–46), Jesus’ virgin birth (3:47) and miracles (3:49). Kevin Greeson, author of the “The Camel Method” and “Camel Tracts”9 evangelistic tract for Muslims, actually provides thirteen pages of verse-by-verse commentary on Sura 3:42–55 in this tract. Unfortunately, Greeson’s interpretation of this Qur’anic passage fails for two main reasons. First, Greeson reinterprets the verses and enlists them in a way that contradicts the non-incarnational component of Tawhid, which is the underlying message of the Qur’an. Tawhid declares that Allah is an absolute and indivisible Unity, who neither gives birth nor is born into the world (see, for example, Sura 112:1–3). Second, Greeson cuts of his commentary at verse 3:55, ater which the passage turns to a polemic against the sonship and divinity of Jesus (3:59) and Muhammad’s cursing of those who hold those beliefs (3:61). Thus, the Camel Method takes a Qur’anic passage out of context and employs a hermeneutic method that would leave Protestants protesting if such a method were applied to the Bible. The Camel Method co-opts and reinterprets a text sacred to Muslims. The violation is particularly grievous from the point of view of indigenous Muslims, since the Camel Method reinterprets that text in a way that undercuts the foundational doctrine of the Qur’an itself. Learned Muslims will ind the Camel Method quickly progressing into encroachment. Greeson states puzzlingly10: “I am grateful to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Islamic Foundation, and others who 9 Kevin Greeson, “Camel Tracks: Discover the Camel’s Secret” (Bangalore, India: WIGTake Resources, n.d.), accessed October 25, 2016, http://www.harvest-now.org/ileadmin/resources/en/The_Camel_Tracks.pdf. 10 Kevin Greeson stated in an interview with the Biblical Missiology in 2010 that he does not believe authoritative Scriptures extend beyond the Old and New Testaments. See Biblical Missiology, “Interview: Kevin Greeson of the Camel Method,” April 21, 2010, accessed October 25, 2016, http://bibmiss.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/03-Question3-weightofauth.mp3. This seems to contradict the quotes above, and may indicate a case of one message presented to Christians and a contrary message presented to Muslims. 56 4 . 1 / 2 018 are translating the Arabic Koran into all languages of the world. I feel blessed as I read the Koran in my mother tongue.”11 He then exhorts Muslims: “Do not miss out on Allah’s blessings. Do not rely on someone else to tell you the message of Allah. Please ind a Koran translated into your language and together let’s ind a treasure that will change your life.”12 Actually, Muslims would ind it hard to believe that a Christian could have sincerely authored these sentences. The Camel Method has been lauded and advertised with statements like this one from the foreword of Greeson’s instructional book: “There may not be a magic bullet for Muslim evangelism, but the Camel is as close as it gets.”13 Yet one Christian missionary, Mike Moore, recorded the responses of an imam whom he led through the Camel Method. This imam found the line of reasoning of Camel unconvincing, and even objected to Greeson’s interpretations at many points. The Camel Method instructs its practitioners to ask Muslims: “Out of all the prophets, which one do you think is most capable of helping me get to heaven?”14 The imam rejected the idea that ‘Isa (Jesus) was uniquely qualiied to show Muslims the way to heaven: “Actually every single prophet was given the knowledge and the wisdom to show people the way to heaven—every single prophet.”15 The overall methodology of Qur’anic textual bridging ultimately leads to a dead-end. The ultimate goal of evangelism among Muslims is to help them embrace the God who visited the earth in the person of Jesus. The Qur’an rejects this narrative. A leading US-based Palestinian imam whom I interviewed in 2013 for a doctoral project responded somewhat tensely to my inquiry about whether the Qur’an could allow for a divine Jesus: “There is absolutely no verse like this. You will never ind a Muslim scholar who believes there is anything in the Qur’an that supports the divinity of Jesus.”16 This Islamic scholar sensed such a proposition constituted encroachment. In conclusion, any potential that may be seen in using Qur’anic textual bridging for Muslim evangelism will be outweighed by the liabilities thereof. This practice constitutes encroachment by in essence taking Islamic scriptures and forcing upon them interpretations that undercut the Qur’an’s overall message. Furthermore, Muslims will inevitably think that the one doing the bridging ascribes an authority to the Qur’an which it simply does not have. 11 Greeson, “Camel Tracks,” 1. 12 Ibid., 2. 13 Kevin Greeson, The Camel: How Muslims are Coming to Faith in Christ (Bangalore, India: WIGTake Resources, n.d.), 13. 14 Ibid., 108. 15 Mike Moore, “My Interview with an Imam,” Baptist Theologue (blog), December 31, 2007, accessed October 25, 2016, http://baptisttheologue.blogspot.ca/2007/12/my-interview-with-imam-i-served-as-imb.html. 16 Fred Farrokh, “Perceptions of Muslim Identity: A Case Study among Muslim-Born Persons in Metro New York” (PhD diss., Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, 2014), 93. 57 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 3.1.2. Reinterpretation of Muhammad as Encroachment Muslims consider Muhammad to be their infallible prophet and Allah’s inal messenger. This section focuses solely on the reinterpretation of Muhammad’s life and mission by Christian messengers. The most notable foray in this area from the Christian side has been led by Harley Talman. Talman’s recent work, “Is Muhammad Also among the Prophets?”17 breaks new ground over this age-old question. Speciically, Talman seeks to create a continuum upon which he can place Muhammad as some type of biblical prophet: “As Christians, we do not regard the Qur’an to be utterly infallible and authoritative, but need not rule out the possibility of God’s calling and using Muhammad as a prophet (like Saul in the OT or a charismatic prophet in the present era).”18 The problem with Talman’s assertions arises due to the contextual implausibility of his proposal. The airmation of the Muhammad’s prophethood serves as the foundation of Islam. To become a Muslim, one must declare the shahada, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah.”19 It would not suice to declare, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is a prophet who was right 75% of the time.” Neither would an imam accept the confession: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is a prophet ater the order of Saul.” Talman’s foray amounts to encroachment as he tries to reinterpret Muhammad in a way not possible in Muslim contexts. Muslims ofer Muhammad as a true prophet only. This is a contextually-speciic binary choice. People who want to accept Muhammad as God’s inal and infallible prophet come under the umbrella of the Islamic umma (community), with speciied rights and privileges thereof. Al-Ghazali describes how Islamic Law confers inidel status on anyone who believes Muhammad brought forth error: “Unbelief (kufr)” is to deem anything the Prophet [Muhammad] brought to be a lie. And “faith (iman)” is to deem everything he brought to be true. Thus, the Jew and the Christian are Unbelievers because they deny the truthfulness of the Prophet…Now all of this is based on the fact that “Unbelief” is a legal designation (hukm shar’i), like slavery and freedom, its implication being the licitness of shedding the blood of one (so designated) and passing a judgment upon him to the efect that he will dwell in Hellire forever. And since this is a legal designation, it can only be known on the basis of an explicit text from scripture (nass) or an analogy (qiyas) drawn from an explicit text.20 17 Harley Talman, “Is Muhammad Also among the Prophets?” International Journal of Frontier Missiology 31, no. 4 (2014). 18 Ibid, 177. 19 The Arabic word rasool is based on the root “to send” and is variously translated into English as “prophet,” “apostle,” or “messenger.” 20 58 Al-Ghazali, Faysal al-Tafriqa, 92. 4 . 1 / 2 018 Due to the life-and-death implications of considering Muhammad a false prophet, one can see how Talman could hope to maintain the possibility of Muhammad being a true prophet. However, Talman seems to overlook Muhammad’s renunciation of the biblical Jesus through his polemics against the Trinity (Sura 4:171), the divinity of Christ (Sura 5:72; 5:116), and the cruciixion (Sura 4:157–158). Kevin Higgins joins Talman in stating that Muhammad could be some type of biblical prophet: Relative to the reinterpretation of Muhammad, two examples are noted: Muhammad as similar to an Old Testament prophet, or similar to a “charismatic” prophetic git. While it is true that some advocates of IM [Insider Movements] suggest that one or both of these approaches may be possible, the more common argument has been to look to examples in the Old Testament, such as Balaam, of men who were given true things to say by God but who also got things wrong.21 Talman and Higgins may feel they are opening a gospel door to Muslims by conferring upon Muhammad the status of a lower-level biblical prophet. However, they have encroached into the Islamic equivalent of holy ground by reinterpreting Muhammad in a way never before allowed by the umma. Muslims, throughout their history, have invited non-Muslims to accept Muhammad as an infallible prophet. Anything less than this constitutes kufr (the domain of unbelief). This category would include many who might nonetheless airm Muhammad’s qualities as an outstanding orphan, a persevering overcomer, a skilled diplomat, a victorious military leader, and one of the most inluential igures in history. Yet, since Muhammad rejected the biblical narrative regarding Jesus, he cannot be considered a true prophet by those who believe in the Bible. Muslims have never allowed for a middle-ground-prophet position for Muhammad, yet Talman and Higgins have sought to create such ground. This constitutes encroachment. 3.1.3. Usurpation of the Term “Muslim” as Encroachment The term Muslim is sacred to Muslims because it the primary identiier of people belonging to their faith community. Notably, Muslims do not translate this term into the local equivalents of “People submitted to God” when they immigrate to non-Muslim lands. By retaining the term Muslim, Muslims signal that this term belongs to them. Nevertheless, it is not diicult to follow the conceptual rationale of Christian missionaries in usurping this term. They do so based on the idea that the term “Muslim” literally means one who is submitted to, or has surrendered to, God. Who could make a better “Muslim,” according to this wider deinition, than one who has accepted the salvation God has ofered through Christ? Furthermore, according to Islamic law, if a Muslim becomes a kair through unbelief, he must die. 21 Kevin Higgins, “Let’s Leave Shahada to Real Muslims: A Response by Kevin Higgins,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly (October 2015). 59 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Fortunately, the implementation of capital punishment is more oten the exception than the rule in many Muslim contexts. Nevertheless, the murtadd (apostate) will likely sufer a great deal of harassment and a ruination of his future in that community. From this starting point, missionaries have widely promoted the idea of indigenous persons embracing the biblical plan of salvation, and simultaneously retaining “Muslim” status. They have crossed the line into encroachment through promoting identities such as “Muslim Followers of Jesus,”22 “Messianic Muslim Followers of Jesus,”23 “Biblical Muslims”24 and “‘In-Christ’ Muslims.”25 All of these descriptors use the term Muslim in the present tense, as opposed to some form of the alternate, “Muslim-background believer in Christ.” Kevin Higgins provides his justiication for retention of the term Muslim by a Christ-worshipper as he recommends one of several identity statements for Muslim “insiders”: I can say I am a Muslim because the word Islam means submission and a Muslim is one who submits. So, I can tell others in the Muslim community that I have submitted to God ultimately in His Word, Isa, and the Word of God in the Taurat, Zabur, and Injil which the Quran conirms.26 Encroachment has occurred in this case because the umma confers “Muslim” status on those who hold to the inerrancy of Muhammad’s prophetic output. Since Muhammad rejected the divinity, sonship, cruciixion, and resurrection of Jesus, it constitutes encroachment if people who have come to embrace these beliefs insist on describing themselves as “Muslims.” The mounting threat, from the indigenous point of view, is that if the term Muslim could be redeined to include Christ-worshippers, then the term no longer has any value as an identiier, since the term’s original usage was meant to exclude Christ-worshippers. This should not be confounded with “God doing something new”; it is an ethical violation that constitutes encroachment. In conclusion to this section, it becomes apparent that the methodologies evaluated above are not solo, independent initiatives. Rather, they are interconnected as manifestations of a wider missiology known as “insider movements.” This missiology, when applied to Muslim contexts, encroaches on the sacred texts, personalities, and identiiers of Muslims. 22 Joshua Massey, “God’s Amazing Diversity in Drawing Muslims to Christ,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 17, no. 1 (2000): 7. 23 John Travis, “Messianic Muslim Followers of Isa: A Closer Look at C5 Believers and Congregations,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 17, no. 1 (2000): 53–59. 24 Rick Brown, “Biblical Muslims,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 24, no. 2 (2007): 65–74. 25 Richard Jameson, “God’s Creativity in Drawing Muslims to Jesus,” in Understanding Insider Movements: Disciples of Jesus within Diverse Religious Communities, eds. Harley Talman and John Travis (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2015), 611. 26 Kevin Higgins, “Identity, Integrity and Insider Movements: A Brief Paper Inspired by Timothy Tennent’s Critique of C-5 Thinking,” International Journal of Frontier Missions 23, no. 3 (2006): 121. 60 4 . 1 / 2 018 4. Encroachment by Muslims in Propagating Islam This section helps Christian readers understand encroachment by “putting the shoe on the other foot.” Christians beneit from considering, “How would we feel if Muslims did the same thing to us?” By no means is this a hypothetical exercise. Students of the Qur’an and Islamic history will realize that Islam is largely an encroachment on the biblical faith. Muhammad co-opted many biblical igures into the Islamic theological ediice. Most notably, Muhammad usurped Jesus, the Divine Savior, and reduced him to his own personal herald (Sura 61:6). This sad reality constitutes a clear case of encroachment by usurping the personality most cherished by Christians—the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Muslim apologists today continue to practice encroachment in their faith propagation strategies. The inverse of Higgins’ radical reinterpretation is seen in eforts by Muslim scholars to ind “Muhammad in the Bible” by superimposing Qur’anic meanings onto biblical names and terms. Abdul Ahad Dawud claims that many Old Testament prophecies refer not to Christ but to Muhammad.27 He stretches to link Muhammad to the Shiloh prophecy of Genesis 49.28 He also claims that the Arabic sui is somehow related to the Greek “Sophia” (wisdom) without any linguistic justiication.29 Jamal Badawi, of the Islamic Information Institute in Canada, claims in his “Muhammad in the Bible” teaching that the Baca of Ps 84:6 is an alternate rendering of “Mecca” and therefore predictive of Muhammad.30 As mentioned above, Ahmed Deedat long claimed that Muhammad was the Comforter of John’s Gospel by morphing the Greek word Paraklete.31 These interpretations, however, are individually faulty, and go against the entire low of the Old and New Testaments. Islamic expansion allows for encroachment since it is not governed by biblical ethics. Islam promotes its own advancement using almost any means: persuasion, education, evangelism, invitation, deception, dissimulation, and outright force. Thankfully, many Muslims do not utilize the latter categories, but they nonetheless were sanctioned by Muhammad and are utilized by some Muslims. Christian missionaries should refrain from adopting an ends-justify-the-means mindset in sharing the gospel with Muslims. Even though Islam may allow Muslims to use these types of methods in promoting Islam, Christians are ethically required to hold to a biblical standard of honesty. 27 Abdul Ahad Dawud. Muhammad in the Bible (New Delhi, India: International Islamic Publishers, 1993). 28 Ibid., 49. 29 Ibid., 47. 30 Jamal Badawi, “Muhammad in the Bible,” Islamic Information Foundation (n.d), accessed October 20, 2016, http://www. islamicity.com/mosque/muhammad_bible.htm 31 Deedat, What the Bible Says about Muhammad. 61 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY 5. Is “Reusing Common Pillars” Encroachment? This section provides a response to Dudley Woodberry’s inquiry into the viability of “reusing common pillars”32 in ministry to Muslims. Woodberry rightly notes that many of the forms, and even some of the associated terminology, used in Islam’s ive pillars come from Jewish and Christian sources. Mark Harlan has sought to springboard speciically from Woodberry’s “re-using common pillars” concept: “All that is necessary for our purposes, however, is to show that the pillars of faith, along with their vocabulary, were largely the previous possession of Jews and Christians. Any reusing of them then is but the repossession of what originally belonged to these communities.”33 Harlan’s “repossession” argument constitutes encroachment for several reasons. First, the ive pillars of Islam—confessional creed, ritual prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and pilgrimage—are common not only to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, but indeed to almost any religion. No religion has a permanent monopoly or right to use them, or to exclude others from using them. Second, Harlan’s recommended repossession overlooks that speciic “pillar” practices have been cultivated, cherished, and guarded by Muslims for over 1,400 years. The timeframe must also count for something. Indigenous Muslims will tend to see Harlan’s repossession in the same way they would view the attempts of medieval Crusaders to repossess the Holy Land. The inal problem for Harlan is that Muslims clearly associate some of these practices and terms with anti-biblical meanings; in fact, they all play a part in the Islamic system of salvation by works. Woodberry himself correctly warns that re-appropriating these Islamic forms with alternate meanings can create its own problem: “A third problem is how to reuse Muslim forms without retaining Muslim meanings such as merit.”34 In summary, Christian messengers to Muslims cannot help but reference generic common pillars but should refrain from usurping speciic Islamic texts, personalities, and identiiers. A faith community cannot be developed without also developing its confession of faith, its prayer life, fasting, and charitable giving. Some overlap will be inevitable herein. Indigenous Muslims will expect deen (religion, faith) to address these issues and will not likely see it as encroachment. Christ’s messengers would do well to stop short of the encroachments listed above—Qur’anic textual bridging, the reinterpretation of Muhammad, and the usurpation of the term “Muslim”—none of which are speciically endorsed in Woodberry’s original article. 32 Woodberry, “Contextualization.” 33 Mark Harlan, “Recycling Islamic Vocabulary in Bible Translation?” (paper presented at the Evangelical Missiological Society National Conference, Dallas, TX, October 15, 2016). 34 62 Woodberry, “ Contextualization,” 183. 4 . 1 / 2 018 6. Healthy Contextualization in Ministry to Muslims Section 3 illustrated where encroachment has unfortunately been committed by Christians in the evangelism of Muslims. Section 4 demonstrated a similar ethical encroachment on the part of Muslims in their da’wa (invitation) of Christians to Islam. This section seeks to recommend some positive alternatives to those forms of encroachment described in section 3. This list is by no means exhaustive; it merely presents, in a non-dogmatic fashion, suggestions that will likely prove more engaging to Muslim audiences, more fruitful in the long term, and less likely to precipitate the unnecessary ofenses triggered by methods which most Muslims would consider encroachment. 6.1. Conceptual Bridging Section 3.1.1. demonstrated the encroaching nature of “Qur’anic textual bridging” in evangelism among Muslims. This section recommends “conceptual bridging” as an alternative. Conceptual bridging refers to building of of a theological construct with which a Muslim audience is already familiar. Two immediate objections may be predicted regarding the preference of conceptual bridging over textual bridging. They will be answered here. First, one may simply posit, “Behind every Islamic concept is there not a Qur’anic text?” While that may be largely true, the bridging concepts recommended below are common to many religions, not merely Christianity and Islam. Second, some may wonder whether Paul’s bridging from pagan sources provides a justiication for Qur’anic textual bridging. Though Paul approvingly cites a Cretan “prophet” in Titus 1:12, he does not do so for evangelistic purposes. Rather, he does so to “reprove” (v. 13) the “rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers” (v. 10) who exemplify the propensity of Cretans to be “liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons” (v. 12). To cite this as an example of Pauline contextualized evangelism would be folly. Furthermore, in his Mars Hill sermon, Paul cites unnamed Greek poets: “For we also are His children” (Acts 17:28). Since Paul appears to be quoting pagan sources, the question begs why it is unfruitful and unethical to initiate an evangelistic exchange with a Muslim by beginning with a Qur’anic text, as is done in the Camel Method. However, Paul’s usage of the pagan poets in Athens in fact is an example of conceptual bridging, not speciic textual bridging. First, the overall context of the Mars Hill sermon must be considered. Paul is ultimately seeking to destroy paganism and “his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols” (Acts 17:16). Paul manifests his inward detestation of paganism by initiating his gospel presentation with a testimony to the true God, proclaiming Jesus and the resurrection. This is interpreted by the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers present to be babbling about “strange deities” (v. 18). Thus, Paul initiates his preaching not from pagan sources but from a biblical theme. Since these pagans were having a hard time understanding Paul’s preaching, and since they requested more information from him (v. 20), 63 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Paul used conceptual bridging regarding the “Unknown God” and the pagan poets’ mention of people being the children of God. Second, in Acts 17:28, Paul does not cite a speciic poet, but simply an unspeciied number of unnamed poets. Apparently, the concept of humans being children of God was not unknown as a concept or motif in the poetry of that time. Third, Paul does not lend his personal credence or allegiance to them when he identiies the poets as “some of your own poets” (emphasis added). Fourth, Paul does not refer to a speciic text, whereas in Qur’anic textual bridging, speciic surahs and verses are always referred to by name and number. In this case, Paul seems to be making a composite or thematic reference, which falls much more in line with conceptual bridging than with textual bridging. Neither in Acts nor in the Epistles does Paul elsewhere cite or name these poets. He therefore does not airm the religion or any wider philosophy from which the 17:28 text is borrowed. Thus, the Scriptures do not support the notion of Paul using textual bridging in his contextualized gospel presentation. In Qur’anic textual bridging, however, many texts are cited, which cannot but give indigenous receptors the impression that the messenger feels the Qur’an is an authoritative text. Furthermore, the inluence and output of poets whom Paul never named, even during that immediate time period, must pale in comparison with that of Muhammad, the author of a revered book and a founder of a religion which presently has over 1.5 billion adherents. Regarding the recommendation of conceptual bridging, Christianity, Islam, and many other faiths share a number of theological concepts which provide excellent bridging points. These include an afirmation of belief in one deity, the day of judgment, and the descent of the Word of God to the earth. 6.1.1. Theism Simple conversation starters among Muslims could include, “Please share with me about your belief in God.” This does not airm that the Christian believes the deity described by the Qur’an is the same being described by the Bible. Since most Muslims like to talk about God and religion, this type of simply question can begin a spiritual conversation and a chance to share the gospel. 6.1.2. The Day of Judgment Muslims’ foundational belief in the Day of Judgment provides another conceptual bridging opportunity. A simple evangelistic question a Christian could ask a Muslim would be: “Can you tell me what you believe will happen to you on the Day of Judgment?”35 This question holds particular relevance since Islam holds to an ultimate sovereignty of Allah which precludes a real assurance of 35 64 Yom ad-Deen, or Yom al-Qayama, in Arabic. 4 . 1 / 2 018 salvation. The messenger then gains a listening opportunity as his or her Muslim friend responds, as well as ample opportunities for further discussion. 6.1.3. The Descent of the Word of God to Earth As a inal recommended example, a conceptual bridge can be used in response to common Muslim objections against the Trinity or the divinity of Jesus. Many religions believe in the descent of the divine, or the word of the divine, to earth. For example, the Ephesus town clerk, not Paul, makes the statement that Artemis’ image fell down to earth (Acts 19:35). Christians believe in the kenosis of Christ as the Word becoming lesh and dwelling among us (Phil 2:7; John 1:14). While Muslims do not believe that God visited the earth in the form of Jesus, they do believe the Word of God descended to the earth in the form of the Qur’an. The Islamic concept is known as Tanzil, the “descent” of the Word of God. The bridging questions could be phrased, “Do you believe the Word of God descended to the earth?” Or, “If you believe in the Tanzil of the Word of God as a book, could God not bring about the Tanzil in the form of Jesus?” All of these conceptual bridging techniques avoid direct textual reference to the Qur’an. Moreover, they will set at ease the Muslim receptor who will likely consider it encroachment if a Christian messenger begins to act as a mufassir (commentator) on actual texts of the Qur’an without possessing the training and experience expected of one undertaking that role. Lastly, and most importantly, avoidance of using the Qur’an in textual bridging will prevent Muslim receptors from thinking the messenger himself or herself believes the text is authoritative. 6.2. Humor In cross-cultural communication, the ability to understand and participate in indigenous humor endears the outsider to the indigenous people. Muslims, like all people, appreciate humor and tend to enjoy jokes and humorous stories about the life ater death. In many cases, these hereater jokes are innocently irreverent as they joke about politics, religion, or culture. For example, Iranians tell the following joke: “Did you hear about the Iranian who went to hell?” (The listener will want to hear the joke.) So, an Iranian died and the angels came to take his soul from his body. They said, “We have good news and bad news for you. Do you want the good news irst or the bad news?” The deceased said, “Well, I am an Iranian; I’ll take the bad news irst.” The angels said, “The bad news is you are going to hell.” The deceased replied, “If that’s the bad news, what good news could there be?” 65 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY The angels said, “Strangely enough, you are being given the choice of going to American hell or Iranian hell.” The deceased replied, “Well, I have lived my life in Iran…why not try the American hell?” So the angels lung his soul over the wall into the American hell. Immediately, two angelic torturers grabbed him. He screamed. Another torturing angel arrived with wood to kindle a ire. Like clockwork, another arrived with a torch to light the wood when it had been arranged. As soon as the ire was blazing, another angel came with a smaller urn-like mixer illed with tar. He placed it over the ire. The second the tar began to boil, one torturing angel grabbed the deceased Iranian’s head; another angel pried his mouth wide open. Right on cue, the angel with the tar lited the mixer and poured the tar down the man’s throat. The man screamed a mighty scream! No sooner than this process was inished than, like clockwork, it started again. Another angel came with fresh wood… Ater several rounds of this torture, and during a very brief lull, the tortured Iranian soul lited his head, saw the wall opposite him, and heard laughing on the other side of the wall. Through scorched lips, he asked his attending angel, “What is on the other side of that wall?” “Oh,” said the angel, “that’s the Iranian hell.” The deceased replied, “Would I be able to go over there and have a look?” Though the torturing angel said that these types of permissions were not usually granted, he did seek a clearance from the higher authorities. Somewhat surprised, he came back and told the deceased he had been granted a rare exception—for a very brief visit to the Iranian hell. So, the torturing angels lung him over the wall that separates the American hell from the Iranian hell. Having skidded to a landing in the Iranian hell, he found his deceased Iranian fellows sitting on the ground, lounging and laughing. He asked them, “Why aren’t you sufering here in the Iranian hell as I am in the American hell?” They replied, “Here in the Iranian hell, when the angel comes with the irewood, the angel with the torch shows up about two hours late! If he even arrives to start the ire, the angel with the mixer has invariably called in sick! From eternity past until now, they have not been able to get their act together so as to torture even a single soul!” These multitudinous humor stories about life ater death provide ready bridging opportunities to share the gospel. The indigenous community has even pre-contextualized the conversation for the messenger. Moreover, humor naturally de-escalates the environment for discussing spiritual topics 66 4 . 1 / 2 018 that might otherwise be controversial or conlict-inducing. Cross-cultural messengers may simply ask their Muslim friends, “In your culture, do you have any humorous stories about the aterlife?” And low with the conversation thereater. 6.3. Other Possibilities for Holistic Contextualization among Muslims The available space does not allow for a fuller treatment of other forms of contextualized communication among Muslims that are likely to be fruitful. Instead of cherry-picking a few Qur’anic verses out of context and memorizing a conversation based on these verses, cross-cultural messengers in Muslim contexts could better use their time learning the language of the indigenous people. Language learning is typically a slow process. Finding oneself in a context without knowing the language immediately reduces one to infancy, regardless of academic degrees. Nowadays, the emphasis is on speed. Yet holistic contextualization based on meaningful cross-cultural communication and trusting relationships with Muslims cannot be rushed. In all things, reliance on prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit should remain paramount. Music is another area where holistic contextualization is not likely to move into encroachment. Though Islamic Law tends to suppress indigenous music styles, Muslim peoples all have their own musical styles and instrumentation. These styles should be celebrated and utilized. Perhaps copying the style of the chanting of the Qur’an might been seen by indigenous Muslims as encroachment. Otherwise, indigenous believers should be encouraged to look to the Lord for creating indigenous styles of worship. 7. Conclusion This essay has considered contextualized methods of sharing the gospel among Muslims. Some of the popular current methods, including Qur’anic textual bridging, the reinterpretation of Muhammad, and the usurpation of the term “Muslim” fall into an unwelcome category described as “encroachment.” Encroachment is visible to Muslims themselves, whereas people who were not raised Muslim may be unaware of this tension. It is hoped that these encroaching methods will be curtailed before they precipitate further unnecessary ofense on the part of Muslim audiences. Encroaching methodologies tend to be deceptive by presenting a continuity between the biblical and Islamic faiths which simply does not exist. Contextualization should be employed in cross-cultural ministry to Muslims, yet greater forethought is needed to ensure that contextualized forms are biblical, ethical, holistic, and fruitful. 67 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Jia Yuming (1880–1964)—A Chinese Keswick Theologian:a Theological Analysis Of Christ-Human Theology In Jia’s Total Salvation1 Baiyu Andrew Song Baiyu Andrew Song (Doctoral studies, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY) is the research assistant to the Director of Andrew Fuller Centre for Baptist Studies, as well as a voluntary editor for the Gospel Coalition Canada website. He is a member of New City Baptist Church, Toronto, ON. He is also the author of Training Laborers into His Harvest: A Historical Study of William Milne’s Mentorship of Liang Fa (Wipf & Stock, 2015). ABSTRACT In Professor Alexander Chow’s book Theosis, Sino-Christian Theology and the Second Chinese Enlightenment (2013), he criticizes theological classifications, such as Ralph R. Covell’s. In response, Chow proposes a tripartite classification to help scholars to understand the different theological trajectories in twentieth-century China. However, Chow’s classification is not helpful in distinguishing the differences among theologians of the same theological type. This is especially so in the case of Jia Yuming (1880–1964), who was considered the “Dean of China’s Theological Academy.” Jia made significant theological contributions—particularly his publication of the first Chinese systematic theology. Though Jia’s theology falls under Chow’s type-A theology, this paper argues that it was Jia’s spirituality that distinguishes him from other conservative pastor-theologians, such as Wáng Mingdao (1900–1991), John Sung (1901–1944) and Watchman Nee (1903–1972). Using a theological-spiritual approach (which complements Chow’s classification), this article demonstrates that Jia is a Chinese Keswick-style theologian. 1 Special thanks to Hallam Willis of St. Michael’s College (University of Toronto) for his editorial help; to Drs. A. Donald MacLeod of Tyndale Seminary, J. Stephen Yuille of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Alexander Chow of Edinburgh University, and to Jonathan and Eunhye de Wit of Toronto Baptist Seminary. 68 4 . 1 / 2 018 I n a recent biography of the Chinese house church leader Wáng Mingdao (王明道1900–1991), the authors recall Arnold Lee’s (China Inland Mission) comparison of Wáng with other contemporary Chinese pastors, Wáng was less gited in spiritual things than John Sung [宋尚節1901–1944]; less abled than Watchman Nee [倪柝聲1903–1972]; and less theologically attained than Jia Yuming [賈玉銘1880–1964].2 Interestingly, for those who knew Wáng, this “Dean of the House Churches” was not theologically well-equipped or prudent when compared to his senior, Jia Yuming.3 Indeed, as a conservative theologian in the twentieth century, Jia was “of more formidable stature…than most [of his contemporaries].”4 Apparently, people called Jia the “Dean of China’s Theological Academy.”5 In contrast to many, such as Wáng, Nee, and Sung, Jia was not a revivalist preacher. Jia’s ministerial career can be divided into three stages: “a Presbyterian pastor (1904–26), a seminary professor (1915–1936), 2 Accents are added to distinguish Wáng of the house church movement, and Wāng of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Chiu-Hsiang Lin and Kuan-Ing Chang, An Injured Brave: Wang Mingdao’s One Century 受傷的勇士—王明道的一世紀 (New Taipei City, Taiwan: Olive, 2006), 33. On Wang Mingdao, see Thomas Alan Harvey, Acquainted with Grief: Wang Mingdao’s Stand for the Persecuted Church in China (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2002); Lee-Ming Ng, “Wang Ming-Tao: An Evaluation of His Thought and Action,” Ching Feng 16, no. 2 (1973): 51–80; Stephen P. H. Li 李柏雄, “王明道對大眾神學的貢獻 Wang Mingdao’s Contribution to Popular Theology,” China and Church 9–10 (May–June 1980): 19–22; Jonathan Chao, “略述王明道先生對中國教會的貢獻 A Brief Summary of Mr. Wang Mingdao’s Contribution to Chinese Churches,” China and the Church Today 86 (1991): 2–4; Wing-Hung Lam, A Half Century of Chinese Theology 1900–1949 中華神學五十年 1900–1949 (Hong Kong: China Alliance Press, 1998); Wing-Hung Lam, Wong Ming-Tao and the Chinese Church 王明道與中國教會 (Hong Kong: China Graduate School of Theology, 1982); Poling J. Sun, “Jesus in the Writings of Wang Mingdao,” in The Chinese Face of Jesus Christ, Monumenta Serica Monograph Series Vol. 3a, ed. Roman Malek (Sankt Augustin, Germany: Institut Monumenta Serica, 2005), 1137–48; Richard R. Cook, “Wang Mingdao and the Evolution of Contextualized Chinese Churches,” in Contextualization of Christianity in China: An Evaluation in Modern Perspective, ed. Peter Chen-Main Wang (Sankt Augusin, Germany: Institut Monumenta Serica, 2007), 209–23; Gloria S. Tseng, “Bathsheba as an Object Lesson: Gender, Modernity and Biblical Examples in Wang Mingdao’s Sermons and Writings,” Studies in World Christianity 21, no. 1 (2015): 52–65; Fuk-Tsang Ying, “Counterrevolution in an Age of Revolution: ‘Wang Mingdao’s Christian Counterrevolutionary Clique,’” Bulletin of the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica 67 (2010): 97–147; Fuk-Tsang Ying, Wang Mingdao’s Last Confession 王明道的最後自白 (Hong Kong: Logos, 2013); Thomas Alan Harvey, “Challenging Heaven’s Mandate: An Analysis of the Conlict between Wang Mingdao and the Chinese Nation-State” (PhD diss., Duke University, 1998); Matsutani Yosuke 松谷曄 介, “Yanaihara Tadao and China: His Article, ‘The Ideal of the Nation’ and His Visit to Wang Mingdao矢内原忠雄と中国: 「国家の 理想」から王明道訪問へ,” Social System Study社会システム研究 25 (2012): 97–123; Baiyu Andrew Song, “Christ against Culture? A Re-Evaluation of Wang Mingdao’s Popular Theology,” Journal of Global Christianity 3, no. 1 (2017): 48–64. 3 Harvey, Acquainted with Grief, 7. 4 Lian Xi, Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular Christianity in Modern China (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2010), 189. 5 Joshua Dao Wei Sim, “Captivating God’s Heart: A History of Independent Christianity, Fundamentalism and Gender in Chin Lien Bible Seminary and the Singapore Christian Evangelistic League, 1935–1997” (master’s thesis, National University of Singapore, 2015), 29. 69 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY and a spiritual director (1936–56).”6 A proliic writer, he devoted himself to writing for Christian spirituality on a range of subjects and in a variety of genres. Beside his commentaries on the whole Bible, various theological books, and devotional literature, Jia also published four Chinese hymnals. He gained his fame by publishing a four-volume systematic theology, which was the irst of its kind in Chinese.7 In Jia’s writings, Christ Jesus and his cross are central themes, along with a general concern for Christian spiritual growth and health. Unfortunately, none of Jia’s works have been translated into English; consequently he remains unknown in the West, especially in comparison with his contemporaries, such as Wáng, Nee, and Sung.8 When in 1954 the then-74-year-old Jia joined the Communist-government-supported Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) as one of its vice presidents, the “House Church” dissidents considered him to be a “compromiser” or “betrayer.” They eventually mourned Jia’s inability to maintain integrity in his latter years.9 The above notwithstanding, this paper aims to examine Jia’s Christ-human theology and its application in his Keswick spirituality, particularly in the context of his Total Salvation (完全救法, 1945). With a brief biographical sketch of Jia, this paper proposes a spiritual approach—as a complement to Alexander Chow’s tripartite classiication—for understanding Chinese theologians like Jia. 6 John Y. H. Yieh, “Cultural Reading of the Bible: Some Chinese Christian Cases,” in Text & Experience: Towards a Cultural Exegesis of the Bible, ed. Daniel Smith-Christopher (Sheield, England: Sheield Academic Press, 1995), 136. 7 As Jia acknowledged in the preface, his systematic theology was a combination of his own writings, translations of Augustus Hopkins Strong’s (1836–1921) Systematic Theology (1886), and theological notes of Philip Francis Price (1864–1954) of Nanking Theological Seminary. 8 For English readers, A Stone Made Smooth (Southampton, England: Maylower Christian Books, 1981) and Spiritual Food (Southampton, England: Maylower Christian Books, 1983) are the two available translations of Wang Mingdao’s works. The former is a translation of Wang’s autobiography and the latter, a selection of writings published in his Spiritual Food Quarterly. Additionally, there are a few of Wang’s articles in Arthur Reynolds, trans., Strength for the Storm: Spiritual lessons—from Wang Mingdao, John Sung and other Chinese Preachers—which prepared the Church for sufering (Singapore: OMF, 1988). Although there has been some interest in recent academic publications on Wang, the “Dean of the House Churches” remained relatively unknown except as one of the monuments for the sufering churches under Communist regimes. Comparatively, Watchman Nee received a wider audience in the West, since almost all of his writings have been translated into English. According to the website of Living Stream Ministry, the complete works of Nee contain sixty-two volumes in three sets. Though Nee’s inluence upon the Western churches was briely examined in Liu Yi’s article (“Globalization of Chinese Christianity: A Study of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee’s Ministry,” Asia Journal of Theology 30.1 [2016]: 96–114), a much more detailed and comprehensive survey of his inluence is demanded. In the case of John Sung, none of his writings has been translated. Beside two biographies, written by Timothy Tow, John Sung my Teacher (Singapore: Christian Life Publishers, 1985) and Leslie T. Lyall, Flamed for God in the Far East: A Biography of John Sung (London: China Inland Mission Overseas Missionary Fellowship, 1954), there are also a few articles written by Daryl R. Ireland, Jonathan A. Seitz, G. Wright Doyle, and Ka-Lun Leung. 9 See Zhou Kou, “賈玉銘牧師的慘痛教訓— (看這些人) 三 The Bitter Lessons of Rev. Jia Yuming—Looking at These Men III,” Nobody (blog), December 5, 2008, http://blog.haleluya.com.tw/nobody/archives/9385.html/. 70 4 . 1 / 2 018 1. The Life of Jia Yuming (1880–1964) Jia Yuming (or Chia, Yu-Ming) was born in Xiaoling village (小嶺村), Changle county (昌樂縣), Shanton province in northern China in 1880. His citizenship changed three times: from a citizen of the Qing empire (1644–1912) during much of his childhood to a citizen of the Republic (1912–1949), and then to a citizen of the Communist regime (1949–1964?) in his senior years. There was a short period in which Jia’s home province was under Japanese occupation during the Second World War. In his youth, instead of preparing for the imperial bureaucratic examination, Jia was sent to church schools operated by the American Southern Presbyterian Mission. In junior high school, he came to faith. It was recorded that at the age of eighteen or nineteen, Jia experienced a spiritual vision while praying on a river bank around two o’clock in the morning. In the vision, Jia heard a voice from heaven assuring him that his sins were forgiven.10 In that year Jia read through the entire Bible and developed the spiritual practice of daily Bible reading and prayer. Later, Jia entered Tengchow College (the forerunner of the irst Chinese modern university— Cheeloo University) and studied under Calvin Wilson Mateer (1836–1908) and Watson M. Hayes (1857–1944). He graduated with a B.A. in 1901. Then Jia entered a three-year theological training program at the College’s seminary, graduating in 1903. Ater his training, Jia was ordained by the Presbytery and pastored several churches in Shandong province for twelve years. In 1915, Jia was appointed as a professor at the Nanking Theological Seminary. Later, Jia became the vice president of the North China Theological Seminary (NCTS) and president of the Nanking Bible Teachers’ Training School for Women.11 In 1936, Jia founded the Christian School of Spirituality (later known as the China Christian Seminary of Spirituality) in Nanking. Sim rightfully pointed out that “Jia’s career mirrored the rise of fundamentalism in higher theological education in China.”12 In 1929, Westminster College (Fulton, Missouri) awarded Jia an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree, thereby recognizing his theological contributions to China.13 In 1948, the International 10 K. Wai Luen, Christ-Man: Spirituality of Jia Yuming 基督人—賈玉銘的靈修神學 (Taipei, Taiwan: China Evangelical Seminary Press, 2008), 44. 11 On the Northern China Theological Seminary, see Kevin Xiyi Yao, The Fundamentalist Movement among Protestant Missionaries in China, 1920–1937 (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2003), 139–82; Zhao Yuebei, North China Theological Seminary in Light and Shadow of History 歷史光影中的華北神學院, rev. ed. (Hong Kong: China Intl. Culture Press, 2015); A. Donald MacLeod, “For One Brief Moment: A Chinese Reformed Seminary’s Attempt to Re-establish and Prepare for ‘Liberation,’ 1944–1950,” A Donald MacLeod (blog), accessed May 12, 2017, http://adonaldmacleod.com/china/ for-one-brief-moment-a-chinese-reformed-seminarys-attempt-to-re-establish-and-prepare-for-liberation-1944–1950/. 12 Sim, “Captivating God’s Heart,” 30. 13 Wai Luen Kwok, “The Christ-human and Jia Yuming’s Doctrine of Sanctiication: A Case Study in the Confucianisation of Chinese Fundamentalist Christianity,” Studies in World Christianity 20, no. 2 (2014): 148. 71 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Council of Christian Churches invited Jia to participate in their irst convention in the Netherlands, and during the conference, Jia was elected as one of its vice presidents. At this time, Jia received wide international recognition. Ater the Chinese Communists won the Civil War, the elderly Jia was invited to be a leader of the TSPM. However, his participation did not help him escape the fate of being criticized and humiliated publicly during the Anti-Rightist Movement of 1957.14 On April 12, 1964, Jia passed away at his residence in Shanghai. 2. Jia Yuming’s Theological Contexts15 Theologically, there are two broadly accepted ways of categorizing twentieth-century Chinese Christian writers. This irst approach is to understand them through the dichotomy of fundamentalism and liberalism. Ralph R. Covell, on the other hand, suggests borrowing traditional Chinese ideologies such as Confucianism and Daoism to understand diferent theological approaches in modern Chinese theology.16 Alexander Chow states Covell’s position as follows: The Chinese Christians of the May Fourth Enlightenment fell into one of the two categories: “Confucian activism” and “Daoist pietism.” Like K. H. Ting, Covell believes that Christians of the irst part of the twentieth century could be grouped based on their involvement with the greater culture. The Confucian activist participated in writing and in radical involvement with the concerns of the times, not being afraid of social or political revolution. The Daoist pietist, however, sought to withdraw from the problems of the world and focus on the reform of the individual through the quiet, spiritual life.17 Chow criticizes Covell’s proposal, arguing that while borrowing Chinese traditional terminology and ideology to classify Christian theology in China may be convenient, Christianity is a unique spiritual tradition in China.18 14 The Anti-Rightist Movement was a CCP response to the Hundred Flowers movement in the same year. The Hundred Flowers movement was a “brief period of liberalization begun in May 1957, when Mao encouraged the ‘blooming of a hundred lowers and the contending of a hundred schools of thought’ and called for the nation’s intellectuals to criticize the Communist party. The resultant outpouring of expression was switly cut of by the end of June, when an ‘antirightist campaign’ was launched against those who had spoken out” (Jonathan D. Spence, The Search for Modern China, 3rd ed. [New York: W. W. Norton, 2013], A61). Also see Jack Gray, Rebellions and Revolutions: China from the 1800s to 2000, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 291–303. 15 On Jia’s historical context, see Song, “Christ against Culture? A Re-Evaluation of Wang Mingdao’s Popular Theology,” 56–60. 16 Ralph R. Covell, Confucius, the Buddha, and Christ: A History of the Gospel in China (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1985), 182–205. 17 Alexander Chow, Theosis, Sino-Christian Theology and the Second Chinese Enlightenment: Heaven and Humanity in Unity (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 6. 18 72 Ibid., 7. 4 . 1 / 2 018 A third approach, Chow’s tripartite classiication, developed from the writings by Justo L. González, Stephen B. Bevans, and Roger P. Schroeder.19 In this classiication, type-A theology is “law-oriented,” as “it was a theology of soul-saving and church expansion.”20 Under this label, the conservative theology of the foreign missionaries and indigenous Chinese leaders is represented. Meanwhile, type-B theology is “truth-oriented,” as it “sees mission as a discovery of truth.”21 With its optimistic anthropology and high view toward culture, type-B theology tends to have “an ‘anthropological’ model (with a basic trust in culture and its revelatory potential) or a ‘synthetic’ model (with a mutual enrichment between culture and Christianity).”22 Chow notices that this type of theology was irst presented by the seventeenth-century Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) and made its return through David Willard Lyon (1870–1949) of the YMCA and Timothy Richard (1845–1919) in the 1800s. Indigenous thinkers and leaders who fell under this type of theology were L. C. Wu (1870–1944), Y. T. Wu (1893–1979), and T. C. Chao’s (1888–1979) early theology. These were labeled as “Liberals” by leaders of type-A theology in the twentieth century. Type-C theology has Irenaeus of Lyon (CE 130–200) as its forerunner, and it is “predominantly a theology of ‘history’ with all the events of time pointing toward God’s purposes.”23 Historically this type of theology can be found primarily among Eastern Orthodox writers. In the twentieth century, however, type-C theology appeared among Western theologians such as Karl Barth (1885–1968), Dietrich Bonhoefer (1906–1945), Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955).24 Among Chinese Christians, Chow only identiies Bishop K. H. Ting (1915–2012) as this type’s representative because Ting developed his “Cosmic Christ” from the writings of process theologians and de Chardin.25 Though not perfect—as this paper aims to illustrate, using Jia—Chow’s new classiication helps students of church history to understand main trajectories in Chinese theology. In his book, Chow chose Watchman Nee, T. C. Chao, and K. H. Ting as representatives of the respective theological types, studying each in detail. When asked about his opinion of Jia Yuming’s classiication, Chow stated: 19 Justo L. González, Christian Thought Revisited: Three Types of Theology (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1989); Stephen B. Bevan, and Roger P. Schroeder, Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2004). 20 Chow, Theosis, 11. 21 Ibid., 10. 22 Ibid., 10. 23 Ibid., 10. 24 Ibid., 10. 25 Ibid., 12. 73 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Jia is perhaps a type-A theologian who is moving towards a type-C theology. Ater writing that book, I became more deeply aware of Wāng Weifan’s works. Wāng develops his theology from Jia Yuming and, in my assessment, is perhaps the one who takes Jia’s theology much farther to a type-C theology.26 3. Jia Yuming’s Theological Framework and Hermeneutics Though Jia’s theology can be categorized under conservative or type-A theology, according to Chow, Jia is unique and diferent from many of the same camp. In this section, a brief examination of Jia’s theological framework and hermeneutics will reveal this theologian’s uniqueness. 3.1. Theological Framework Ater presenting his tripartite classiication, Chow details what positions each type is likely to take on doctrines such as sin, salvation (i.e., synergy), and sanctiication. Particularly—concerning the topic of sin—Chow observes that type-A theologians closely followed orthodox teaching, which “carried legal and moral qualities,” and they used this doctrine “to emphasize the corrupted nature of humanity and the inability of the individual to reach God without divine help.”27 In Jia’s Shen Dao Xue, his hamartiology is federalistic.28 Commenting on the power and corruption of sin and its relationship with Adam and Eve, Jia explains God’s law and deines sin as “man’s disobedience to God’s holy laws with words, behaviour and will.”29 Under the banner of this law-oriented understanding of sin, Jia comprehends Christ’s atonement as penal substitution. Later, Jia wrote that there were three crosses: the promised cross, the fulilled cross, and the gloriied cross. Explaining Christ’s accomplishment on the cross, Jia writes, “How could such a sinless Lord bear the heavy burden of sin and its punishment for us, as he was illed with sin in his body, soul and spirit.”30 He continues, “It was not the fatuous Pilate, the ruthless 26 Alexander Chow’s personal correspondence to me, May 8, 2017. Used by permission. 27 Chow, Theosis, 116, 117. 28 According to Gregg A. Allison, federalism, or covenant theology, is “a Reformed framework for constructing theology that employs the concept of covenant as its organizing principle. Three covenants compose the structure of God’s activity. (1) The covenant of redemption is the eternal agreement of the triune God about accomplishing salvation through the Son. (2) The covenant of works is the divine pact established with Adam that would reward obedience with life and punish disobedience with death. Adam’s failure to keep the covenant nescessitated the next covenant. (3) The covenant of grace is the overarching covenant that promises salvation to people by faith and obedience. It encompasses the Noahic, Abrahamic, old (or Mosaic), Davidic, and new covenants.” Allison, The Baker Compact Dictionary of Theological Terms (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016), 54. 29 Jia Yuming, Shen Dao Xue 神道學 [Doctrinal Theology], Volume II (Taipei, Taiwan: Olive Love Foundation, 1996), 151. “大 凡人的言語行為與存心，背乎上帝聖潔的律法，概謂之罪.” Jia, Shen Dao Xue, Volume II, 161. Also see, Jia Yuming, Total Salvation 完全救法 (Hangzhou, Zhejing: Zhejiang Provincial Christian Council), 30–33. 30 74 Jia, Total Salvation, 110. 4 . 1 / 2 018 Roman soldiers, or the apostatized Jews that nailed the beloved Lord on the brutal cross; it was you and I—our sins—that nailed him on the cross.”31 It is clear that on the primary doctrines, such as God, sin, and salvation, Jia was faithful to the Westminster Standards; however, Jia departed from Reformed theology in other essential doctrines. To understand this departure, Chow’s point is vital. He observes that due to “the absence of any mechanical view of causation (like Western ‘A causes B’) in [sic] Chinese mindset [, t]he Chinese mindset has historically tended to be much more organic or, better, biogenerative with ‘ben (origin) producing mo (end).’”32 Thus, where the Reformed tradition teaches an ordo salutis, Jia and his fellow type-A theologians place their emphasis on human agency. Consequently, though they were “most inluenced by Augustine’s teachings, divine monergism is hardly found” in their theology.33 In other words, due to the inluence of Chinese philosophy (i.e., Confucianism) as well as a pragmatic agenda of Christian evangelism and unity, Jia then “Arminianized” his Calvinism.34 One clear piece of evidence of this compromising trajectory is Jia’s adoption of an anthropological trichotomy. For Jia, the starting point is the imago Dei in God’s creation. With supporting biblical texts like 2 Thess 5:23 and Luke 1:46–47, Jia states, Man is composed by the elements of spirit, soul and body. Body is man’s physical appearance and form; soul contains senses and desires, and it is the basis of his physique and life; spirit in its existence makes the possibility for one’s communion with the spiritual world. Thus, as body on earth belongs to earth, spirit is heavenly and belongs to God, and soul then mediates between body and spirit. As all man has these three elements, which is not diferent from the three-layer structured Temple, it can become God’s dwelling place.35 Understandably, Jia’s transformation to a trichotomist was inluenced by his analogical and plain reading of the Scripture. For Jia, the number three is fascinating, since not only does the Godhead 31 Ibid., 111. 32 Chow, Theosis, 120. 33 Ibid., 121. 34 On Confucianism’s inluence on Jia’s understanding of sanctiication, see Kwok, “The Christ-human,” 145–65; Kwok, “Jia Yuming’s Doctrine of Sanctiication and the Confucian Nurturing Doctrine of Xin (Heart-Mind) 賈玉銘的成聖觀與儒家心性 學.” Sino-Christian Studies 17 (2014): 75–110. In fact, these two articles are identical in content and argument, with only minor diferences in style. Leung Ka-Lun points out that due to the inluence of the Holiness movements in the West, one of the characteristics of Chinese revival movement in the early twentieth century was pan-moralism. Quoting Klaus Fiedler, Leung pointed out that though the Holiness movements were movements of “Arminianization of Calvinism” or “de-Calvinization,” due to the need of moral application, the Chinese revival movement sought to recapture Calvinism in their belief (Leung Ka-Lun, Evangelists and Revivalists of Modern China 華人傳道與奮興佈道家 [Hong Kong: Christianity & Chinese Culture Research Centre, Alliance Bible Seminary, 1999], 63–64; Cf. Klaus Fiedler, The Story of Faith Mission [Oxford: Regnum Books International, 1994], 210–71). In the case of Jia, as he was trained with Calvinistic theology, his later theological trajectory was rather “de-Calvinization.” 35 Jia, Total Salvation, 116. 75 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY contains three persons, but the temple has three layers, and Jesus also has a threefold oice (i.e., king, priest, and prophet). Furthermore, Jia also understands Christian life in three stages—conversion, the new life, and the higher life. Each of these stages relates to the sanctiication of a Christian’s spirit, soul, and body.36 This three-staged sanctiication is a main thesis of Jia’s Total Salvation. However, it is worth noticing that Jia’s view of the soul is diferent from Watchman Nee’s. Whereas Nee had a negative view toward body and soul, Jia saw the soul as being in a stage of having immature and imperfect knowledge of God. Thus in essence, a Christian’s soul is not an enemy per se.37 For this reason, Jia urged Christians to pursue a higher life—sanctiication of the body.38 With his fascination with the number three, Jia also controversially applied his trichotomism to the person of Christ. In a diagram, Jia conirmed that the incarnated Jesus is truly God and truly man. He then criticized the popular view of Jesus’ incomplete humanity, which argued that Jesus’ divine spirit substituted the human spirit in his incarnation. Jia pointed out that Jesus has both the divine and human natures. With these two natures, Jesus was cruciied and died, and at the cross, his spirit, soul, and body were illed with our sin, and he died as the incarnated Son with two natures. Jia argues that ater Jesus’ resurrection there were changes in his natures, as his “divine nature is no longer limited by, nor adheres to, his human nature…his human nature is ampliied by his divine nature…and Christ rules over the heaven and earth with his human nature.”39 The problem here is not Jia’s understanding of the incarnation, but the implication of his anthropological assumptions in the person of Christ, and his attempt at reading his theological system into Scripture. Another feature of Jia’s theology is his adoption of dispensational premillennialism.40 Interestingly, both in his Shen Dao Xue and Total Salvation, Jia only acknowledges two kinds of eschatological views, premillennialism and postmillennialism.41 In examining each view, Jia concludes, “It is not hard to distinguish which view is more biblically sound, and closer to reality… . According 36 See Ibid., 72–77. 37 See Jia’s interpretation of Deut 6:5, where he presented a positive view of soul. 38 Zhao Pan, “Studies in Jia Yuming’s Analogical Hermeneutics 賈玉銘的寓意解經方法研究.” Journal of Religious Studies 2 (2016): 239. 39 Jia, Total Salvation, 127–28. 40 “With respect to eschatology, the position that Christ’s second coming will occur before (pre-) his one-thousand-year (millennium) reign on earth. As a view developed by dispensationalism, it difers from historic premillennialism by its belief that prior to the tribulation, Christ will remove the church from the earth (the rapture); thus, it is also called pretribulational premillennialism. Revelation 20:1–6 pictures Christ’s rule over the earth (while Satan is bound) for a thousand-year period, which is followed by Christ’s ultimate defeat of a released Satan, the last judgment, the resurrection of the wicked, and the new heaven and new earth.” Gregg R. Allison, “Dispensational Premillennialism,” The Baker Compact Dictionary of Theological Terms (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016), 63. 41 76 Jia, Shen Dao Xue, Volume II, 53–66; Jia, Total Salvation, 41–43. 4 . 1 / 2 018 to the Scripture…Christ must return irst, and then there will be the millennium. Jesus will come again before the millennium.”42 Furthermore, from the diagram (see below) Jia provides in Total Salvation, it is clear that he understood redemptive history within the divisions of particular dispensations.43 For Jia, the signiicance of eschatology is in the fact that “without Jesus’ second advent, our salvation cannot be complete,” and it is in the millennium that Christ will enable Christians to become “spiritual beings in communion and accordance with God.”44 Figure 1. Jia’s diagram of redemptive history, illustrating his dispensational view, as presented in Jia, Total Salvation, 74. Furthermore, Jia’s eschatology also afects his ecclesiology. For him, the Church experiences seven stages in redemptive history: • the modeled church (which was planned before creation, Eph 1:3–14, 3:9–11) • the redeemed church (1 Pet 1:19) • the church with marriage covenant (Eph 5:26–27; 2 Cor 11:2) • the complete church (Rom 11:25–26; with Gentiles added to the Jewish church) • the raptured church • the wedded church (Rev 19:7–9) • the church that is gloried with Christ (Rev 21:9–10)45 By locating present Christians in the “complete church,” Jia urges his readers to understand their Christian duty as building themselves into little temples of the Holy Spirit, to build churches as the great Temple, and to construct a new world with the gospel.46 42 Jia, Total Salvation, 43. 43 Ibid., 75, 164. 44 Ibid., 46, 47. 45 Jia, Total Salvation, 51–52. 46 Ibid., 102–103. Sze-Kar Wan, “Competing Tensions: A Search for May Fourth Biblical Hermeneutics,” in Reading Christian Scriptures in China, ed. Chloë Starr (London: T&T Clark, 2008), 99. Sze-kar Wan observes that Jia believed that “spiritual renewal would lead to national salvation,” since his “diagnosis of the problems in China was moral degeneration.” 77 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY In line with his eschatologically-informed ecclesiology, Jia also advocates for Christian unity. In his work, Jia expresses his disagreement with denominationalism, since There should be no denominations in the church, either Catholicism or Protestantism. The church can be with or without life, either spiritual or unspiritual. There should be no special promotion for either the local church or the uniication of churches. What is truly important is the church of Christ in which Christ walks, the church that is the body of Christ, the church that is the bride of Christ, the church that glories Christ. Amen.47 From statements like these, it is not hard to see how Jia’s reading of apocalyptic literature, such as Revelation, inluenced his view of the church and the pastoral ministry. For Jia then, it is on the basis of mutual agreement on fundamental doctrines alone that sincere unity can be achieved.48 This view of unity became the standard view among the fundamentalists and neo-evangelicals.49 4. Jia’s Hermeneutics Wan describes a part of the hermeneutical problem: in the reading of any text, especially a classical text, the interpreter is ineluctably trapped in his or her own subjectivity and horizons, so much so that the inal interpretation cannot but bear some resemblance to the interpreter’s preconceived concerns and questions—namely, his or her “pre-understanding” (Vorverständnis).50 Instead of reading the biblical text in its original and canonical contexts and having the Scriptures challenge and shape his theology, Jia read his theological framework (or system) back into the Scriptures.51 As Zhao Pan pointed out, Jia’s interpretation is framed with his Christ-human theology— the total salvation is cultivated from body to soul, and to spirit— and inds its basis on his anthropological trichotomy.52 Thus, “Jia’s ‘perfect salvation’ becomes both a reading strategy and a 47 As quoted by Wan, “Competing Tensions,” 103. 48 See Delong Wang, “On Jia Yuming’s Thought Regarding ‘Independence and Unity’ 論賈玉銘的‘自立合一’思想.” Journal of Weifang University 17, no. 1 (2017): 5–8. In his article, Wang argues that Jia’s thought regarding church independence and unity is founded on his loyalty to the Church, and his sincere wishes for church growth, rather than xenophobia or wishes for national liberation. 78 49 Cf. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Basis of Christian Unity: An Exposition of John 17 and Ephesians 4 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962). 50 Wan, “Competing Tensions,” 97–98. 51 Zhao, “Studies in Jia Yuming’s Analogical Hermeneutics,” 239–41. 52 Ibid., 239; Jia, Total Salvation, 72–87. 4 . 1 / 2 018 programme for spiritual and moral cultivation.”53 Nevertheless, for Jia, there are requirements for biblical readers, as Wan summarizes: In order to understand the spiritual meaning of the biblical text and comprehend the mystery of the spiritual world, one’s rational faculties must irst be spiritualized (lixing lingxing hua 理性靈性化) and one’s reason must undergo a “baptism by the Holy Spirit”. Then, and only then, can the reader gain common sense as well as spiritual wisdom. “Perfect salvation”, therefore, is actually a spiritual discipline that readers of the Bible must practise everyday, so that they can be “spiritualized”.54 In other words, Jia understood biblical interpretation as an inclusive and cooperative work of both God and man. 5. Christ-Human Theology: Sanctiication in Jia’s Total Salvation On December 27, 1944, Jia’s wife Zhu Dexin (朱德馨) passed away. According to Xie Longyi, in three months, Jia wrote Total Salvation in remembrance of his wife.55 In his magnum opus, Jia summarizes his Christ-human theology. Jia divides Total Salvation into seven sections, each section containing ten chapters. The sections do not necessarily depend on each other. In section 1, Jia examines the person and work of Jesus Christ from eternity past until his second advent. In section 2, Jia uses the temple structure as a guideline and briely explains the foreshadowed gospel, and believer’s salvation. The title of the third section is “the Cross and I,” and under it, Jia explores topics including “the diferent crosses,” “the salvation of the cross,” “the shadow of the cross,” “the cross upon Christ,” “passing through the cross,” “the power of the cross,” “the connection of the cross,” “the fulilment of the cross,” “the loving power of the cross,” and “the centre of the cross.” In the fourth section, Jia uses all rivers or streams found in the Scripture to describe the salviic work of God in believers’ lives, particularly the illing of the Spirit. The number “three” is the key word in section 5, as Jia explains the progress of Christian life, developing his higher life spirituality. Jia then uses the apostle Paul’s life as an example to explain the total salvation in section 6. In the last section, Jia presents a dispensational eschatology, emphasizing the arrival of God’s Kingdom, and explains its relationship to Christian lives in the present age. In Total Salvation, Jia states repeatedly that the core of Christianity is about life. It is the experience of life, as life is what Christ has given us. Because of Adam’s failure, we lost life; now because of Jesus’ redemption, the life has been reinstated. The reason Jesus reinstated humans’ 53 Wan, “Competing Tensions,” 104. 54 Ibid., 104. 55 Xie, Christ-Man, 58. 79 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY spiritual life, is because we need this spiritual life, by which we are human beings. This spiritual life is the essence of life. If we lose such spiritual life, we then have lost the very appearance of humanness.56 Meditating on Christ’s metaphor of the vine and branches in his Farewell Discourses, Jia declares that “as life thoroughly lows in the branches, the life juice of Jesus should also be thoroughly lowing in us, making the Lord’s life our lives… . In fact, it is Christ in us.”57 In other words, Jia’s theological and spiritual motto was what Paul said, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21, KJV). Indeed, this mystical union is federal in essence. As Jia understands it, Christ’s atonement is substitutionary, so Christ’s obedience is accounted to those who believe in him. Believers’ communion with God becomes possible through the mediation of Christ, who in his incarnation, has two natures united in one person.58 Thus, for believers, their communion with God depends on their union with Christ, in faith and love. For Jia, this communion is what total salvation means. Thus, he states, “The amazing salvation inds its origin in God’s love, and is fulilled in man’s faith.”59 It is very clear that Jia placed emphasis on human agency in salvation, which relects Jia’s inability to think beyond his own cultural and philosophical limitations. Regarding the efect of sin in the Christian life, Jia’s concern is ethical. Though he understands sin as man’s transgression and disobedience to God’s law, he indirectly denies the continuous efect of the sinful nature in a Christian’s life. For instance, regarding Paul’s struggle in Romans 7, instead of interpreting the struggle as a current spiritual battle between the sinful nature and new life in Christ, Jia comments that it was Paul’s life prior to his conversion.60 The problem of sin or weakness in a Christian’s life is his incomplete salvation. Here Jia applies his trichotomy, and states that conversion is about “being counted as righteous by faith,” and it is about the salvation of the spirit.61 For Jia, “if a man’s spirit has been saved, and his soul and body are not yet saved, according to life, he is genuinely saved, as there is life in him, and he has entered eternal life.”62 The problem for those who have only been saved in spirit is their inability to live a spiritual and holy life, as if they were only in the court of the temple in a biblical metaphor Jia used. Thus, they need to enter the holy place, where their 56 Jia, Total Salvation, 142. 57 Ibid., 143. 58 Ibid., 144. 59 Ibid., 145. 60 Jia Yuming, Essentials of the Bible 聖經要義: Volume Seven, Paul’s Epistles (Shanghai: The National Committee of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China and China Christian Council, 2010), 81. 80 61 Jia, Total Salvation, 72–74, 135. 62 Ibid., 73. 4 . 1 / 2 018 “rationality is spiritualized, and the life is no longer mastered by the soul.”63 For Jia, the key to this step is to receive the Spirit. Thus, he urges his readers to pursue a spiritual baptism and be illed with the Holy Spirit.64 Furthermore, Jia points out that there is a higher life. To continue his metaphor, as a person enters the holy of holies, the body will be redeemed, and the total salvation will be fulilled in the life.65 For Jia, those who have achieved total salvation are perfect and holy, not only in eternal life, but also in this world. In other words, like John Wesley (1703–1791) and his followers, Jia embraces perfectionism. Consequently, Jia understands that the believers’ goal in sanctiication is not to be like Christ or become little christs; rather, it is to become Christ—in whose being the divine and human natures are united. Indeed, this is the meaning of Jia’s Christ-human theology. On the surface, Jia’s view is identical with the doctrine of theosis found in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, yet the foundation of Jia’s Christ-human theology is Christ’s substitutionary atonement and believers’ mystical union with Christ. The way to become Jia’s Christ-human is by one’s total surrender of the self to God, so that the believer might experience the progress of transformation from being egocentric (自我) to being “true me” (真我), then becoming “lamb me” (羊我), and inishing with “greater me” (大我).66 Thus, in contrast to Jesus Christ’s descent and incarnation, Jia’s view of sanctiication is ascensional, i.e., Christ dwells fully in believers. 6. Critique and Proposal Ater examining Jia’s Christ-human theology, Xie Longyi compares Jia with Irenaeus and points out the latter’s inluence upon Jia. Furthermore, Xie rejects the view that Jia has “Arminianized” his Calvinism.67 On the other hand, in two of Wai Leun Kwok’s articles, the author carefully examines how Jia drew his doctrine of sanctiication from the Confucian idea of heart-mind and moral cultivation. Kwok then concludes that “Jia’s idea of the Christ-human is blending Christian thought and Chinese culture so that the mystic spiritual life of Chinese men and women can be catered for.”68 63 Ibid., 74. 64 Ibid., 75, 225–26. 65 Ibid., 76, 135–36. 66 Explained as: “egocentric”—one who knows only self and does not know God or others, who only knows the physical but is ignorant of the spiritual; “true me”—one who knows “Christ died for me, and he lives in me;” “lamb me”—one whose whole life has been Christiied; “greater me”—“I am cruciied with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Gal 2:20). Jia, Total Salvation, 281–86. 67 Xie, Christ-Man, 304–82, esp. 322. 68 Kwok, “The Christ-human,” 156. 81 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY As it has been argued in this paper, although Jia was trained as a Presbyterian minister, there is evidence of his departure from the Westminster Standards, especially on matters of sanctiication. Nevertheless, Xie’s concern and criticism of Kwok is legitimate. With Kwok’s articles, he helps readers be aware of Confucianism’s inluence upon Jia, yet it can only prove Jia’s struggle of contextualization. In other words, Jia’s borrowing of Confucian vocabulary and ideas was for a clearer presentation of Christian theology to the Chinese. It is thus not as easy to think that Confucianism was constitutionally signiicant in the formation of Jia’s doctrine of sanctiication. In David Bebbington’s chapter on the holiness movements in the late nineteenth century, Bebbington brilliantly summarizes, From the 1870s onwards Evangelicalism was deeply inluenced by a new movement. Advocates of holiness teaching urged that Christians should aim for a second decisive experience beyond conversion. Aterwards they would live on a more elevated plane. No longer would they feel themselves ensnared by wrongdoing, for they would have victory over sin. They would possess holiness, enjoying “the higher life”, Initiates spoke “a new spiritual language”. They shared the belief that holiness comes by faith.69 Comparing Bebbington’s summary of the Keswick movement in Britain with Jia’s view of sanctiication, there are remarkable similarities. Both the Keswick leaders and Jia saw dramatic changes within their societies, as well as decline of general religious interest.70 Also, both the holiness movement and Jia’s teaching lourished in the context of the excitement of ongoing revivals.71 Since “Chinese Christianity is largely a relection of the theological trajectories of the West as conveyed by Western missionaries and Western-educated Chinese Christians,” the link between the Keswick movement and Jia Yuming was much closer than we might imagine.72 Bebbington points out that the holiness movement in the later nineteenth century at core was Romanticist, a reaction against the Rationalism of the Enlightenment.73 Such a feature can also be found in Jia’s thoughts. However, in his case, it was a reaction against the Chinese Enlightenment— the May-Fourth Movement (or the New Culture Movement, 1919). In fact, Kwok’s articles provide the context for this understanding, as many of the nineteenth-century Romantic philosophers were 69 David W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (Abingdon, England; New York: Routledge, 1989), 151. 70 Ibid., 152. 71 Ibid., 152–54; Daniel H. Bays, “Christian Revival in China, 1900–1937,” in Modern Christian Revivals, eds. Edith L. Blumhofer and Randall Balmer (Urbana, IL; Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993), 160–79. 82 72 Chow, Theosis, 11. 73 Also see Peter Elliott, Edward Irving: Romantic Theology in Crisis (Milton Keynes, England: Paternoster, 2013). 4 . 1 / 2 018 inspired by reading Confucius and Mencius.74 Also, Jia’s frequent use of poetic language in his Total Salvation is an expression of his protest against theological Sandemanianism.75 Therefore, Jia should be read and understood in terms of his spirituality. Being aware of his theological contexts, clearly, Jia Yuming provides a Chinese expression of Keswick theology. Thus, his theology of sanctiication should be read and criticized within the context of the Keswick movement.76 Regarding the source of Jia’s Keswick theology, it is reasonable to suggest that it was mainly through Jia’s reading and translation of English literature.77 It is also possible Jia was inluenced by some of his American Presbyterian friends, who had been inluenced by Charles Finney (1792–1875) and were friendly toward the Keswick movement. Another source was the conservative Baptist theologian Augustus Hopkins Strong (1836–1921), who “apparently was sympathetic to Keswick views.”78 In conclusion, this paper proposes that spirituality is a complementary element to Chow’s tripartite classiication. Though Chow’s classiication makes it easy to distinguish diferent camps of theologians, it ignores the spectrum within each type of theology. As has been demonstrated in this paper, Jia Yuming’s spirituality—particularly Keswick spirituality—distinguishes him from the rest of the type-A (conservative) theologians. 74 See Irving Babbitt, Rousseau and Romanticism (New Brunswick, NJ; London: Transaction, 1991), 395–97; Joel Kupperman, Classic Asian Philosophy: A Guide to the Essential Texts, rev. ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), 95–101. 75 Sandemanianism has its origin in Scottish minister John Glas (1695–1773), and was set forth by his son-in-law, Robert Sandeman (1718–1771). It was ater Sandeman’s name that followers of Glas’ teachings named themselves. Theologically, Sandemanians lay stress on rooting the nature of faith in the intellectual nature of man. In other words, according to John Macleod, they believed “faith is an intellectual assent.” Furthermore, Macleod comments, “With its view of faith Sandemanianism tended to be very orthodox in regard to the certainty with which the purpose of God in grace will work itself out in the salvation of his chosen people, while it held itself coldly aloof from any display of feeling in the exercises of a religious life” (John Macleod, Scottish Theology in Relation to Church History Since Reformation [Reprint; Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2015], 196, 197). Historically, though Sandemanianism was a theological issue in the Scottish churches, it was also introduced among English evangelicals in the eighteenth century. Among numerous English and American critics of it, Andrew Fuller’s (1754–1815) work was “the key polemic against Sandemanianism” according to Nathan Finn in Apologetic Works 5: Strictures on Sandemanianism, The Complete Works of Andrew Fuller, ed. Nathan Finn [Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016], xv). 76 For critique on the Keswick movement, see Andrew David Naselli, Keswick Theology: A Historical and Theological Survey and Analysis of the Doctrine of Sanctiication in the Early Keswick Movement, 1875–1920 (PhD diss., Bob Jones University, 2006); Naselli, “Keswick Theology: A Survey and Analysis of the Doctrine of Sanctiication in the Early Keswick Movement,” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 13 (2008): 17–67. Also see David Bebbington, Holiness in Nineteenth-Century England (Milton Keynes, England: Paternoster, 2007). 77 Some have suggested that Watchman Nee helped Jia to change from dichotomy to trichotomy. However, as Song Gang pointed out, though Nee and Jia worked together for a period of time, they criticized each other’s thoughts indirectly (Song Gang, “Between Fundamentalism and Localization: A Comparative Study on Theological Thoughts of Jia Yuming, Wang Mingdao, and Watchman Nee 基要與本色之間：賈玉銘、王明道與倪柝聲思想比較芻議,” in No Death, No Life: 2011 Symposium on Modern Chinese Christian Theology, eds. Lin Sihao and Chou Fuchu [Taipei, Taiwain: Bible Resource Center, 2012], 341). Additionally, Jia was much older than Nee when they worked together, so it seems unlikely that Nee inluenced or even changed Jia’s views. 78 George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism 1870–1925 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980), 257n27. Jia acknowledged in the preface to his Shen Dao Xiu that he was indebted to Strong and his Systematic Theology, and in Jia’s Shen Dao Xiu, there are many places that Jia simply translated Strong into Chinese. 83 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Book Reviews Whereas it is standard practice for academic journals to limit critical reviews to books published within the past year or two, the editors of the Journal of Global Christianity will occasionally publish reviews of older books for the following ive reasons: 1. Certain older books continue to be recommended by Christian ministries and therefore ought to be critically evaluated. 2. Classic bestsellers may be more readily available to our readers in the majority world than newer books are, and therefore reviews of these books will serve JGC readers. 3. While reviews of books that were published soon ater the release of the books themselves may at times be found on the internet, a contemporary evaluation of older books is more appropriate for contemporary readers of them. 4. Books about global missions, especially more popular level books, have not been as frequently, as critically, or as biblically assessed by reviewers with formal training as has Christian literature from other disciplines, such as church history and biblical studies. We want to remedy that slight. 5. Western classics may not be among the most helpful books for the majority world church today. Reviews published by the JGC are written with the non-Western church leader and cross-cultural servant in mind. Krabill, James R., Frank Fortunato, Robin P. Harris, and Brian Schrag. Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2013. 581 + xxviii pages. $37.49, paper. This book’s ambitious goal is “to help the global church appreciate and generate culturally appropriate arts in worship and witness” (back cover). Accomplishing such a large goal requires many voices, and this book does have many voices—over one hundred writers from twenty countries wrote 148 articles which ill over 600 pages. Invariably, a book with such a grand ambition and such a collection of writers will contain a mixed quality of articles, but even with such a variety, this book is a helpful and essential tool for understanding global worship. The length and breadth of this book makes a comprehensive survey impossible, so this review highlights only several of the chapters. The editors have organized the chapters into three main sections: foundations, stories, and tools. The irst thirty-six chapters deal with foundational issues using six diferent lenses: biblical, cultural, historical, missiological, liturgical, and personal. Andrew Hill’s opening chapter explores the 84 4 . 1 / 2 018 “Biblical Foundations of Christian Worship” by considering issues of continuity and discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments. Emily Brink and Harold Best each contribute a chapter considering how aesthetics function within local church gatherings. Anne Zaki contributes a terriic relection on the Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture, using the metaphor of dance to consider the relationship between cultures in corporate worship. Robin Harris argues that the universality of music does not mean that music is universally understood by all people in the same way. And Vida Chenoweth’s reprinted chapter (“Spare Them Western Music!”) highlights ways that Western music can wither certain aspects of a local culture. The second section entitled “Stories” collects perspectives from eighty diferent people to form a thick testimony about the joys and diiculties of ministry in cross-cultural contexts. These stories are grouped by geographic ainity. The perspectives from Africa are similarly subdivided into General, Central, East, North, Southern, and West. The American continent is subdivided into Latin and North American perspectives. Asian perspectives are given in three subdivisions: East, South, and Southeast. Caribbean and Australian perspectives are also grouped together, as are European and Eurasian perspectives. Three chapters provide perspectives from the Middle East while six chapters survey general concerns in a section entitled “Worldwide.” The inal section, “Tools,” addresses practical concerns in four overlapping ields. Concerning “arts advocacy,” four chapters considered how to promote awareness of art in the church while dealing with opposition. Concerning “teaching,” nine other chapters considered how arts workshops and curriculum are best implemented. Concerning “worship,” fourteen articles considered how to develop culturally-appropriate worship with well-discipled leadership and coordinated preaching ministry. Concerning “research and co-creation,” ive chapters discussed the creation and display of local art. In this section, the chapters by David Bailey should be commended for their helpfulness. Although the book has many strengths, two weaknesses exist. First, the divisions within the book seemed artiicial on occasion. The editors seemed driven by a desire to have many diverse voices and perspectives represented. Grouping those voices and perspectives into logical and complementary sections seemed less important. For example, two consecutive chapters were entitled “Six Principles for Discipling Worship Leaders” and “Seven Recommendations for Mentoring Worship Leaders.” These chapters had some overlap and lacked a coordinated conversation between their contributors, which would have been illuminating. Second, while it is impossible for any resource to be comprehensive, the book might have beneited by including more relection on globalization. A few of the articles mentioned the topic, including Jaewoo Kim’s article, “The Whole World Has Gone ‘Glocal.’” For the past ity years, globalization has frightened ethnologists with the prospect of the homogenization of world music primarily around a western sensibility. Everyone seems to agree that globalization is changing 85 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY the nature of the contemporary world and how people interact within it. What is less unanimous, however, is whether this change is “civilizing” the world or destroying it. From my own perspective, it seems beyond argumentation that many people in less economically developed regions of the world have beneited from entering the global marketplace and the development of their economy. Some scholars, however, note also the destructive aspects of globalization’s inluence. Namely, they emphasize how globalization is not the spreading of all cultures equally, but the normalization of particularly Western lifestyles within cultures they label as more vulnerable. By reducing geographic stability, globalization leaves institutions like the family, the Church, and the local community vulnerable to global monoculture and virtual communities. Musically, it is fascinating to see globalization at work. For example, notice how many varieties of music produced in eastern Asia are strongly shaped by the Western notions of pop and rock ballad. A cursory listen to “J-pop” and “K-pop” genres reveal powerful inluences and outright derivation from commercially successful Western idioms. Very similar things can be said for Chinese Cantopop and Thai Phleng Phuea Chiwit. Globalization can be seen in congregational singing when popular worship songs in the English-speaking world are translated and spread globally throughout the world-wide church. Anecdotally, it seems that more church musicians are inluenced by the recordings of Hillsongs church in Australia or the Passion movement in the United States than in the indigenous music of their native land. Whereas the book would have been strengthened with relection on these matters, these insights I’ve profered are small compared to the feast that this book’s editors place in front us. Overall, this book is an invaluable collection from almost all of the major thinkers and writers on the topic of ethnodoxology. It would serve as a wonderful assigned text in a college or seminary class. A topic this large deserves the sort of relection and consideration that this volume provides. It is sure to be an inspiration for missiologists and church practitioners for years to come. Matthew Westerholm Minnesota, USA Leeman, Jonathan. Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ’s Rule. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsiy Press, 2016. 448 pages. $40.00, paper. Jonathan Leeman wrote a big book with a short thesis: “The church is a political entity” (40). There is much packed into that small statement. What is the church? What does it mean for the church to be a political entity? Does this change how the church relates to the state? Does this mean Christians should vote a certain way? 86 4 . 1 / 2 018 This book sits far more on the side of political philosophy than on the side of practical political ethics. While he touches on some practical issues near the end (376–385), Leeman sees his book primarily illing two needs: First, he perceives a need for “institutional speciicity” when discussing political theology. Abraham Kuyper may have proclaimed that “Christ cries ‘Mine!’ over every square inch of the universe,” but Leeman asks, “Does Christ require the same thing of all people and institutions?” (26). The refrain “institutional speciicity” echoes throughout the book. Second, he perceives a need for “better political conceptuality” (28). Late modernity has let Westerners stuck in the rut of philosophical liberalism: the assumptions of secular post-Enlightenment liberalism (not to be confused with a speciic political party) “present the biggest hindrance to conceptualizing the ‘community of the kingdom’ in political terms” (29). The political is not limited to the activity of the state. “Politics broadly conceived is the acknowledgement that all of life exists within the jurisdiction of God’s comprehensive rule or judgment” (237). Leeman argues that a state creates civil codes based not on neutral reason but on unspoken moral and religious pre-commitments (76). So the state is an institution that makes both political and religious judgments, but it does not do so without limitations. It is merely the institution to which God has given the sword to administer his requirement of justice in the Noahic covenant. The church is also a “political” institution. Its beliefs about the world and about humanity cannot help but afect its actions in the public square. Further, to say “Jesus is Lord” is to make a potent political statement (39). The church is the institution to which God has given the keys of the kingdom to bind and loose individuals with respect to the kingdom of God. The church does this publicly, making both political and religious pronouncements about who are citizens of the kingdom. While the book primarily builds a biblical case, Leeman also draws upon the ideas of Oliver O’Donovan, namely his “doctrine of the two,” which understands state and church authority not to be co-extensive with outer person and inner person, respectively, but with this age and the age to come (51, 274). “Institutions like the state and family have authority over the whole person in one age, within the limits of their mandates; while the church has authority over the whole person for another age, within the limits of its mandate” (51). The foreign embassy is Leeman’s chief organizing illustration for the church’s role in the world. Like an embassy in a foreign land, the church declares the laws of the kingdom it represents and airms the citizenship of those people residing in the world. Subjects become citizens through sola ide (245). The book contains a chapter each on deining “politics” and “institution.” Our mental image of what is “political” so oten includes ballot boxes and partisan mudslinging. Leeman seeks to widen this picture, arguing that politics is “the mediating of God’s covenantal rule” (50). God’s covenants, particularly the Noahic covenant, play an important role in determining the jurisdiction of the state’s authority. 87 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY An institution is any “behavior-shaping rule structure” (112). In chapter 2, Leeman pushes back against popular anti-institutional works that invoke a tired “spiritual, not religious” motif (139). The “spiritual, not religious” label belies the fact that all communities place expectations upon their members, making them more institutional than their members would like to admit. An institutional hermeneutic seeks to identify those expectations and obligations, asking, “Who is authorized to do what?” (129). With deinitions established, the book moves into its main argument: Leeman, along with Cavanaugh, rejects John Rawls’ political neutrality because it relies on an unwarranted distinction between the secular and the religious, a distinction that restrains Christians and other people of faith from basing any political argumentation on their closely held beliefs. It seems unavoidable to me, once the Rawlsian neutrality disappears, that religious freedom goes along with it, for what else keeps governments from adopting a state religion? Chapters 3–4 explain why this is not so through an institutional reading of the Adamic and Noahic covenants. One question that divides political theologians is whether government is intrinsic to God’s good created order or a sin-restraining product of the post-lapsarian world. But Leeman bypasses Eden to extract a concept of politics from God’s own triune nature (146). He acknowledges that this task is “fraught with diiculty” (146n23) and takes the space to argue for why his view difers from the Social Trinitarianism of Jürgen Moltmann and John Zizioulas. From here, Leeman moves to the Adamic covenant: mankind was created to “image” God, to tend and rule the garden, exercising dominion as vice-regents under the sovereign King. “Simply to live, for a creature made in God’s image, is to act out a religious drama just as much as it is to act out a political drama” (168). Politics and religion have been part of humanity’s substance from the beginning. The fall into sin contested God’s political authority, and humanity now lives between self-rule and God-rule. How does God’s rule change with this new rebellion? Leeman irst takes up the two-kingdoms view of David VanDrunen, who organizes the kingdoms according to God’s identities as creator and redeemer respectively (176). This conceptual fuzziness agitates Leeman: “Institutionally, what exactly does it mean to speak of a providential (or creator) rule versus a redemptive rule?” (178). Then, through an extended interaction with John Locke and Nicholas Wolterstorf, Leeman unfolds how the covenants establish government “from above” (192). Locke believed government to be the project of individuals to form a just system of contractual relationships so that a government’s legitimacy comes from the people (“from below”). But as God’s created subjects, God authorizes governments and obligates humanity to yield to them (192). In the Noahic covenant God commands humanity to administer his justice in all the earth. The two verses, Genesis 9:5–6, “obligate all human beings, as a matter of obedience to God, to ensure 88 4 . 1 / 2 018 that a reckoning for crimes against humans occurs” (185). Important to the discussion is the phrase “crimes against humans,” as Leeman argues that it limits the state’s authority, excluding from it the right to declare or punish “crimes against God” like unbelief. This, Leeman argues, is what protects religious liberty. The Noahic covenant provides the obligation and authority to administer justice (189). But is a governing authority also authorized to do things other than administer justice, such as building roads and creating national food health laws? Leeman declines to say, only commenting that such decisions and activities lie in the realm of wisdom, i.e., what may or may not be wise to do in a given context at a given time (138, 198). The rest of the chapter surveys the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants. Abraham and Israel were to display God’s righteousness and so bless the darkened world (217). Where the Noahic covenant called humanity to punish only crimes against humanity, the Mosaic covenant required the people of God to punish crimes against God (225). Leeman follows Wolterstorf in making an important distinction between delegated and deputized authority. God’s people bear God’s name, and so their actions represent God in a way that the actions of a governor do not: “This deputization culminates and is most centrally embodied in the Davidic son” (227). The new covenant establishes a new political community not along ethno-linguistic lines but upon the regenerative work of Christ. “The new covenant promises to fulill the purposes of the previous line of covenants. It presents the society in which the Davidic son will reign. It will implement a just and righteous rule in the life of a people as the Mosaic covenant intended to do, and it will ofer a basis for forgiveness of which all the sacriices were a shadowy type” (254). Ater an extended discussion on the general similarities and diferences between the new covenant organism and totalitarianism, Leeman, following O’Donovan, unpacks a doctrine of two ages that draws from the framework of inaugurated eschatology (274). The present evil age, characterized by the lesh, coexists with the age of the new covenant, characterized by the Spirit of God. These ages overlap. “This means … that activities of the lesh and Spirit will inform the activities of both creation institutions and new creation institutions” (276). Christians, occupying both ages, submit to the present age’s institutions while waiting in hope for the consummation of the kingdom of God at the return of Christ. And all of this shows why “creational” and “redemptive” categories are not speciic enough to organize political activity, because God’s citizens occupy both creation and redemptive mandates. Though nearly 300 pages into the book, Leeman does make it to the New Testament. Here he captures Matthew’s understanding of righteousness, starting from confession and moving through forgiveness and fruit-bearing, public acknowledgment, and progressive submission to God’s will (314). In arguing this, Leeman weighs the objections raised by various proponents of the New Perspective on Paul. 89 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Finally, the book comes to an end with an appendix-like discussion of the keys of the kingdom and their use in the church. What exactly do the keys represent or unlock? Who holds the keys: the elders or the church body? Leeman does a masterful job at the end, tying up a few of the threads he began earlier with this statement: “The keys represent the power of deputization” (341). They represent the authority to conirm a person’s citizenship in the kingdom of God or to determine a doctrinal position (341). Political Church deserves a wide reading, but there are some areas in it where questions remain. In Leeman’s construction, it is not clear whether the state has the jurisdictional authority to do anything other than what is prescribed under the Noahic covenant, namely, to administer retributive justice for crimes against humanity. As noted above, Leeman does not specify whether God authorized the use of coercion to collect taxes for non-justice purposes that historically have been common to civil governments (e.g., the construction of Roman roads and aqueducts), other than to say that falls within the realm of wisdom. This appears to be a curtailment of the state’s jurisdiction that efectively requires an extremely small government. The power of the church, according to Leeman, consists in displaying the ethics of the kingdom to the world in general. What the church cannot do, it seems, is call the government to create laws beyond issues of justice. While Leeman does comment briely on issues such as tax structures (382), it is not clear that citizens of the kingdom of God have any jurisdictional authority in these matters until they become manifestly unjust. Leeman too briely critiques those systematic theologians who ground political conceptuality in the inner life of God. It seems out of place amongst the more robust and constructive biblical theology throughout the rest of the book. I wonder how many people will be able to understand from that short section why they ought not follow the trinitarian tinkering of Roman Catholic Karl Rahner and Eastern Orthodox John Zizioulas. Those qualiications aside, Leeman graciously informs the reader about recent projects of major commentators on political theology. He is rigorous in his work and succeeds in showing the church to be a political institution. The biblical-theological arguments for the identity and exercises of the church are his strongest, and prove very illuminating. The writing is lucid and the footnotes are plentiful, also serving to make Political Church an exceptional introduction for readers interested in the discipline of political theology. Joe McCulley Minnesota, USA 90 4 . 1 / 2 018 Ngô, Tâm T. T. The New Way: Protestantism and the Hmong in Vietnam. Critical Dialogues in Southeast Asian Studies. Seatle: Universiy of Washington, 2016. 211 + xi pages. $50.00, cloth. The conversion of Hmong people in Vietnam to Protestantism is notable not only for its size—with an estimated 300,000 Hmong Protestants in Vietnam out of a general population of more than one million Hmong in Vietnam—but also because the irst converts came to faith through radio broadcasts. This book examines such a story through a sociological lens. Tâm Ngô lived with Hmong Protestants in northern Vietnam. Her interviews and observations provide the background for the study. The book provides unique source material for understanding conversion in Southeast Asia, especially among the Hmong in Vietnam. It is no easy task to account for the Hmong Protestant movement in Vietnam. The simplest explanation is that millenarian expectation in Hmong culture blended well with the Protestant message. But similar millenarian tendencies can be seen in much of East Asia. Ngô reminds us of the Taiping Rebellion in nineteenth century China as well as the Hoà Hảo movement in twentieth century Vietnam. Ngô concludes that no single theory can account entirely for conversion on this scale. Yet as a tentative suggestion, she proposes that Protestantism provides an alternative path to modernity for Hmong people, one that bypasses the state worldview of Vietnam (10). Ngô recognizes that this is still not the entire picture. Conversion is complex, and her study illustrates how initial reasons for conversion may difer from the reasons people continue in the Protestant faith. Chapter 1 describes the plight of contemporary Hmong in Vietnam. Ngô catalogues a series of government programs designed to civilize and manage Hmong groups. These have let the Hmong feeling patronized and belittled. For example, as Vietnam transitioned to a market economy in the late 1980s and early 1990s (the Đổi Mới reforms), the government allowed for partial privatization of land but restricted the size of family land plots so that few Hmong had suicient farmland for surplus crops. Ngô spent time in a village made up of Hmong who had been relocated in the 1990s from higher elevations. Given the promise of better farmland, they had moved closer to communication routes but found the beneit negligible. Vietnamese government oicials, however, blame the Hmong themselves for their poverty because, they say, Hmong people refuse to fully enter the free market system. This attitude has contributed to Hmong distrust of Vietnamese leadership. Chapter 2 details the irst conversions to Protestantism of Hmong in Vietnam through the preaching of John Lee on radio broadcasts sponsored by the Far East Broadcasting Company. Lee intentionally used Hmong folk history interpreted through Christian language in his preaching. Hmong culture already had a Fall narrative, and Lee preached that one could return to the “god of heaven” through Jesus Christ (44–46). FEBC irst heard about Hmong conversions in 1991 when a Vietnamese newspaper lamented that so many Hmong had become Christians through FEBC 91 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY broadcasting. In the early 1990s, Vietnamese authorities tried to impede more of these conversions but without success. Chapter 3 traces the transnational character of Hmong culture as a signiicant factor in Hmong conversion to Protestantism. Diaspora Hmong Protestants in the US and other countries have a missionary zeal, which Ngô attributes to their discovery of modern life outside of Southeast Asia. This translates into a strong desire to take part in the evangelism of their former homeland. But Ngô observes that this zeal is double-edged. By introducing the transnational Hmong network of Protestants to the Hmong in Vietnam, Hmong returning as “missionaries” also introduce ways of life characteristic of the contemporary developed world. She concludes that Protestant Hmong in Vietnam will have diiculty maintaining traditional forms of life in the process. Chapter 4 addresses the suspicion that Protestantism and apocalyptic millenarianism go hand in hand. Ngô tells about how one of her contacts irst heard the radio preaching and then responded to local eschatological hype in 1990 by ceasing to farm for a time. In 1992 when the radio instructed Christians to make contact with a church in Hanoi, however, he found Christian resources in Hmong and burned his ancestral altar in a ceremony with all his descendants (85–87). This story is typical and indicates the presence of a millenarian tendency in Hmong culture that can be combined with Christianity so that “little [religious] adjustment is required” (95). But millenarianism is not a tame beast. As recently as May 2011, a large group including some Protestant Hmong gathered in remote Mường Nhé, partially provoked by the prophecy of Harold Camping about Christ’s imminent return. Ngô concludes that Protestantism could not contain Hmong millenarianism. Throughout the chapter, however, she records that many Hmong Protestants deny that such radical millenarianism is a driving force. As early as 1992, Ngô’s contacts began interacting with mainstream Protestantism. Ngô even visited a church group in 2007 that questioned her in order to be sure she was not an apocalyptic preacher (99). Chapter 5 explores the concrete reasons Hmong convert to Christianity. Especially in the early 2000s, these included certain economic advantages: doing away with costly shaman rituals, eliminating bride price, and a healthier lifestyle. Ngô concludes that the Vietnamese governmental attempts at modifying Hmong culture have failed and have instead opened up the possibility of alternative identities. Christianity, with a transnational message, ofers a platform for identity that goes beyond the second-class situation of Hmong in Vietnam. Chapter 6 details the intricate negotiations between church and state among the Hmong. Constant surveillance and pressure forced most Protestant Hmong to meet in relative secrecy during the 1990s. When church registration was allowed in 2004–2005, Ngô reports that authorities denied many families from joining worship services because they were not oicially registered in the community. Worship services were under surveillance and were required to take place exactly as had 92 4 . 1 / 2 018 been planned. Protestant Hmong also face pressure from non-Christian Hmong. Family animosity remains because Protestants refuse to participate in funeral rituals that include animal sacriice. Chapter 7 analyzes the changed moral stance among Protestant Hmong, especially in regard to sexuality. Protestant conversion has visibly afected courtship and marriage. Christians speak against secret courtship that oten involves pre-marital sex. Christians do not practice paying a bride price and frown on the tradition of bride-capture (oten an orchestrated event). The vocabulary in Hmong for personal sexual sin has even been broadened by Protestantism, although Ngô is unclear what this might imply. In short, “Soul searching, introspection, and the conception of sin seem to be some of the most important aspects of the Protestant contribution” (161). Evangelical missiologists and theologians will ind this text a complement to other sociological studies of conversion among ethnic minority groups. Ngô resists the urge for a purely political narrative to explain Hmong conversion, although she prefers the story of a cultural trajectory related to the contemporary developed world. Protestantism provides a jump forward into modern identity structures for Hmong people, a jump that neither Vietnamese Communism nor traditional Hmong religion could provide. While this may help explain certain aspects of conversion, pragmatic reasons do not account for the tenacity of many Hmong believers despite persecution in the early 1990s. In one surprising statement, Ngô compares conversion narratives in 2004–2005 to 2007–2008. Some of the people had said that pragmatic considerations were foremost (e.g., lack of a bride price) in 2005, yet the same people explained that Protestantism was superior as a belief system when they were interviewed again in 2007 (103). Here is an insight for missiologists and disciple-making missionaries. Burning one’s ancestral altar was, for the Hmong, only the beginning of conversion and maturity in Christianity. Ngô’s work provides an opportunity for evangelicals to relect on the observable, cultural, and even political nature of conversion. The recognition of public, gathered Hmong churches in communist Vietnam is a testimony to the continuing power of the Christian message. At the same time, this sourcebook of Hmong experience in conversion points out the multiple steps involved in changing one’s identity. The way one irst confesses Christ may change ater relection and engagement with Scripture and the global Christian community. Ngô’s work reminds evangelicals that a variety of human factors make up the process of Christian conversion and serves as a helpful resource for recording this history among the Hmong. Jonathan Hoglund Vietnam 93 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Paas, Steve. Christianity in Eurafrica: A History of the Church in Europe and Africa. Wellington, South Africa: Christian Literature Fund, 2016; Washington, D.C.: New Academia Publishers, 2017. 554 pages. $38.00, paper. This work by Steven Paas is not just one book, but two well-footnoted textbooks with extensive bibliographies in one binding: one a basic church history survey of the church outside of Africa, and the other a history of the church in Africa. The book begins with an extended historiographical essay entitled, “Characteristics of Church History,” in which Pass lays out the basics of the study of church history, as well as his particular perspective, in very ine fashion. As he deines the study of church history, the author clearly states that this book is written from a providentialist’s perspective: God is in control of history (pp. 22–24). Paas continues this idea later where he states, “[God’s] hand has prepared the world for receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ” (p. 299). Further, the study of church history is done so that the student can see Satan’s attempts to destroy the church (p. 34) among other important lessons. In this opening essay, Paas also has penned a balanced, informative section on the various approaches to the history of African Christianity. This is especially useful to those who may be unfamiliar with either the standard literature or the approaches to studying African Christianity. Included in this, Paas likewise reviews in summary fashion the various books which treat African Christianity. His extended time as both a missionary and teacher in Africa well serves him in this task. As with every major subsection of this book, a very extensive and helpful bibliography ends the historiographical essay. As a Reformed writer, Pass begins his presentation by tracing “the Church of God” back to the Garden of Eden, but then notes that at the Incarnation “the Church began its manifestation as the Church of Christ,” and then becomes a “universal witness” to Christ at the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (p. 50). Happily, and unlike almost all basic English-language church history textbooks, this irst half of Paas’s work, “From Galilee to the Atlantic,” provides good information on the Church outside of Western Europe, and it also does not spend an inordinate amount of pages tracing primarily the history of Christianity in America. Accordingly, the irst half of this book is a good English-language choice for those teaching in places other than the United States, or for those who would like a less US-centric approach, though certainly the writing concentrates on Christianity in Western Europe. Paas has distilled the essential elements of the history of the Christian Church in the West even as he provides some well-written portions on the Church outside the Roman Empire, and, later, outside Western Europe. While the irst section of Christianity in Eurafrica is good, the real goldmine is the book’s 240page history of African Christianity, “The Faith Moves South.” Paas has drawn from a very wide variety of clearly cited sources which generally are known only to the African specialist, if known at all, and especially unknown to those not normally teaching or researching African Christianity. While this second major section mostly covers the history of mission coming from the northern 94 4 . 1 / 2 018 hemisphere to Africa, Paas begins well before the era of the modern Protestant mission to Africa by covering Christianity in its earliest arrival in the apostolic and post-apostolic eras. Quoting another, he notes rightly a three-fold religious heritage of Africa: traditional religion, Islam, and Christianity (p. 296). These three touchstones will be referenced repeatedly as he lays out a history of African Christianity. Particularly attractive and helpful for the reader is Pass’s constant inclusion of African Christianity within not just the religious milieu throughout the ages, but the political and cultural milieus as well. Thus, the reader is as well-grounded in African history, politics, and cultures as one can be from a survey text. This is especially helpful to the northern or western hemispheric reader who will not have a good grasp, if any, of any aspect of African history, religions, or cultures. That said, this also would be a ine textbook for any who teach in a modern African context given its combination of two books in one. Christianity in Eurafrica is a recommended addition to the English-language library of any reader or teacher of the history of Christianity who is searching for a greater world perspective. Theological colleges and seminaries also should make this work part of their library collection. Very serious consideration especially should be given this work as a required textbook by those who are teaching church history at a location on the continent of Africa. T. J. Marinello Netherlands Plueddemann, James E. Leading across Cultures: Efective Ministry and Mission in the Global Church. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsiy Press, 2009. 230 pages. $22.00, paper. My team was on the ground in the Horn of Africa. For months we had prayed and prepared to serve and love a community of orphans. Under the guidance of our national leader, we packed up the vehicle on our irst day and expectantly journeyed the forty-ive minutes through deep poverty and lush vegetation to meet these precious lives made in God’s image. Upon our arrival, no smiles greeted us. Indeed, no children were in sight, nor were they even on the compound. “The kids are not here during the day,” the director declared. “They are at school.” Where had communication broken down? Had I not worked with our national contact for months, ensuring that there was a need at the orphanage and that the plan was set? Why had we traveled nearly 8,000 miles? I had prepped my team to be ready for the unexpected, but as the leader, I now found myself frustrated. And my irritation only increased when I learned that our national leader knew the kids would not be there but had not wanted to tell us for fear of hurting our feelings. 95 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY With this and similar experiences behind me, I read James Plueddemann’s Leading across Cultures and realized that my dilemmas in East Africa were partially due to a clash of cultural expectations and approaches to leadership. My goal-oriented approach to ministry was confronting a relationship-oriented culture that was “loving” me by not hurting me with “bad” news (see 23, ch. 5). Furthermore, my low-context culture, which ights vagueness and thrives on detailed planning and speciic communication, was struggling under the ambiguity of a high-context culture that was comfortable with the unknown, celebrated fresh possibilities, and lived more in the present than by a schedule (see 23–24, ch. 8). With Plueddemann’s help, I am learning how deep humility and adaptable leadership styles are imperative for efective cross-cultural ministry. A Christian missionary is, by nature, someone who proclaims the gospel and makes disciples across cultures (13, 47). Presently, the church’s greatest growth is happening among the poorest of the poor in the global south (Latin America, Africa, and developing countries in Asia), which means that if those in the West want to efectively participate in the Great Commission, we will likely need to partner with those in other cultures who are already engaged in this great task. Plueddemann’s book is designed to empower leaders from diferent cultures to serve side-by-side in efective ministry for the glory of God and the strengthening of his omni-ethnic church (12, 15). The author’s insights and guidance are well tested, for he brings a half century of mission-focused leadership to this book, having served with SIM as a missionary educator in Nigeria for thirteen years, a professor of educational ministries at Wheaton College Graduate School for thirteen years, the international director of SIM for ten years, and a professor of intercultural studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for fourteen years. Following the introduction, Part 1 includes three chapters and examines the inluence of culture on the theory and practice of leadership in a globalized church. Chapter 1 highlights how efective cross-cultural leadership demands a philosophy and practice that is biblically faithful and culturally lexible (28). Chapter 2 overviews Plueddemann’s own journey in cross-cultural leadership, focusing especially on his decade and a half in West Africa and his decade as international director of SIM. Chapter 3 clariies why “leadership development is at the heart of world missions” (47), stressing how missions is by nature cross-cultural and discipleship oriented. This latter point increased my appreciation for agencies like Learning Resources International and Training Leaders International, which are devoted to engaging in theological famine relief by equipping indigenous leaders to study, practice, and teach God’s Word efectively. Part 2 shapes the body of the book and considers some of the current research related to the impact of culture on leadership values. Ater emphasizing in chapter 4 the need to distinguish biblical guidelines for leadership from cultural bias, chapters 5–8 address a number of contrasting cultural values that oten create tensions on multicultural teams (cf. 22–24). It was in these chapters that I experienced the most help in assessing my own leading across cultures. First, low-context 96 4 . 1 / 2 018 cultures like the one from which I come focus on ideas, are goal-oriented, resist change, and value individualism; in contrast, the high-context cultures of east Africa and elsewhere pay attention to the concrete world around them, are relationship oriented, welcome change, and value community (ch. 5). Second, increasingly those in the West value low power distance, which minimizes status symbols and inequalities between people; however, many of the cultures in the global south continue to value high power distance, which maintains levels of classism by distinguishing those with and without power, whether due to family pedigree, education, wealth, or the like (ch. 6). Because many people in places like Africa automatically elevate the status of a westerner, missionaries from the West must work to maintain their God-given calling as servants and not kings, and they must seek justice for the oppressed and carefully contest any unhealthy classism present in other cultures. Third, building of an African proverb that says, “If you want to travel fast, go alone; if you want to travel far, go together” (114), we see that some cultures value individualism whereas others value collectivism or community (ch. 7). In contrast to the West, which is highly individualistic, most of the world’s societies place group interests over self-interest. Here Plueddemann calls for leaders to leave egocentric individualism, family-centric collectivism, and ethnocentric collectivism to embrace a “theo-centric global collectivism” and “principle-centered individualism” in which they see individuals, families, and entire nations as objects of God’s love and as potential participants in the omni-ethnic people of God (123–24). Finally, leaders coming from low-context cultures have a low tolerance for ambiguity and therefore seek to minimize uncertainty and insecurity through policies, planning, and schedules; in contrast, high-context cultures have a high tolerance for ambiguity and therefore live with less stress, a slower pace, and oten less respect for laws (ch. 8). One can easily see how one leader’s delight in order, consistency, structure, and procedure would clash with a leader who accepts uncertainty as a normal part of life. With this, the more a mission agency becomes multicultural, the more it will need to embrace a type of federalism that is centralized with respect to a common vision and core values but decentralized with respect to the speciic activities happening on the ground (138–41). As Plueddemann noted earlier: “It is diicult to make decisions for Africa while sitting in an air-conditioned oice seven thousand miles away. I needed to trust the Lord, and I also needed to trust the leadership close to the situation… . Decisions need to be made close to where they will be carried out” (41). In summary, Plueddemann suggests that high-context cultures commonly “place value on high power distance, collectivism, a tolerance for ambiguity, and a greater concern for interpersonal relationships,” whereas low-context cultures “prefer low power distance, value individual freedom, seek to avoid uncertainty and are more task-oriented” (155). Part 3 addresses the question of how God’s universal biblical truth intersects with diverse cultural values. Key here is Plueddemann’s insistence that, while Scripture “stipulates the ultimate purpose of leadership and a core understanding of the nature of reality, it does not prescribe leadership style” (149). Chapter 9 stresses that, whereas cultures vary in their leadership values, the Bible tells 97 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY us what they ought to be (157). Thus Scripture teaches us that leadership’s ultimate purpose is to glorify God by bringing people into full relationship with him and that leadership’s primary goal is to develop people in such a way that points them to Jesus (161–63). Chapter 10 adds that, instead of being dictatorial or overly passive, leaders should take on a consultative approach, wherein they proactively attempt to inluence the process of decision making while making inal decisions by consensus (174–75). Plueddemann also states that the task of leadership is to develop people by modeling, teaching on, and praying for growing/loving relationships within the church (177–79). The inal section, Part 4, applies the insights from the Bible and culture to practical issues in world missions and the global church. Chapter 11 address the process of developing vision and strategy (see the key questions on 196), and then chapter 12 reemphasizes the need for developing global-centric leaders who see the world through God’s eyes. The book concludes with an epilogue that warns against how we, or the cross-cultural leaders we partner with, can easily be blind to our own cultural values and hidden assumptions (212). He also cautions leaders from thinking their values and approaches to leadership are necessarily better than others. My own journey into celebrating global Christianity and in serving as a cross-cultural leader is less than a decade in the making. I long to remain teachable and to enjoy efective leading across cultures, so I am very grateful to Plueddemann for capturing in this book a wealth of wisdom from his years in cross-cultural leadership and ministry training. As one who believes that Scripture airms that Christ is most gloriied where men and women practice complementary roles within the church and home, I took minor issue with Plueddemann’s unqualiied support of women in all areas of church leadership (174, cf. 21, 42–44, 56, 138–39). Nevertheless, I greatly appreciated his stress on the need for both men and women to actively engage in cross-cultural leadership and ministry. Having grown up in a context that has a low tolerance for ambiguity and that values goal-setting, individualism, and low-power-distance, God is helping me learn to lead efectively alongside my brothers and sisters in Africa’s Horn who have a high tolerance for ambiguity and who naturally value relationships over plans, collectivism over self, and power-level distinction. Plueddemann’s work has helped me think more deelpy about leading across cultures for the glory of Christ and the good of his omni-ethnic people. Jason S. DeRouchie Minnesota, USA 98 4 . 1 / 2 018 Qureshi, Nabeel. Answering Jihad: A Beter Way Forward. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016. 173 pages. $16.99, paper. In Answering Jihad, Nabeel Qureshi tackles the diicult task of explaining the roots of modern-day jihad. The work includes a very personal recounting of the author’s exploration of the Quran and Hadith traditions of Muhammad’s life. Born into a devout Muslim household, Qureshi grew up understanding Islam as a “religion of peace.” He heard this rhetoric from most other Muslims, including imams and politicians. However, such statements contradicted the occasional terrorism done in the name of Allah. So Qureshi began a personal investigation into the origins of Islam. His research led him to the conclusion that these foundations of Islam indeed taught violence. Jihadists are serious Muslims who have returned to the sources, in a parallel of sorts to Protestants during the sixteenth century Reformation. Nevertheless, Qureshi challenges readers not to return violence for violence but to ind a better way forward, demonstrating Christian love toward Muslim neighbors. In his introductory remarks, Qureshi explains how he had long avoided writing a book on jihad because he felt this topic was “so charged that even broaching the subject makes one’s intentions appear suspect.” He had chosen to ofer his opinions to individuals rather than write a book. However, the recent escalation of violent action from radical Islamists around the world moved him to write Answering Jihad. He explains that Islam traces its genesis to the life of Muhammad. Though thousands of sources can be found reporting Muhammad’s life and sayings, the most reliable information can be found in the Quran and the Hadith (traditional sayings of Muhammad, including the sunnah, or the actions of Muhammad according to Islamic tradition). Much to his chagrin, Qureshi found that Muhammad’s life had become increasingly violent and aggressive as he gained power. Quranic teachings on peace were recorded in the early years of Muhammad’s preaching (the irst thirteen). The traditional Muslim hermeneutical method holds that later writings supersede former ones. Thus, the later violent writings in the Quran overrule the earlier peaceful oferings. As Qureshi studied the Hadith, these ideas were only reinforced. He came to the inescapable conclusion that Islam was founded on violent and aggressive actions and teachings. The goal of groups such as ISIS, al-Quida, and Boko Haram is to return Islam to a caliphate (a single world-wide governance for all Muslims) and usher in the end of time. Violent means are intended to honor their perception of Muhammadian examples and teachings while polarizing and clarifying fundamentalist Muslims values. According to Qureshi, this worldview echoes the actions and teachings articulated by Muhammad in the last ten years of his career. More moderate practitioners of the religion might be taking Islam in a diferent direction than Muhammad may have been indicating in his later years. For Qureshi, the realization that radicals best exempliied the origins of his native religion caused a crisis of faith. He felt pushed to a “three pronged” decision: go apostate and leave Islam, re-imagine 99 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY Islam as a peaceful religion cut loose from its violent origins, or become a fundamentalist jihadist. Qureshi chose to leave his Muslim upbringing and become a Christian. He tells that story in a previous book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (Zondervan, 2016). Answering Jihad is organized into three parts, and each part is divided into six chapters. Each of these chapters asks and answers a diferent question. Part 1 explains the Muhammadian origins of jihad. Part 2 explores jihad as it is manifested today. Part 3 discusses “Jihad in a Judeo-Christian Context.” Though the entire work is geared to help outsiders understand Islam, this section is especially helpful to a Christian reader. Qureshi asks and answers two questions: “How does jihad compare with Old Testament warfare?” and “How does jihad compare with the Crusades?” The book’s main body concludes with the author admonishing readers to reach out to Muslim neighbors in love and compassion rather than with violence. At the base of his “better way” is Christ’s teachings, such as the Sermon on the Mount. The four appendices ofer further background information: a timeline of Islam; “Muhammad’s Words on Jihad” (actual verses from the Sahih al-Bukari); the answer to the question, “What is a caliphate?”; and details about the Ahmadi Muslim sect. Appendix B, in which the author lays out the collection of violent, pro-jihad verses he quoted throughout the book, is especially helpful for those who have never read the Islamic source material. The book ends with a glossary of Islamic terms and a sneak peek at Qureshi’s following work, the much lengthier and important, No God but One: Allah or Jesus? (Zondervan, 2016). Qureshi’s intent is to teach the uninformed. Answering Jihad can be easily understood by a reader who has done little or no prior background reading on this topic. Qureshi supports the suppositions he makes with quotes and other references from the source material. He writes in a style that is very easy to read, while creating a cogent logical argument. The book, though relatively brief, is illed with information about Muslims and the Islamic religion. It will expand most readers’ understanding of Islam in general and of the radical Islamic fundamentalists in particular. If Islam is a “religion of peace,” the violent action perpetrated by groups and individuals represents an elephant in the room. Though Qureshi faces the issue square on, his compassion for Muslim persons ofers a refreshing change from most popular, fearful, and reactionary rhetoric on Islam. The reader is let wondering what other helpful resources Qureshi may have produced for the church had he not died from cancer in 2017 at the young age of thirty-four. Rex Shaver North Carolina, USA 100 4 . 1 / 2 018 Shipman, Mike. Any-3: Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime. Monument, CO: WIGTake Resources, 2013. 152 pages. $14.95, paper. The growth of Islam outpaces that of any other religion in the world today. Such a development has manifold implications for the global community. For Christians, at the very least it means increasing exposure to and contact with Muslims. Engaging adherents of Islam with the gospel, therefore, is not merely a missiological consideration but an existential reality for virtually every follower of Christ. Mike Shipman’s short work, Any-3: Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime, addresses this situation by providing a handbook for evangelistic conversations with Muslims. His work seeks to inspire action but also to normalize and simplify the act of sharing the gospel. In many ways, the book emphasizes the urgency and attainability of this goal as demonstrated in its subtitle: Lead Muslims to Christ Now! At its essence, the book elaborates on a commitment to share the gospel with anyone, anywhere, at any time. More speciically, the strategy focuses on equipping Christians to evangelize Muslims, though the author suggests that the method can be adapted to any target group. This is because the book is derived from, in the author’s words, “Jesus’ pattern of witnessing” (25) found in his interaction with the Samaritan woman in John 4. Relecting on this example, Shipman presents ive basic steps of any evangelistic encounter: 1) make a connection, 2) transition to a God conversation, 3) refer to the hearer’s sinfulness, 4) present the gospel, and 5) appeal for a response. The majority of the book teases out these steps as the method of Any-3, including many stories of evangelistic success from the Muslim world. Later chapters include suggestions for holding Any-3 workshops as well as abbreviated advice for follow-up, discipleship, and church planting. No doubt, the Any-3 method has much to commend itself. First of all, Shipman’s book is saturated with biblical references. While not expressly stated, the obvious assumption is that the authority in any evangelistic conversation comes from Scripture. This may seem insigniicant, but it represents a notable improvement over other books within this genre targeting Muslims. Shipman does not appeal to the authority of the Quran. He does not argue merely from shared or natural revelation. His is a method and message based on Scripture. Any-3 also beneits from being simple and memorable without becoming formulaic. Shipman gives examples of evangelistic dialogue, and he encourages interaction and active listening on the part of the witness. His method also avoids the common problem of being merely propositional. Instead, he seeks to evangelize through narrative. Such an emphasis removes the evangelistic discussion from one-sided preachiness or abstract ideas. Any-3, done correctly, succeeds in drawing out the people being engaged, listening to them, and communicating with memorable stories and understandable concepts. From the beginning, Shipman’s method seeks to build bridges and discover commonality. But on the issue of the gospel, 101 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY it also maintains helpful distinctions. This bears out in one of Any-3’s key phrases in the evangelistic dialogue: “What I believe is diferent.” Such clear distinction is not always a given. In a book promoting evangelism at any time with anyone, it should not be surprising to ind a corrective to common excuses for not sharing the gospel. Here Shipman is direct, and some may ind him of-putting. But his diagnosis is mostly accurate. Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well dispels the common myth that evangelism can only happen in the context of a trusting relationship. Shipman repeatedly challenges the prevailing wisdom that missionaries should only be cautious, slow, relational, and incarnational in the Muslim context. Instead, he makes the case for evangelism early and oten in obedience to Christ’s command. Another strength of Any-3 is the inclusion of a direct call for a response in any evangelistic encounter. Built into the method is an appeal to the listener to respond with faith in Christ. For Shipman, evangelism is not merely information sharing. And while his description of the gospel summons may at times blur the lines of presumption and manipulation (103), his overall emphasis is a needed one. As is oten the case, the strengths of this method are also its weaknesses. First among them is its simplicity. As Shipman contends, “The profound and powerful message of efective evangelism is the simple gospel. Evangelism that confuses this gospel with more complicated methods only weakens the gospel’s power” (83). Shipman’s model is unlinchingly straightforward. His single focus is on presenting the gospel and calling for a response. Because of this, he avoids debate or apologetics. He does not seek to reason with the hearer but always to stay on course. Taking Jesus as his example, he encourages his readers to delect or avoid questions until later. However, at least in the case of this book, Shipman never returns to address such questions. He does not discuss major issues such as the identity of the Son of God, the authority and reliability of the Christian scriptures, or even the resurrection. Of course, we have precedent in Jesus’ ministry to redirect questions and conversations; however, those were oten cases where others were avoiding truth or testing Jesus. While the gospel is certainly primary, simplifying the message to the point of avoiding or postponing legitimate questions does not lead to understanding nor does it demonstrate love. Perhaps more concerning, Any-3 is built upon a reductionist hermeneutic. Many of the problems with the method come from the foundation on which it is built. As noted, the structure of the book rests entirely upon the narrative of John 4. However, with respect to redemptive history, John 4 does not represent a full-orbed “gospel” conversation. Rather, we have more detailed and clear accounts of evangelistic preaching from Acts, not to mention more of them in number. We also have suicient evidence from Jesus’ varied interactions and teachings that John 4 need not become the single cornerstone for any evangelistic system. 102 4 . 1 / 2 018 Further complicating the issue is Shipman’s strict dependence on presenting the gospel in terms of two sacriice stories. In fact, for Any-3 the whole of the gospel is encapsulated in the theme of sacriice for sin. This leads Shipman to lean heavily on the descriptive accounts in early Genesis (whose teachings are less than clear regarding implications for animal sacriice) as the forerunner for the sacriice of Christ. Of course, taking such a thematic approach simpliies the gospel message, but it creates more questions than it answers. Another signiicant issue is Shipman’s apparent decisionist view of conversion. Following in the vein of the subtitle, passages throughout the book imply or outright state that the decision is entirely in the hands of the receptor. All they need to do is say “yes” to Jesus (140). They are portrayed as being like Lydia who, in the curious editing of the author, is said to have “opened her [own] heart to respond” (103). The biblical text (Acts 16:14) actually says that God opened her heart to respond to the gospel. While Shipman contends that John 4 mirrors apostolic preaching of the gospel, his method notably lacks the summons to repentance found in Acts or even the Gospels. Little space, if any, is given to the issue of repentance in Any-3. Hearers are called to respond positively to Christ, but they are not explicitly called to turn from sin. In a curious reading of John 4, Shipman says that Jesus’ invitation to the Samaritan woman to call her husband was a “clear indication” that Jesus was trying to draw a larger group of people (31). Most interpreters, however, would see in his words an exposure of the woman’s sin. Lastly, the simplicity of Any-3 ultimately plays out in a truncated view of discipleship and a minimalist view of the church. This is perhaps the most concerning portion of the book. For Shipman, Christian discipleship is all about reproduction. In fact, he takes the concept of abiding in Christ and turns it into an acrostic which paradigmatically describes the essentials of being a Christian: 1) Abide in Christ, 2) Bold evangelism, 3) Instill multiplying discipleship, 4) Develop churches, and 5) Equip leaders (91). While this may not have been his intent, what comes across is the notion that the end of the Christian life is merely reproduction. Fruitfulness in Christ is equated with numeric growth. Such a view then plays out in the ways that Shipman envisions discipleship studies and church meetings. New believers within the Any-3 strategy strangely gather around a short vision statement on the essentials of reproduction. They also recite a statement of faith which is incredibly brief and tilted toward a commitment to evangelism rather than the typical, objective truths of a creed (126–27). These statements are divorced from Christian history and tradition, and they fail to represent the values of the new covenant community beyond a commitment to rapid growth. As such, Any-3 has the potential to propagate a movement that is not suiciently grounded in the Scriptures. Undoubtedly, many Muslims are coming to faith in Christ, and probably a good number through the committed method and simple presentation that is Any-3. However, the inspirational stories 103 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY of decisions for Christ throughout the book ultimately leave us wondering what the hearers have actually decided, and to what they have been converted. Elliot Clark Minnesota, USA Stanley, Brian. The Bible and the Flag: Protestant Missions & British Imperialism in the Nineteenth & Twentieth Centuries. Leicester, England: Apollos, 1990. 212 pages. Out of print, paper. The Bible and the Flag by Dr. Brian Stanley (Professor of World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh and Director of its Centre for the Study of World Christianity) is a penetrating and thorough historical examination of the polarizing accusation that “the trader and the settler followed the missionary, who was the agent of European imperialism, working hand in hand with the colonial powers for the subjugation of the black people and the territorial extension of the imperialist powers” (11). One of the reasons this narrative is so embedded in even the Christian community today is that the Fith Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Nairobi in 1975 unabashedly proclaimed that “missionaries came to Africa with ‘the Bible in one hand and the gun in the other’” (11). Stanley is careful to indicate that this book is not an attempt “to exonerate Christian missionaries from all of the charges that have been leveled against them … or exercise moral judgment … [but] to convey an informed historical understanding of the issues involved” (12). Ater establishing the broader historical background in the opening chapter, Stanley limits his examination to British Protestant missionaries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and “the role [they] played within the pattern of British imperialism” (12). In chapter 1 Stanley traces the genesis and development of the modern arguments against missions in the imperial age. First, he demonstrates that most discussions of missions and imperialism before decolonization in Africa (roughly the 1960s) centered on China and India and that in both cases the accusation of “missionary imperialism” was driven by nationalistic responses to British imperial control. Second, Stanley exhibits that missionaries to Africa should not be wholly condemned as intentional agents of indigenous subjugation and cultural destruction on behalf of European imperialism because the early leaders of the nationalistic revolutions in Africa (beginning in 1957) were generally sympathetic to Christianity and grateful for missionaries’ work in Africa. Rather, he shows that this indictment lowed from the ever-increasing inluence of Socialist and Marxist economic models in sub-Saharan Africa ater 1966. Chapter 2 challenges the modern assumptions that imperialism is inherently exploitative in intention and efect. Imperialism was not a monolithic practice or policy. From the sixteenth to the 104 4 . 1 / 2 018 mid-nineteenth centuries, European imperialism was driven by the desire to colonize or establish white settler communities in the non-European world (e.g., Americas and Australasia). The second form, colonialism, is distinguished from the former in that the imperial power “imposes governmental control on a territory without resort to large-scale human settlement” (34). Colonization oten morphed into colonialism as the British empire expanded. The third form of imperialism that Stanley identiies is informal imperial control “in which the imperial wields predominant inluence in a territory without resort to either human settlement or formal political rule” (35). This variant of imperialism is a central but oten overlooked manifestation of imperialism during the history of British expansion. Stanley contends that an accurate assessment of the relationship between missions and imperialism “demands greater precision in terminology than current popular usage will admit” (35). Stanley proposes a provisional model of British imperialism built on the “Robinson and Gallagher thesis (1961)” that explains the aims of British expansion in terms of economics: As “the irst industrial nation” and “the workshop of the world,” Britain needed secure access to sources of raw materials (especially cotton) and guaranteed markets for her products. For the irst seventy-years of the nineteenth-century, in which Britain’s economic pre-eminence was unchallenged, these objectives were secured with relative ease; in the late Victorian period Britain discovered that her position of global commercial supremacy was harder to defend than to acquire, and could be maintained only by increasing resort to methods of rule instead of methods of mere inluence (42). British imperialism can be summarized as a system of local inluence and informal control—where England did not resort to either large-scale settlement or formal political rule—so that she could simply manage and protect her trade rights. This practice usually transitioned into oicial governmental rule and increasing foreign occupation in an attempt to stabilize local crises that overwhelmed informal authorities and threatened British commercial activity. For example, India’s importance to Britain ballooned as its importance to Asian trade became apparent. In addition to this the British empire relied heavily on the Indian army as an “imperial ire service” for problems in the Far East and East Africa. Therefore, India became an important objective in its own right far beyond initial estimations (42). But, this expansion of the empire was only embraced if it could be maintained “on the cheap.” British parliament required that colonial governments raise funding from the local populace. Tensions arose in their various colonies. British imperialism contained the seeds of its own destruction. Western education, democratic values, and Christian idealism provided the means and the ethics for nationalistic leaders to demand their freedom from British rule. Chapter 3 explores the motivating force of Protestant missions. The irst wave of British missions (1780–1820s) was motivated by an evangelical revival in Britain that weakened the prevalent tendency toward hyper-Calvinism rather than developments in British colonial policy or overseas investments. This theological development applied the Calvinism of Jonathan Edwards to the question of 105 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY evangelism, which led to the increasing conviction that God uses the means of preaching to achieve his sovereign purposes. This conviction produced an overwhelming sense of obligation to proclaim the gospel amongst idol-worshiping “heathen” in order to restore their relationship with God. Even though missionaries believed the gospel must come irst, they also believed that Christian faith would eventually civilize the natives and advance their civilizations so that they might have a better life. Missionaries believed this development would promote healthy commercial activity for the native population and Britain as well. Chapters 4–6 are a detailed “on the ground” analysis of the variegated relationships between Christian missionaries and British imperialism in various geographical locations. Each of these chapters is based on a thorough examination of original letters, reports, and documents. Stanley’s four case studies in chapter 4 (West Indies, The Cape of Good Hope, India, and China) cover the period of 1790–1860 and reveal two important motifs. First, the primary focus of evangelical missionaries and their domestic supporters was gospel proclamation. Second, missionaries during this period were compelled to defend “native interests” against exploitation by European commercial and political forces because of their commitment to Christian values, compassion for the people, and pursuit of efective evangelism. Yet, Stanley does not attempt to whitewash this period. He is careful to highlight missionary missteps in India and signiicant cultural failures in China—most notably, the manner in which missionaries to China not only rationalized the results of the Opium Wars (wars they had openly criticized) but also leveraged the unequal treaty between China and Britain to demand access to new locations within the country instead of patiently building relational bridges into new territory. Chapter 5 is dedicated to the period from 1860–1895, which saw British imperialism transition from a system of informal control to national annexation. Stanley demonstrates in four historical accounts (Fiji, Bechuanaland, Malawi, and Uganda) that, for the most part, missionaries during this time period remained committed to their conviction that the gospel was the only hope for mankind’s salvation. However, by the 1890s their admirable ight against native slavery and commitment to social justice became almost indistinguishable from a commitment to the imposition of British law. This well-intended crusade inevitably let Christian missionaries, at the dawn of the twentieth century, precariously open to attack by nationalist politicians who demanded freedom from Western imperial control. Stanley devotes chapter 6 to the manner in which foreign missions’ eforts were compromised by Enlightenment attitudes that saw Christian missions as a vehicle to transmit the treasures of civilization and technology to the “younger races.” Stanley contends that this transition contributed greatly to the nationalist revolutions in China (1895) and Kenya (1960). First, the conlict in China was exacerbated by the fact that most missionaries not only rationalized China’s forcible opening by European powers but also utilized provisions in the treaties to force their way into new territories 106 4 . 1 / 2 018 and demand reparations ater the Boxer Rebellion. Second, missionary schools provided indigenous leaders with a clearer sense of national (not merely tribal) self-consciousness and the ability to convincingly articulate their national grievances against Western rulers (e.g., Kenya). Third, World War II not only reduced Britain’s privileged position in the world but also opened the way for competing socio-economic ideologies like Communism. Stanley even suggests that nationalistic leaders chose Communism not because it ofered the best political and economic solution but because it ofered the most efective vehicle to express their anti-colonial sentiment, win their freedom, and provide an alternate path to the economic and educational development they desired without converting to “mission Christianity.” In Chapter 7, Stanley engages the common accusation that missionaries foisted their cultural values on their converts and new churches, which in turn undermined existing indigenous social systems. First, he begins by explaining the four assumptions of British imperial missionaries: (1) Pagan cultures were not religiously neutral but were under the control of Satan; (2) nineteenth-century Britain was a pragmatic model of Christian culture and society; (3) human progress is desirable and honorable pursuit; and (4) Christian eforts to “civilize the heathen” had proved successful. Second, he presses into an oten-overlooked relationship between religion and culture; namely, it is impossible for people to convert from one set of religious beliefs to another without profound cultural implications. That is because “there has never been a great culture which did not have deep roots in religion” (170). He contends that if the Christian missionary is called to “induce people to renounce their existing religious (or irreligious) allegiance in favor of Christianity, then there can be no question that the missionary is in principle committed to the promotion of cultural change” (170). He concludes by ofering two important proposals regarding Christian missions and culture: First, the appropriate basis for evaluating missionary impact “cannot be whether missionaries promoted cultural change or not, but whether the direction of that change was generally beneicial or not” (171). Second, Christian missions should focus on developing a Christian counter-cultural society that exempliies the absolute values of God’s kingdom within a particular cultural context (173). The inal chapter is devoted to a number of questions that arise from the argument of the book. First, Stanley contends that empires must be measured by the degree to which they hold fast to justice, righteousness, and compassion because these characteristics low from the character of the one true king. Second, he critiques the nineteenth-century concept of providence that fueled many missionary eforts, noting how they were too quick to pragmatically interpret any event as a work of God without adequate suspicion of the human agency involved. Third, he upholds the gospel-centered motives of imperial missionaries but highlights their general failure to trust non-Europeans with ecclesiastical leadership. Finally, he concludes by asserting that “Christianity is an inherently imperial religion in the sense that it claims that the revealed truth of God was incarnated uniquely in the person of Jesus Christ, that all men and women are called to respond in repentance and faith 107 JOURNAL of GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY to that revelation, and that the kingdom of God inaugurated in the coming of Christ makes absolute demands upon all people and all cultures” (184). I highly recommend this book to anyone pursuing cross-cultural ministry, especially Westerners working in the global south. Stanley’s deep interaction with primary sources, socio-economic theories, British history, and culture is a welcome supplement and correction to broad-brush characterizations about colonialism. His even-handed depiction of motive, success, and failure within Christian missions throughout Britain’s imperial age is exemplary. For Western readers, the book should yield a better understanding of what the memory of colonialism evokes in many parts of the world. Stanley’s concluding chapters cut to the heart of the perennial question of Christianity’s relationship to culture. Conversion will require cultural change. However, that change must “exemplify the absolute values of God’s kingdom within a particular context” (173). Yes, the past is a foreign country. But, Stanley helps us see the success and failures of those who have gone before so that we might learn from their sacriicial service for the kingdom of God and understand better the motives that led to their mistakes. Mark Kernan Washington, USA 108