Transforming Worldviews

G. Hiebert Paul

Description

In the past, changes in behavior and in belief have been leading indicators for missionaries that Christian conversion had occurred. But these alone--or even together--are insufficient for a gospel understanding of conversion. For effective biblical mission, Paul G. Hiebert argues, we must add a third element: a change in worldview. Here he offers a comprehensive study of worldview--its philosophy, its history, its characteristics, and the means for understanding it. He then provides a detailed analysis of several worldviews that missionaries must engage today, addressing the impact of each on Christianity and mission. A biblical worldview is outlined for comparison. Finally, Hiebert argues for gospel ministry that seeks to transform people's worldviews and offers suggestions for how to do so.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Anthropology

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441200983
• Langue: English

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© 2008 by Eloise Meneses, Barbara Rowe, and John Hiebert
Published by Baker Academic a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakeracademic.com
E-book edition created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-44120-098-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Scripture quotations labeled Message are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. NIV © Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled TNIV are from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. TNIV ®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. www.zondervan.com
“True to his unique contribution to missiology, in this final contribution Paul Hiebert has opened our understanding of worldview at a depth yet unexplored. Transforming Worldviews begins with a thorough examination of the concepts of worldview, moves on to cultural and philosophical analysis, follows with sound biblical reflection, and ends with a call to transformation. This promises to be a classic in the study of missions. It is Hiebert at his best!”
— Doug McConnell , Fuller Theological Seminary
“In this remarkable study, one of the leading missionary anthropologists of the past half century provides the most comprehensive and thorough treatment currently available of worldview and its relation to Christian faith. The culmination of a lifetime of intercultural ministry and reflection, Transforming Worldviews is a magisterial work that will shape discussions in missiology and theology for years to come. Indispensable for anyone interested in issues of faith and culture.”
— Harold Netland , Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“What a holy passage it is to walk once more with our brother Paul Hiebert by means of these pages, to hear his wisdom distilled, his last word and testament to those who are trying to love God’s world in our time. Theory and practice, cultural patterns and missiological issues—there is plenty to provoke our thinking for a long time to come.”
— Miriam Adeney, Seattle Pacific University
“This book is vintage Hiebert, pulling together in a single volume his seminal thinking on the cultural dynamics of Christian conversion. Drawing on a lifetime of learning, thinking, and writing on the subject, this work augurs to be the standard text on worldview for years to come. The book brims with insights into the cultural and theological ‘what’ and ‘how’ of being ‘no longer conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds.’ Written with the clarity and originality of thought that put Hiebert’s writings at the forefront of twentieth-century missiological thought and practice, this volume is an apt tribute to the life and work of its extraordinary author, who went to his eternal home on March 11, 2007.”
— Jonathan J. Bonk , Overseas Ministries Study Center; editor, International Bulletin of Missionary Research
Contents
List of Figures
Introduction
1. The Concept of Worldview
2. Characteristics of Worldviews
3. Worldviews in Human Contexts
4. Methods for Analyzing Worldviews
5. Worldviews of Small-Scale Oral Societies
6. Peasant Worldviews
7. The Modern Worldview
8. The Worldview of Late Modernity or Postmodernity
9. The Post-Postmodern or Glocal Worldview
10. Toward a Biblical Worldview
11. Transforming Worldviews
Appendix 1: A Model for Worldview Analysis
Appendix 2: A Comparison of American and Indian
Appendix 3: Modern/Postmodern Shift
References Cited
Figures
1.1 Group and Individual as Worldview Themes
1.2 The Dimensions of Culture
1.3 Worldview Themes and Cultural Analysis
2.1 Levels of Culture
2.2 A Typology of Sets
2.3 Relational Logic
2.4 The Configurational Nature of Knowledge
2.5 Some Worldviews of Time
2.6 Different Views of Time
2.7 Worldviews and the Ordering of Space
2.8 Affective Types in American Protestant Worship Services
2.9 A Classification of Sins in Japan during the Engi Era
2.10 Images of Moral Order
2.11 Evaluative Norms at the Worldview Level
2.12 Worldview Foci
3.1 A Reductionist Approach to Integration
3.2 A Stratigraphic Approach to the Study of Humans
3.3 Linear and Systems Causality
3.4 A Systems Approach to the Study of Humans
3.5 Mechanistic and Organic Systems
3.6 Levels of Cultural Knowledge
3.7 Systems Shaping and Being Shaped
4.1 An Ethnosemantic Test
4.2 Masai Domains
4.3 Hindu View of Life
4.4 The Modern Worldview
4.5 Ethnosemantic Analysis
4.6 Ethnosemantic Methods for Discovering Worldviews
4.7 Friendship Terms of the Igede
4.8 Worldview Domains in Konya, Turkey
4.9 Cross-Cultural Comparison of Worldview Themes
5.1 Tribal Worldview
5.2 The Linkage of Life
6.1 Oral and Literate Cultures
6.2 Rules for Lending Money
6.3 Key Questions of Each Level
6.4 Indian Belief Systems
6.5 Beings and Powers in Islam
6.6 Chinese Belief Systems
7.1 The Emergence of the Modern Worldview
7.2 Spheres of Life
7.3 The Concepts of Soul and Self
7.4 Economic Systems
9.1 Revitalization Movements
10.1 Levels of Authority in Seeking to Understand a Biblical W orldview
10.2 The King and His Kingdom
10.3 Views of Human Beings
10.4 Meaning in History
11.1 Three Levels of Conversion
11.2 The Nature of Worldview Shifts
11.3 Further Worldview Shifts
11.4 The Multistep Nature of Group Decision Making
Introduction
T he Christmas pageant was over, or so I thought. In the South Indian village church, young boys dressed as shepherds staggered onto stage, acting dead drunk, to the delight of the audience. In that region shepherds and drunkards are synonymous. When the angels appeared from behind a curtain, however, they were shocked sober, and the moment of hilarity passed. The wise men came to the court of Herod seeking directions, and the star led them to the manger where Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and wise men, and the angels gathered around the crib of baby Jesus. The message has gotten through, I thought. Then, from behind the curtain, came Santa Claus, the biggest boy in class, giving birthday gifts to all. I was stunned. What had gone wrong?
My first thought was “syncretism.” The village Christians had mixed Christianity and Hinduism. Then I realized this was not the case. The missionaries had brought both Christ and Santa. So why was I disturbed? Clearly the message of Christ’s birth had gotten through. So too the message of Santa, the bearer of gifts. The problem was that the villagers had mixed what in my mind were two different Christmases. One centered on Christ. In it the climate was warm, the trees palms, the animals donkeys, cows, and sheep, and the participants were Mary and Joseph, shepherds, and wise men. The other centered on Santa. In it the climate was cold, the trees evergreen, the animals rabbits, bears, and above all reindeer, and the participants were Mrs. Claus and elves. So what had gone wrong? Somehow the message the missionaries had brought was garbled. The pieces were all there, but they were put together wrong. To understand this mix-up we must ask, what is the gospel and what changes must take place when one becomes a Christian?
Can a nonliterate peasant become a Christian after hearing the gospel only once? Imagine, for a moment, Papayya, an Indian peasant, returning to his village after a hard day’s work in the fields. His wife is preparing the evening meal, so to pass the time he wanders over to the village square. There he notices a stranger surrounded by a few curiosity seekers. Tired and hungry, he sits down to hear what the man is saying. For an hour he listens to a message of a new god, and something he hears moves him deeply. Later he asks the stranger about the new way, and then, almost as if by impulse, he bows his head and prays to this god who is said to have appeared to humans in the form of Jesus. He doesn’t quite understand it all. As a Hindu he worships Vishnu, who incarnated himself many times as a human, animal, or fish to save humankind. Papayya also knows many of the other 330 million Hindu gods. But the stranger says there is only one God, and this God has appeared among humans only once. Moreover, the stranger says that this Jesus is the Son of God, but he says nothing about God’s wife. It is all confusing to him.
Papayya turns to go home, and a new set of questions floods his mind. Can he still go to the Hindu temple to pray? Should he tell his family about his new faith? And how can he learn more about Jesus—he cannot read the few papers the stranger gave him, and there are no other Christians within a day’s walk. Who knows when the stranger will come again?
Can Papayya become a Christian after hearing the gospel only once?