It's funny but I don't even know how to start writing this post. Perhaps I am slightly jaded towards missionaries who come in with their own cultural preconceptions about Christianity and attempt to impose them upon the culture to which they are attempting to "witness." So often throughout African history, Western Christians have created more havoc than good when attempting to "bring Christianity" to the African continent. Why is AIDS much more common in areas where missionaries evangelized?...because they came in without understanding the sexual practices of Africans and only preached against what was the most obvious sin, polygamy. Without prior knowledge of a culture, Christian evangelism does very little good at all...so I guess this is the basis from which I am starting. My being in Africa is NOT about missions...and it is frustrating when people think I am here because I have something to offer. In fact, I have very little to offer in the circumstances I encounter here. I am more often a burden than I am a help...
Although I am not here to "evangelize" so to speak, I am here to begin to understand a culture which is very different from my own. This is an attitude which is severely lacking to our superior Western attitude. In a class I am taking here in Uganda, I just finished reading John Taylor's The Primal Vision. As a disclaimer I do not agree with all that he lays out in this book and in fact if my USP friends knew I was writing a blog post about this they would cringe, since we have beaten this dead horse over and over in class...but it is still something to think about. In his book, Taylor attempts to lay out the basic tenets of African Christianity and ask some both profound and confusing questions, such as the one above. I'll attempt, even with inadequate words, to give you some of my thoughts about this...
Western Christianity is often completely irrelevant in the African context. An African proverb says when the leopard comes to you, the club at your neighbors won't drive him off, meaning that bringing our own cultural expectations to this context is ridiculous - Africans must think of Christianity IN THEIR OWN CULTURAL CONTEXT. We must enter into this with an attitude of humility, recognizing how little we truly understand...a period of learning about a culture is essential before you even think about "evangelizing" in the traditional sense. As long as we continue to look on African culture with a patriarchal and superior attitude, we won't understand what the culture has to offer our own, sometimes impoverished faith. God is already here, we are not bringing him as though he is dependent on us to spread Christianity to the rest of the world...
Africa is a communal society, not dependent on individual interests. 'I participate, therefore I am' as opposed to the Western 'I think, therefore I am' is essential to understanding how this culture operates. As a human being, your life is intricately tied to the lives of all those around you, whether living or dead (and yes, ancestors are hugely important here). As examples, to an African, the concept of guilt is irrelevant because it is based upon an individual feeling of wrongdoing, but the concept of shame is hugely important because it implies judgment from the community for an act of sin. An emotions which is bottled up inside is better to an African than one that is expressed. In America, we are taught that if an emotion is kept bottled up inside it becomes dangerous to our own wellbeing. In Africa, if expressed, an emotion becomes an entity that you can no longer control, and it can even act back upon you (I'm sorry if this concept is confusing...) Our cultural views of the self in turn affect our view of salvation..."what does death-of-self mean for a self that is dispersed into many centers of consciousness far beyond the narrow circle of the skull and precincts of the flesh?..." Maybe the sinners prayer is not relevant...
Ok here comes the most important part of what Taylor lays out (I think anyway)...
From the African perspective, God is not necessarily a God who is personally involved with his creation. This is in essence why they so often pray to ancestors, etc. - because they are doubtful whether so high a diety as God would even care about their own petty affairs. Everything is nature and the world is connected, but God is essentially outside the sphere of human connectedness. This is why Christ is so important! To an African, the concept of God's omnipotence is not as important - as Bonhoeffer says "that is no genuine experience of God, but a bit of extended world." You do not have to "know" God to come up with this concept. We simply take a human attribute and and extend it to the highest level...we have some level of power, so God must be all powerful. What is important about Jesus is rather his PRESENCE in the physical world, bringing God into the circle of human life. God responded to the suffering of the world NOT by using his power to reverse it, but by subjecting himself to it through Christ. Africans do not see a God that intervenes for them in times of suffering (how could they when they see so much destruction around them...) but a God who placed himself in their shoes legitimizes his call for them to persevere through times of suffering. Jesus is the reversal of all that is human - we live for ourselves, but he lived completely for others.
I work at a home for street children once a week and a few weeks ago some of the young girls sang a song for us which started out saying "I see the Son of Man, suffering home alone, nothing for them to eat..." They know what suffering is but they take comfort in the fact that Christ was and still is present with them in their situation. Christ's triumph over sin and death, although still important, is not as relevant as his presence among us...
Hopefully that wasn't as rambling and confusing at it sounded...
Meghan,
ReplyDeleteThis is very insightful. Paul among others knew the culture he was ministering too. While I have only spent brief time in Africa, I have noticed some of the same things. For example, the group of us that went to Rwanda in 2005 could not help but let out the overwhelming emotion from the experience we had. Yet, I never saw any Rwandan cry. Our driver for example whose wife was killed by the genocide walked by himself at the memorial and wore sunglasses to hide the pain and anguish he no doubt had. The community aspect we have seen in how the microfinance lending groups operate.
Without Jesus' judicial triumph over sin, there would be no personal presence. Wrapping your arems around that is essential to understand his living within us. I would think that the African would still need to understand their personal accountability before a holy and righteous God and the fact that Jesus took that penalty. They still have systems of laws and conscious awareness of their depravity due to sin.
Thanks Meg for sharing your thoughts . . . I literally said "hm" after every line because it's so thought-provoking. And it's an important idea not just applied to Africa, but to other cultures we encounter, whether it's France, or different sub-cultures in the States . . . I'm glad to hear some of what you're thinking about a thousand miles away :)
ReplyDeleteBeen thinking about this since the first time you dad suggested I look at your blog. Am scheduled to attend a graduate school which has a purpose to think about how the gospel within the context of soul and culture (www.mhgs.edu).
ReplyDeleteIs the question, "Is the gospel relevant?", or is the question, "Is our culture's view of the gospel, and their culture's view of the gospel distorting what God wants for us?" The answer is yes, to both, at least in part. And in both instances the approaches will be different, and similar.
I work with people across cultures here (as there can be). The context for the messages changes but as some have said, the content does not. But even with that observation I've had to learn that in some cultures when I say blue they hear airplane. One cannot assume any base level of understanding or even way of seeing the world.
An embarrassing example was my speaking in front of a group of black men. To be kind I told them I needed to (using the "well known" nautical term) hit the head. The bathroom on a boat is called the head so one "hits the head". They heard something completely different and all started laughing and wondered why such a vile man was speaking to them. And in leading men of color it is so clear how so may whites see this ministry as the better (whites) helping the worse (black) ---- JUDGEMENT. They read this loud and clear.
That is a small example but it reflects a need to really listen and get to know each others understanding of the world. Have heard so many times that reconciliation between the cultures here in the US will occur if we simply meet at the foot of the cross. Kinda. But your foot of the cross and mine can be very different. The question is also, will I accept their invitation to dine at their table in their neighborhood eating their food caring enough to listen to their stores?
Will I invite them to my home and make them feel as welcome as anyone else that's ever been in my home? Will I judge their stories or will I listen with an open heart? And that is just the beginning. Will I love them? And here is a key note, as we've mingled and as we've learned, we've both had to UNLEARN so many fables, myths and judgments that came from our cultures and not from Christ.
An SWI missionary was crossing I think into Cambodia when they engaged a militant and well armed tribe. He asked if he could share the story of the lost lamb but God put on his heart to tell it about the lost goat for a reason he did not understand.
After sharing the story the tribe became very agitated and started banging their swords on their shields and screaming about. He thought they were toast. After the tribal leaders gathered they approached the mission team and shared their story.
Their chief, since deceased, had a dream. In the dream, white men would come across their border and share a story of how a good goat herder would save the lost goat. They asked to learn more about the good goat herder. They'd never seen white men before.
If we follow God's leading, if we listen, if we offer with integrity and love, if we care, if we love, then again, if we do as the Holy Spirit prompts, moment by moment, with humility, gentleness, even playfulness and courage, then grace, mercy, forgiveness, life, healing, breakthrough, wonderment can happen, for the you, and them.
A note. Many have crossed cultures with humility and love. Not all westerners are hard hearted and not all Africans have it all right. And, as a rule, the west can be arrogant, even here in the US between our own cultural groups. But consider tribes. You think one tribe looks down on another? You thinks the Middle Easterners consider the blacks as equals? You think Germans offer grace to their Turkish "guest workers", let alone the rest of Europe. You think blacks here love the Hispanics? You think...... arrogance and sin know no color.
Ramblings