I LOVE the way Module 4 kicked off ... with an overview not only of the module, but of the entire program. "From First Things to Formulation" allowed me to really understand the reasoning behind some of the approaches taken in the course. Those of you who know me realize that I have to get a context and understand the connections between things. I can't just follow a program without asking tons of questions. So I've often wondered why we covered such a large period in Module 3 (200 AD - 1945!); why "contextualized theology" was bantered about but not discussed in detail; and so on. Finally, in this lesson, I believe I 'got it' from a big-picture perspective. What I learned is that I was wanting to study the trees; WCF hoped that I would catch a vision of the forest and go back and study certain trees in detail.
One of the big things I understood from this is that "indigenous theology" isn't a phrase to be scared of but represents something that is essential for a solid indigenous church. Basically, the church must learn how to apply Scripture to specific problems of a culture. They must learn to trust Scripture for themselves - and the church in the West must learn to trust the Holy Spirit in their lives. Sure, we can guide and help them learn to study the Bible ... but if we expect them to take our theology carte blanche, without surveying Scripture and assessing truth from their worldview, we are essentially establishing ourselves as the experts, as the revelation, rather than Christ and His Word. I like what J.I. Packer says about this:
When a version of Christianity ... is exported ... the major trouble is likely to b enot that it inclues idiosyncrasies but rather that it ignores matters of importance.
That really helped me get my mind wrapped around the idea that western theology is going to be inadequate for, say, a people group whose experience is nomadic or one who practices a lifestyle similar to the Essenes or one who has mores like those of ancient Israel. Scripture won't be inadequate - it is wholly adequate to all of life in all times and cultures - but our systematic theologies won't help them determine what to do about the polygamy in their society, for example. For that, they must "work out (their) own salvation with fear and trembling".
This helps me grasp the need for an emphasis on Bible translation and indigenous worship forms. We must help the people make the faith their own - even as they are united in its distinctives to all other Christians in all other places. Unity and diversity - the church.
Lessons 2 and 3 afforded me a quick review of Modules 1-3 ... good reminders of important lessons learned, but more than that good "big picture" definitions of important words like culture and worldview. It was also a reminder that we are in a war - conflict is depicted at every level of life, even that of organisms. There is an "intelligent evil" that works to actively hinder the advance of the kingdom of God. Thus, we have to remember that we must seek transformation at the worldview level, not just the institutional or surface levels. Along those same lines, I continued the self-evaluation of my own culture and learned to my surprise that even such things as decision making are truly cultural!
A couple of quotes I enjoyed:
Hesselgrave: Culture is "different answers to the same human problems."
Winter: Theology "is the art of coming to justifiable disagreements".
I began developing questions for my graduate research paper and seeking historical parallels that might be useful. All in all, 3 lessons that were very valuable!
