Cross-Cultural Ministries Midterm -- Bowman (Cedarville University)

Describe a biblical view of cultural diversity.

- Appreciation and suspicion. look for unity in the diversity

Genesis 1:26-31; 2:15-24

- The cultural mandate is God's blessing on humanity and the expectation that humans will create places and structures to thrive.

- Exercise dominion over all of creation as those created in God's image.

- Multiply, prosper, and seek human flourishing.

- Spread the knowledge and glory of the LORD over the face of the earth.

- Culture has been marred by sin, so each culture has both negative aspects to judge and positive aspects to appreciate.

- Lausanne Covenant on culture: "Culture must always be tested and judged by Scripture. Because men and women are

- God's creatures, some of their culture is rich in beauty and goodness. Because they are fallen, all of it is tainted with sin and some of it is demonic.

- The gospel does not presuppose the superiority of any culture to another, but evaluates all cultures according to its own criteria of truth and righteousness, and insists on moral absolutes in every culture."

- Christians should be open minded, thankful, loving, suspicious, saddened to culture appreciation and suspicion. look for unity in the diversity

...etc.

Why is quickly judging other cultures wrong?

-We should first recognize that each culture has flaws including our own.

-We must learn to view other cultures from a biblical perspective rather than through our own biased cultural lens.

-Assumes others are wrong and I am right and enlightened

-Assumes I don't need to understand the other culture and should seek to conform it to mine

-Leads to gossip about the 'wrong' culture

-Leads to forced compliance if my wisdom is rejected

List and explain Luzbetak's 3 levels of culture.

- Forms: Surface level- symbols, observable

- Answers: who, what, when, where, what kind, how

- Functions: Middle level- meaning and purpose of the symbols

- Answers: why

- Psychology: deepest level- assumptions, values, and motivations

- Explains: presuppositions, underlying premises, goals and drives

- Gives identity and distinguishes from others

List and describe what may be included in a definition/understanding of culture.

- "A dynamic system of socially acquired and socially shared ideas according to which an interacting group of human beings is to adapt itself to its physical, social, and ideational environment."

- Comprehensive- integrated system

- Rules- expectations, judgements, ethics, formative, directive

- Communal- Learned, shared, passed on, parameters of normality, identity, differentiation, encourages conformity

- Interpretation- grid to evaluate and know

- Roadmap- for life, reality, relationships

- Categories for cross cultural comparison

- Sum of distinctive characteristics

- Rules of the game of life

- Total way of life, learned and shared

- Partially integrated system

- Conceptual designs, order, interprets, and evaluates

- Culture is learned behavior that is socially acquired and are passed on

- Culture is an inclusive term

- Summary words for culture:

comprehensive, rules, communal, interpretation, roadmap, categories

What are common pitfalls when trying to engage culture with Scripture?

- Heresy

- Syncretism

- Irrelevance

- Miscommunication

- Misunderstanding

Why do we want our communication to be relevant? What is the danger?

- If receptors are unable to understand scripture, or see the practical relevance for their lives, then the chance for conviction, faith, and repentance is low

- Our goal is not to change the gospel or somehow water it down

- Never remove the offense of the gospel

- Ensure that we do not add unnatural layers to the gospel

- The message must be clear and understandable to the audience

What is the cultural mandate? Explain and give Scripture references.

- Genesis 1:26-31; 2:15-24

- "The cultural mandate is God's blessing on humanity and the expectation that humans will create places and structures to thrive."

- Exercise dominion over all of creation as those created in God's image.

- Multiply, prosper, and seek human flourishing.

- Spread the knowledge and glory of the LORD over the face of the earth.

- Culture has been marred by sin, so each culture has both negative aspects to judge and positive aspects to appreciate.

What is the impact of the Fall on culture?

Culture has been marred by sin due to the sinful people who make it, so each culture has both negative aspects to judge and positive aspects to appreciate

Recognize several elements of the noetic effects of the Fall.

- Ignorance

- Forgetfulness

- Prejudice

- Intellectual fatigue

- Inconsistencies

- Wrong conclusions

- Faulty perspectives

- Partial knowledge

- Closed-mindedness

List several reasons why cultural tensions exist. (vertical axis)

- The diversity of cultures

- The limited understanding of any more culture

- The unique needs and questions of each culture

- The biases of every culture

- The impact of the fall on culture

Describe relational tensions and why cross-cultural relationships often break down. (horizontal axis)

- Misunderstandings, ethnocentrism, mistrust, finances, control, poor communication, unmet expectations, broken trust, different views of reality

- Sins like: pride, greed, envy, bitterness, anger, jealousy

- These problems can occur in any relationship, but the cross-cultural dimension multiplies the potential for conflict.

- Look at the upper track and lower track for example!!! Slide 80-83

Describe why the gospel should feel both at home and alien to every culture.

- The Bible introduces ideas and categories that are completely alien to some cultures and completely at home for others

- Chosen to proclaim, so abstain!!!!

- The world is temporary and fleeting, fleeting things are from the world

- God is eternal, the world passes away, and with that in mind knowing there is so much more as God is eternal.

- "We are just passing through"

List 1-2 themes of the Ott book and give a brief explanation.

- The book's purpose is to "advance preparation can go a long way to sensitize teachers to the issues and equip them with strategies to deal with those issues proactively and constructively."

- The book highlights teaching and learning styles, concrete and abstract thinking, teaching concrete thinkers, the importance of worldview

- The Ott book seemed to give a great overview of teaching and what that entails. From the view of the teacher, but also being challenged to think about what the student is thinking as well.

Why should we withhold immediate judgment on cultural value issues?

- Can lead to a lot of ugly.

- Sin and pride provide a bad lens to view differences

- Seeking understanding before judgment

- Seek relationship to be able to speak into the hearts/lives of others where sin issues may be discovered

Describe a person in culture shock. What they may be feeling and how it can be recognized.

- Lost, without the tools to understand, interpret, or react to a situation

- Emotional-angry, sad, depressed, confused, afraid, shy, embarrassed, frustrated

- At times- proud, judgmental, arrogant, self-confidence

- Disequilibrium, out of control, constant comparisons and talk of home

- I don't fit, I don't belong, this is wrong

- Lack the skills to understand or adapt

Recognize possible causes of culture shock.

- Identity- who I am and what is my role in this new culture?

- Communication- I will never learn this language

- Relationships- I need friends and someone to share and be honest with

- Logistics- It takes so long to do something, why do "they" do it this way?

- Routine- I can't handle all this change. I need something familiar

- Sin- Loving cross-culturally often brings to highlights issues that were already present

- Physical health- I am always tired or sick

- "Death by a thousand needles"- to many little things that add up

Know some ways to appropriately deal with culture shock/stress.

- Abide in Christ and make this a high priority

- Listen and constantly learn about the people and the culture

- Acknowledge your stress and culture shock

- Talk to someone who has gone through it before

- Learn the language

- Know when you need a break or a getaway

- Have some accountability and checks for people to intervene when they see warning signs

- Develop relationships and get into the homes of nationals

- Laugh- a lot, and often at yourself

- Intentionally look for things to be thankful for (a key to joy)

- Journal- get some of your thoughts out by writing and prayer

Understand the concepts of outsider/etic and insider/emic perspectives.

- Insider, Emic- The perspective that a group approaches their own culture

- Outsider, Etic- the point of view of cultural outsiders who seek to understand, evaluate, and address a culture that is not their own

Be able to interact and answer questions related to Livermore's 6 categories of cultural differences.

1.) Identity-collectivist vs individualistic

- Prize personal autonomy, freedom, responsibility

- Personal decision making, pursue your dreams

- Prestige comes from individual achievement

- Key pronoun "I"

- Collectivist: emphasize family, group, tribe

- Values consensus, collaboration, joint decisions

- Prestige comes from family background and social

standing

2.) Hierarchy- top down vs. flattened structures

- Level of formality in relationships

- High or low power distance

- Who has power? How do they relate to others?

- Are there privileges, special treatment, signs of respect,

deference, any criticisms or challenges?

- Unspoken, assumed, contextual responses

3.) Risk: risk tolerance vs. risk avoidance

- Avoiders- plan and mitigate risk

- Maybe a "survival" culture- they don't embrace risk, but

can't escape it

- Tolerators are comfortable with ambiguity

- Tolerators -deal with events in real time

- Acknowledge individual diversity within a culture, but group

characteristics exist

4.) Time vs. event

- Time punctuality, schedules dates, efficiency

- Value the time and task

- Event-more concerned with the present experience

- People are more important than the task

- Cultural values like the ones we are describing affect

relationships because people tend to judge others

5.) Communication: direct vs. indirect

- Direct- specifically state need and expected action

- Explicit language, avoid ambiguity

- Also called low-context

- Indirect- relies on input and the understanding of listeners

and surrounding environments

- Rely on social context, unspoken clues

- Also called high context

6.) Achievement: performance vs. status

- Performance- value earned by achievement recognition

from work

- Status- personally worth and recognition is based on who

you are and through lineage or relationship to others

Be able to explain the two "texts" that are being interpreted (exegeted) and the tensions that are present.

- Scriptural exegesis

- Cultural exegesis (don't have things to explain them yet)

Quadrant 1

Quadrant 1: They are the outsiders. (etic)

- Their relationship with the outside culture is limited

- Commitment to scripture is high

- Commitment to culture is very low

They assume:

- "I know the Bible, so I don't need to understand the

local culture"

- This culture needs to change"

-This culture must be challenged and confronted

-I should Communicate this clearly and directly

-Outsiders fail to realize their own cultural baggage.

-Outsiders attitude: suspicion/rejection of culture

-Cultural rejection- burns bridges and relationships

-Foreign control- may falsely reject culture, misapply, add

unnecessary layers

- A summary of Quadrant 1 Problems:

Outsiders judge cultural practices and expect

conformity to their culturally-conditioned decisions

-Failure to achieve cultural relevance

-Lack of contextualization

Examples of Quadrant 1:

- Missionaries may assume nationals are lazy or lack integrity because of tardiness

- Foreigners may think indirect communication is a form of dishonesty, deceptiveness, or evasiveness

- Community property ownership vs. Theft

- Foreigners may dismiss head coverings that may be a sign of respect

- Individualist foreigners may judge collectivist nationals as weak and indecisive in decision making

- Saving face in an Asian culture seen as unrepentant and avoidance

Quadrant 2

Quadrant 2: The insiders (emic)

- Their relationship with culturally other is limited

- Commitment to scripture is high

- Commitment to culture low

- "My culture believes and does the wrong thing; I need to

be different"

- " I must separate from my own culture and foreigners"

- "I have the personal autonomy to implement guidelines for

how I interpret scripture

- Pride and self-confidence

- Communal isolation

- Doctrinal isolation:

- Insiders don't properly integrate their own culture

- Aggressively reject their own culture

- Misunderstand or misapply scripture

- Not connected to others in the body of Christ

Examples of Quadrant 2:

- Refusing to celebrate rituals around birth, death, or marriage

- Stop using traditional instruments (drums)

- Stop showing traditional signs of respect to elders

- Reject traditional dress, harvest festivals, natural medicines, holidays

- Radical extreme: monasticism (monks)

- Quadrant 2 is a breeding ground for heresy and cults

Quadrant 3

Quadrant 3: Insiders

- "Nothing needs to change"

- "We are doing what we have always done"

- "We should resist the demands for change placed by outside

foreigners and their religion"

- Insiders are suspicious of any outside influence

- Protects and defends culture from perceived threats

- Sympathetic, uncritical, self-examination

- No criticism or feedback

Quadrant 4

Quadrant 4: Outsiders

- They do not think the Bible is authoritative, Highly value

another culture they are viewing, and don't have good relationships or listen to those from local culture

- " There is no need to change anything here"

- "We must celebrate these diverse truth claims in the name

of tolerance"

- "Live and let live"

- "Who am I to judge what someone else believes?"

Reasons for error in Quad 4:

- Outsiders are mere observers and not critics

- Outsiders have no objective authority or desire to speak truth

- Outsiders already diluted or abandoned the gospel

- Foreigners tolerate, accept, and rubber stamp

- Validation of cultural norms

Ethnocentrism

The belief that your culture is superior and gives an unfair critique of other cultures, considering them not as good as their own

Nationalism

Unhealthy when it believes a state or race is superior

Syncretism

A mixing where the gospel fails to penetrate the inner worldview and only surface actions change

Liberalism

Denies Scripture and commits to naturalism

Heresy

Dogmatic commitment to one's personal interpretation to Scripture

Cults

A group of people gathered about a specific person or person's interpretation of the gospel

Paternalism

A policy of treating subject people as if they were children, providing for their needs but not giving them rights.

Colonialism

An attempt by one group to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.

Pluralism

Jesus is not the only savior and salvation does not only come through him, it can come from a variety of different religions

Universalism

All will be saved

Be familiar with Elmer's cultural adjustment map, the upper and lower track, and be able to answer related questions.

*Look at chart in notes

Be familiar with attitudes and skills conducive to healthy cross-cultural relationships

-Trust

-Humble attitude

-Learning spirit

-Acute listening

-Transparency

-Prayer

-Unity

-Interdependence

Be able to recognize and describe issues related to reentry as missionaries return to their home culture.

-You feel overwhelmed and so many emotions

-People only have short term interest in your experiences

-Separation and grief over losing friendships, experiences, and ministry

-You struggle to determine if you have come home

-You are a combo of square and round

Know 1-2 negative outcomes of each of the four quadrants.

Quadrant 1 negative outcomes:

- Paternalism

- Colonialism

Quadrant 2 negative outcomes:

- Heresy

- Cults

Quadrant 3 negative outcomes:

- Ethnocentrism

- Nationalism

Quadrant 4 negative outcomes:

- Liberalism

- Culture is king