Contextual Missiology

The Bible was almost entirely composed by Jewish writers. An examination of its Jewish or Hebraic roots provides considerable fresh insight into the Christian faith and worldview—particularly in respect of covenant, community and creation.

Covenant forms the dominant paradigm governing the biblical worldview. The new covenant inaugurated by the Messiah likewise forms the dominant paradigm governing the New Testament. Each biblical covenant is associated with a community. A “covenant community” who receive a vocation commensurate with the relationship into which they have been brought.

The biblical view of creation ultimately anticipates its global renewal, whereupon heaven is united in harmony with earth, God dwelling amidst his people. En-route to this finality, the biblical worldview incorporates the bondage of creation to the effects of sin and its partners: death, disease and decay. Amidst this corrupted creation, the vocation of the covenant community is to be an incarnate Messenger of Hope. Both recipient and giver of New Life; a sign, symbol and harbinger of creation‟s ultimate, glorious liberation from bondage.

The thesis seeks to express the message of Scripture according to Scripture’s own priorities. It uses biblical rather than philosophical terminology, presenting the Bibles message within the framework of a primarily Hebraic worldview. To aid recognition of vital theological threads woven throughout the biblical narratives, the thesis develops a graphical “panorama” of the biblical narrative.

Significance and Value of Findings

Traditional, post-Enlightenment theologies—i.e. reformed, dogmatic, systematic, critical, non-contextual etc.—having undergirded Western Christendom during the past two centuries, are presently creaking under the strain of post-modern, post-colonial critiques and worldviews. In order for Christian faith and community to flourish within this hostile cultural climate, the challenge of missiological renewal and reformation needs to be embraced, so that Christian theology, missional praxis and culture to flourish in new ways.

Insight into the Jewish roots of Scripture and, in particular, the biblical covenants and the vocational communities of both Israel and the Church, proffers a significant contribution towards such a renewal, potentially rendering a widely appealing paradigm: centering upon God‟s commitment to creation, in partnership with his covenant community; incorporating the combating of evil through pursuit of this-worldly peace, justice and dignity for human beings; lived out amidst the biblical backdrop of an ultimate Judgement and Regeneration.

Within an increasingly agnostic West, a covenant, creation and community centred worldview offers fresh insight and a significant contrast to the individualistic drift of modern, protestant-evangelical culture and praxis, with its dualistic perspective of earth and heaven and concomitant focus upon personal salvation and eternal heavenly “escape‟ from earth‟s “mortal coil.‟

Within the increasingly Christian South—where community-centred readings of Scripture are normative and worldviews are more free of anti-biblical, secular, atheistic and materialistic philosophical presuppositions—burgeoning, missional Christian communities can relate readily to a biblical theology of covenant, creation and community as a vital, educational, theological introduction to the Bible.
Finally, the recognition and incorporation of the Jewish roots of the Christian faith builds a small, but potentially significant, cultural bridge with the Jewish people.

Conclusion

By aiming at a biblical theology based upon an Hebraic worldview centred upon creation, covenant and community, this Thesis seeks to provide an educational resource inviting people to enter into and comprehend the worldview, culture and theology of the Bible, rather than the worldview, culture and theology of the West.

"The purpose of this analysis is to provide an overview of the North Korean situation in order to design effective mission strategies among the North Korean people.  This analysis will provide a summary overview of the current North Korean culture, current missionary work, and possible strategies for the future.  Due to the intense suspicion of foreigners and extreme resistance to religious activity, missionaries will have to rely heavily on political, social, and humanitarian methods in order to evangelize the North Korean people" (taken from the introduction).

These GUIDE QUESTIONS are intended for reading, studying, and reflecting on the book: D. K., Smith, Creating Understanding: A Handbook for Christian Communication Across Cultural Landscapes (Zondervan, 1992). Though dated, this book is one of the best I have found to introduce students to the essential principles concerned. This is the initial component of a course designed to teach and practice the basics of translating Christian literature contextually in diverse cultural settings.
I have added my outline for Module One of the course in which this book is used: Translating Christian Literature--Principles & Procedures

This is the latest edition of a seminary course that I teach on a biblical response to animistic practices in Asia that fall under the guise of folk Islam, folk Buddhism, folk Hinduism and folk Christianity. The course is comprehensive, seeking to understand animism at both the behavior and worldview level and biblical truth to light on this critical subject. I take an interdisiciplinary approach, bringing together cultural anthropology, theology and practical theology.

1. Inleiding Op 4 Maart 1966 maak John Lennon van The Beatles sy berugte stelling: " We're more popular than Jesus Christ now. I don't know which will go first-Rock and Roll or Christianity " (Sullivan 1987:313). Drie en dertig jaar later, aan die einde van die twintigste eeu, is beide Rock-musiek 1 en die Christendom steeds beduidende rolspelers in die wêreld 2. Uitsprake soos dié van Lennon het die afgelope paar dekades bygedra tot 'n gevoel dat Rock-musiek en die Christendom feitlik direk teenoor mekaar staan. So byvoorbeeld beweer Lang (1990:1) dat daar algemeen aanvaar word dat die meeste Rock-musiek anargie, rebellie en nie-konformerende wêreldbeelde propageer. In aansluiting by Lennon het Miles (in Turner 1988:168) die volgende te sê oor Rock-musiek: " To me, rock 'n' roll is the music of rebellion and sexual liberation ... it's music which cuts through hypocrisy and guilt, music which attacks patriarchy and authoritarianism, and as such constitutes a direct attack on what I think of as traditional Christian values ". By die aanhoor van hierdie stelling sal die titel van hierdie hoofstuk seker vreemd klink op die ore van menige gelowige. Soos oor Nasaret gevra is, sal met reg gevra kan word of daar enigiets goeds kan kom uit die wêreld van moderne-of Rockmusiek. Soos wat daar wél iets goeds uit Nasaret gekom het, is daar ook hoop vir die wêreld van musiek. In die woorde van die Kanadese Rocksanger Bruce Cockburn: " Seen a lot of things in the world outside/ Some bad but some good stuff too/felt the touch of love in the works of God/and now and then in what people do/never had a lot of faith in human beings/but sometimes we manage to 1 Rock-musiek word hier gebruik as 'n generiese term vir alle moderne musiek. Beginsels wat bespreek sal word in hierdie hoofstuk sal ook toegepas kan word op moderne klassieke musiek soos filmklankbane, en moderne popmusiek. 2 Bykans 'n derde van die wêreld word op die een of ander wyse met die Christendom in verband gebring, terwyl die moderne musiekbedryf saam met ander populêre kultuuruitinge een van die grootste bedrywe in die wêreld is.

Whether a person "engages" with the Bible (hears or reads it to encounter God) is affected by many social and cultural factors. To better understand those, factors it is helpful to think of them in terms of 8 different categories, here called "Conditions." By analyzing the same situation as it affects each of these 8 conditions, then comparing them, one can determine which aspect to improve in order to encourage people to engage with that Bible.

By BENGT SUNDKLER and CHRISTOPHER STEED -- In this magisterial work, Sundkler and Steed review the entire history of the development of Christianity in all regions of the continent. In contrast to the conventional focus on the missionary enterprise, they place the African converts at the centre of the study. African Christians, typically drawn from the margins of the society, reinterpreted the Christian message, proselytized, governed local congregations, and organized Independent Churches. Emphasizing African initiatives in the process of Christianization, Sundkler and Steed argue that its development was shaped by African kings and courts, the history of labour migration, and local experiences. of colonization. This long-awaited book will become the standard reference text on African Christian Churches.
My review of this important book is found here:
https://www.academia.edu/6340021/A_History_of_the_Church_in_Africa_review
(This text was made available at the following website: pdfdrive.com/a-history-of-the-church-in-africa-e185144317.html)

Communicating the gospel across cultural barriers is an essential element of the Great Commission. Jesus mandated that his followers should go and make disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:19a). The gospel was not limited to Israel, but it was good news for all peoples in all lands. Thus, beginning with Paul, Christians continue to take the gospel to πάντα τὰ ἔθνη.
Fluency in language and culture traditionally have been the benchmarks of  effectively engaging cultures in the task of teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded (Matt. 28:20a). Missionaries have endeavored to inhabit the milieus in which they labor in order to transpose the message of the gospel in such a way that indigenous Christianity resulted with minimal levels of syncretism and apostasy. In recent decades, however, missionaries have been confronted with a another facet contextualizing the gospel into a culture.
More than 80 percent of the world’s population function within the orality framework. The prevalence of oral learners alone is sufficient stimulus to analyze the nature of orality. However, when one apprehends the extensive effect orality possesses in evangelization, discipleship, and church planting, impetus to address this issue becomes critical. Orality’s sweeping implications for missions cannot be ignored. Efficacious engagement of oral learners reaches beyond Bible storying to include an embodiment of the oral framework through deliberate adjustment of cognitive process, media selection, relational emphasis, and content structure.

Buku “Bertumbuh Mejuju Kedewasaan: Buku Kenangan Duapuluh Tahun Gereja Kristen Protestan Angkola (GKPA)" merupakan kumpulan tulisan tentang perkembangan GKPA sejak berdiri hingga memasuki usianya yang keduapuluh. Dalam buku kenangan ini ada sekitar duabelas tulisan/artikel.

The Protestant missionary movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries has for some time now come under severe criticism both by many Western scholars and an increasing number of their African peers. Missionaries are charged with displacing indigenous cultures and supporting the political and economic colonisation on the African continent and other parts of the world. They were driven by an attitude of spiritual and ethno-cultural superiority, so the critics claim.

Menjadi pelayan di Gereja TUHAN sangat perlu memiliki integritas dan komitment yang tinggi. Sejak awal ketika kita menyerahkan diri menjadi pelayan TUHAN di Gereja Kristen Protestan Angkola (GKPA) ini, kita harus memiliki integritas dan komitmen yang jelas. Seorang Pelayan (baca: pendeta) di GKPA harus punya integritas dan komitmen yang tinggi, baik kepada dirinya sendiri, kepada Gereja (baca: GKPA) dan kepada TUHAN Sang Pemilik Gereja itu sendiri. Jika tidak memiliki integritas dan komitmen yang tinggi, lebih baik mengundurkan diri dan mengurunkan niatnya melayani TUHAN di GKPA.

This article discusses the missiological challenges related to Muslim Background Believers in general and especially in the context of Bangladesh. It gives a brief historical background to Bangladesh and to trends in missiology. It discusses post-colonial theology, the Emergent Church and the Insider Movement methodology. It further draws upon Jørgensen’s published qualitative survey research on Jesus Imanders in Bangladesh.  It draws upon the writer’s own experiences of working with MBBs in Bangladesh. Especially key doctrinal aspects to the MBB worldview are discussed. There had been for decades little written openly about the MBB phenomenon because of the fear of persecution of these new believers, but in recent years there has been an open discussion because it is part of modern trends affecting the global Church. This article further utilizes some of these recent articles, both those for Insider Movement methodology and those against it. The article concludes a cautious support for this trend in theology.

Clements, John Benham
2012 “Facilitating a Renewal of Discipleship Praxis Amongst Burkinabé
Leaders and Learners.” Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Intercultural Studies. Doctor of Missiology. 187 pp.

“Facilitating a Renewal of Discipleship Praxis Amongst Burkinabé Leaders and Learners” employs the perspective of contextual missiology to address concepts of theological education and discipleship praxis, in the context of Burkina Faso, West Africa, employing a phenomenological research design to determine a qualitative evaluation of Burkinabé leaders’ and learners’ insights, attitudes, perspectives and hopes regarding incumbent forms of theological education and discipleship praxis.

The resulting analysis explores tensions between modern, Western theological education and a derived concept of contextually-appropriate “theological education as discipleship,” which endeavours to bridge between formal and informal education: integrating theology, spirituality and discipleship; embracing the vitality of orality, literacy and vernacular language; aiming at equipping the whole community of Christ to participate in vocational expressions of mission that lead to social and cultural transformation.

This conceptual framework leads to the definition of a practical, relevant and accessible resource, which forms an integral element of a set of recommendations for facilitating the equipping of Burkinabé leaders and learners for a life of scripturally based Christian discipleship. The formulation of such a resource potentially represents a highly relevant response to the dearth of and hunger for biblical discipleship resources, encountered within Burkina Faso—and, potentially beyond, in similar post- colonial contexts.

As an integral element of its proposed methodology and praxis, the research encompasses the missiological debate regarding appropriate intercultural dynamics between Western and non-Western missional practitioners and communities, proposing the concept of “intercultural mutuality” to describe a shared sense of intercultural appreciation and compatibility of gifts, talents, characteristics and culture, rooted in a mutual, vocational commitment to the eternal purpose of God— the Missio Dei.

Keywords: discipleship, praxis, theological education, post-colonial, Burkina, Faso, context, contextuality, contextualisation; contextualization; contextual, missiology, modern, Western, non-Western, informal, orality, literacy, spirituality, biblical, scripture, resource, intercultural, mutuality, Missio Dei.

In this paper we will briefly discuss three of the contemporary Mission theologies which in the recent years had guided the church’ understanding of mission. The first section will deal with Missio-Dei, followed by the discussions on Holistic Mission and the last section will briefly highlight Jacob Kavunkal’s Extensio-Dei.

This paper investigates whether Postmissionary Messianic Judaism’s chosen identity with Rabbinic Judaism and the wider Jewish community (over and against its historic identity with the gentile church) is contextually acceptable, as an accurate representation of Pre-Constantinian “Jewish Christianity,” or whether this “Judaism” is nothing more than heterodox syncretism of the two faiths and further separates Jewish believers from their gentile brothers and sisters.

MARCHING WITH THE MARGINALISED

EXPLORATION IN CONTEXTUAL MISSION


Pope Benedict XVI recently stated: “The Church must of course ask if she does enough for social justice... It is a question of conscience which we must always pose ourselves.... What must the Church do? What can she not do? What must she not do?” This book attempts to explore the relevant answers to those pertinent questions applying the Values of the Kingdom of God and Principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church to our context and exploring from the perspective of the Marginalised. This volume belongs to the Series on the People’s Theology brought out by the authour articulating the theological reflections emerging from the life struggles and experiential wisdom of the Marginalised. The authour presents the insights in the book as suggestions and proposals for making our mission more relevant and effective by responding to the signs of the times and places through focusing on human rights and justice. This book invites us to pro-actively join the struggles of the Oppressed for liberation and inter-actively march with the Marginalised for realizing the “Just Peace” of the Divine Reign.

There are presently more believers from a Muslim background (BMBs) than any point in history. This unprecedented movement presents a missiological challenge: how to disciple BMBs through the unique barriers they face. This study evaluated Reformed presuppositional apologetics (RPA) as a discipleship model to practically address barriers to spiritual growth unique to BMBs. 
This study required a mixed approach of descriptive research through bibliographic and qualitative research methods. Bibliographic methods analyzed the theological, biblical, and historical references to RPA in relation to discipling BMBs. An evaluative approach interpreted surveys which identified BMBs’ barriers to discipleship. Survey respondents revealed what theological, spiritual, and socio-cultural barriers of discipleship BMBs face. A theoretical model of discipleship with BMBs was derived from the synthesized findings of this mixed methods approach. 
RPA was found to have clear biblical and theological foundations as a model for discipleship. Historical research indicated all elements of RPA were used in many early (634-900 A.D.) and middle era (900-1400 A.D.) Christian approaches with Muslims. In the modern era (1800-present), Samuel M. Zwemer and Samuel P. Schlorff utilized a Reformed presuppositional approach with their ministries to Muslims and BMBs.
The survey research produced crucial categories of discipleship to be addressed with BMBs. Barriers to BMBs’ spiritual growth were found to include the following areas: theology, biblical narratives, spiritual disciplines, church attendance/discipline, finances, ethics, relationships, family, marriage, childrearing, and folk practices.
The survey research also established that the major barrier to BMBs’ spiritual growth in these categories stem from residual influences of their former Muslim worldview and primary sources (Qur’an, Hadith, Sirat). Results further demonstrated that Muslim primary sources and worldviews must be intentionally deconstructed and reconstructed upon the Bible and the Christian worldview for the BMB to grow spiritually. The survey research thus supported the theory that RPA is not only biblically grounded, theologically coherent, and historically applied, but that it practically addresses discipleship issues unique to BMBs. 
Considering BMBs’ religio-cultural background, this study answered how the unprecedented number of converts might be discipled. The theoretical discipleship model derived from the research, a Reformed presuppositional approach to discipleship of BMBs (PAD model) practically helps the discipler prepare and apply discipleship plans for BMBs. The theoretical PAD model has two steps, each addressing three aspects in each category of BMBs’ discipleship. Step one (N1-3) includes deconstruction and renunciation of the BMB’s former Muslim worldview, practices, and primary sources. Step two (P1-3) reconstructs upon, and affirms allegiance to, Christ and Scripture.
Further studies may measure the spiritual growth of and benefits for BMBs discipled using the PAD model. Further studies should establish if RPA is a practical model of discipleship with believers from Hindu, Buddhist, and other religious backgrounds. Can this model also be applied to the unique challenges that these believers face?

Why has the Christian faith diminished its growth rate now? Is there any problem with contemporary Christian faith unlike the early periods in history? What happened with our qualitative and quantitative growth rate? This article will bring to its readers an encounter with the new reality of twenty first century and its challenges to the Christian mission praxes. It will be a theological critique to contemporary mission theology,
with some suggestions and some viable framework for missional praxes for the Christian faith.

There is much despondency and pessimism among people working in the church with adolescents who are already confirmed (confirmation is usually at the age of 16, according to the traditions of our church) and important questions like " how can the church understand the needs of today's young people? " and " do ministers speak the language of young people fluently yet? " seem almost unanswerable for many churches.

As a contribution to the missiological conversation, this paper will examine the lack of contextualization of the Gospel message cross-culturally and the development of
indigenization. This paper will investigate the theories and practices of indigenization and the development of theology within third-world cultures. Research evaluated includes obstructions to the indigenization process and how they are overcome in order to achieve a culturally appropriate process of contextualizing theological truth. The results of this study will hopefully assist those training for the task of cross-cultural outreach in considering an indigenous methodology.
Ultimately, our goal is to realize how a contextual theology contributes to missio dei.

The search for cultural relevance characterizes contextualization theory in missiology today. The development of a vernacular “African Theology” requires investigation as to its adherence to orthodox bibliology (the doctrines of revelation, inspiration, inerrancy, authority, sufficiency, and Canon). This paper will survey the foundational presuppositions and proposals of African Christologies within their governing hermeneutical and theological frameworks in order to discover the interplay between meaningfulness and orthodoxy within the parameters of Christological inquiry. Is there, or can there be, an ultimate comprehension of the person and work of Jesus Christ in the African perspective? An historical analysis and overview of contemporary African Christological options will demonstrate the principal use of extrabiblical concepts and titles which, rather than deepening the biblical, textual understanding of Jesus Christ, tend to advance contextual concepts and titles which are rooted in incompatible traditional worldviews. The study therefore serves to generally survey the increasingly complex African theological landscape as it pertains to the field of Christology.

This thesis provides the findings of an explanatory case study that utilized elements of ethnographic research to discover effective evangelistic methods being practiced among Palestinian Muslims in the West Bank. With the assistance of gatekeepers, twenty-four former Muslims were asked to explain how they were evangelized, with a particular focus on evangelistic methodology, the barriers to faith the respondents encountered, solutions to those barriers, and motivations to consider conversion.

This qualitative study follows the research model of Thom Rainer (2001) by asking those who have actually converted to describe the things that were helpful in the process of their coming to faith. For a theoretical framework it utilizes a nuance of McKnight’s (2002) theory of conversion with an emphasis on crisis providing an intersection of the natural and supernatural for the purpose of conversion.

This thesis investigates examples of effective evangelism within the context of the West Bank, giving thorough consideration to Palestinian Nationalism and Islam as overarching cultural influences. It considers fruitful practices being practiced globally among Muslims, comparing those with what was found being practiced in the West Bank. The advocates represented in this report were primarily Palestinians born and raised in the West Bank, with the exception of three messianic Jewish Israelis and an American missionary. Additionally, they were evangelicals who generally utilized a contextually sensitive, traditional mission approach rather than an Insider model.

The end result is a knowledge base that can be helpful for future evangelism of Muslims in the West Bank or other similar contexts.

The article studies the understanding of synodality within the Orthodox Church in the light of the existing theological tradition, namely the concept of Eucharistic conciliarity and the role of the Bishop in guarantying the Church's unity, at a local and universal level. It focuses on the magisterial authority of the Orthodox Council of Crete and its reception by the Orthodox pleroma: reception through a general consensual procedure or immediate acceptance of the Council's teachings through communional integration in Church's life.

Case studies in postcolonial contextualization mark a forty-year-old missiolog-ical trend in evangelical scholarship. The largely unqualified support of indigenous theological expression by mission theorists represents an epistemological shift from a conservative bibliology toward felt-needs evangelization and religious roundtable dialogue methods. Evangelical contextualization theory today echoes German Ro-manticism's early assessments of indigenous language and local religion, especially as seen in the works of pluralistic Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803). No study of postcolonial contextualization is complete without considering the enduring influence of Herder's " vernacular consciousness " on the current missiological mindset.

This thesis argues that the Genesis Flood narrator’s use of personal, psychological terms in his portrayal of Yahweh is not to be disregarded as an anthropomorphic metaphor. Rather, we have before us a programmatic statement about the character of God, essential for understanding the nature of his relations to the world and humanity. In the Flood Story, Yahweh is affected by human evil, and reacts to it - not simply with judgement, but with regret and emotional pain.

Such a portrayal of God completely contradicts the ancient Near Eastern understanding of deity as reflected in the Mesopotamian Gilgamesh Epic. It also contradicts the metaphysical notion of God as the unmoved Mover, which has been developed by the classical Greek philosophers and is still prevalent in our Western civilisation.

For two millennia, most Jewish and Christian theologians conceived of God as immutable and impassible. However, “theology after Auschwitz” no longer seems to be possible in these terms. An apathetic God, detached from the world’s suffering, is judged as immoral, not just by some philosophers, but also by multitudes of those who abandon their faith in God. In last several decades, a number of theologians started to discover in the Scriptures a God who deeply participates in the painful human reality. This study hopes to contribute to this quest by attempting to determine the significance of divine repentance in the Genesis Flood story.

This article discusses the use of the English language on the mission field in Africa today. While the learning of indigenous African languages was a must for every missionary in the past, contemporary experience shows that more and more missionaries tend to operate only in English (or some other colonial language). This development, which can be observed especially among those missionaries who speak English as their first language, has proven to be problematic. Use of English as the sole language does not assist missionaries in overcoming the cultural gap between them and the African people they have come to serve. It rather conveys an attitude of insensitivity and superiority, which only serves to further cultural distance. Consequentially, missionaries, who insist on speaking English alone, face the danger of remaining cultural outsiders, and risk hindering the effectiveness of their ministries. If missionaries believe the Bible is God’s revelation in written form, they must then recognise how seriously God takes human language as a means of communication. Accordingly, the importance of sharing the gospel of Christ in the mother tongue of indigenous peoples, i.e. in their heart language, should again become a staple element of missionary practice today.

Den kristne kirken er spredd ut over jorden, hvor den har til oppgave å forkynne evangeliet for alle folkeslag, øve omsorg for syke og nødlidende, fremme fred og rettferdighet, og ta vare på skaperverket. Det er det grunnleggende utgangspunktet for denne læreboken i missiologi. Det er en sentral oppgave for misjonsteologien å integrere innsikter fra teologiens forskjellige disipliner i en samlende og aktualiserende refleksjon. Den kristne kirke må blant annet være i dialog med de bibelske skrifter, lære av den kristne tradisjon og la seg inspirere av et globalt og økumenisk kirkelig fellesskap for å drøfte hva det innebærer å være engasjert i misjon. Boken viser hvordan denne misjonsoppgaven presenteres i de bibelske skrifter, utfoldes gjennom historien, praktiseres på forskjellige måter og er gjenstand for drøftelse i dag.

In the last few decades a substantial number of Tunisians have converted to Christianity. This article seeks to better understand their context and Based on two weeks of fieldwork in Tunis in the summer of 2014, this article outlines the history of three of the principal churches in the city—one Catholic, one Anglican, and one Reformed—describes some facets of their worship and spiritual life, and then, based on interviews with church leaders and members, explores key challenges facing the churches. Utilizing the framework of Shoki Coe's contextual theology, the findings are then analyzed in order to better understand the priorities, aspirations and ministry strategies of the local churches.

Noted Korean missiologist Julie Ma states that 80% of all non-Christians are animists, even if they also practice a "higher" religion such as Christianity or Islam, etc. This message, taken from the narrative of Simon the magician in Acts 8, explores the tenets of animism, primarily the source and purpose of supernatural power. Simon sought to gain access to the power of God for his own purposes. Peter's response laid bare his selfish motives and reveals the truth of what witchcraft and sorcery, etc., are all about. Key words: witchcraft, sorcery, occult, occultic power, occultism, power of God, power of the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Ghost, Spirit of God, Apostle Peter, St. Peter, Philip the deacon, Samaria, Samaritans, Simon the sorcerer, Simon the magician, Simon in Acts 8, miracles, demonic deliverance, laying on of hands, book of Acts, Acts of the Apostles, cross cultural missions.