Not dancing...less than Christian: Contextual Theology

I fully intended to write more while I was gone. The conference hotel had exhorbitant prices for internet and it was extremely slow. Not worth my time or money!

I'm getting ready to fly out tomorrow. For the last two weeks I've been around people who are talking about colonialism and contextual theology. Tonight and tomorrow Benny Hinn is doing a healing service at the Mandela stadium just outside of Kampala. Ludicrious! He is the perfect example of how the western church fails Africa! He will take money from people who are living in poverty and offer false hope for healing--if you sow a seed and give me money, then God will heal your or make you rich. Ugh! The roads will close early tomorrow morning so I had to move into Kampala from the conference hotel. If I hadn't moved I'd have trouble getting to the airport. Someone like Benny Hinn closes the roads in Uganda! Craziness!


Contextual Theology takes on new viability for me as I’ve listened to, ate with and lived the daily rhythm with people from all over eastern Africa. I’m not sure how to do contextual theology or how it can truly take on different shapes in different contexts. Yet for the gospel to transform lives rather than only "save souls" it needs to become contextual. It needs to become contextual inorder to allow people to be fully Christian and fully human. Africa isn't the only place that needs to benefit from contextual theology; North American contexts, and my Korean context need it too!

I sat face to face with people who are trying to figure out what it means to be Christian and “Nigerian” or “Congolese” or “Kenyan”. They are trying to figure out their Christian identity in a way that doesn’t just blindly accept the forms which are distinctly western. (or Korean)

As I talked with a group of Africans on Monday my heart sank. I’m aware now from their eyes, from their stories, that a gospel packaged in a foreign (mostly western) culture steals a part of their humanity. It dehumanizes them and quenches a creative, imaginative and intuitive spirit. The problem with the western packaged gospel was and is that when the African became a Christian, their new faith took the African out of the Christian. It took a part of who they are from them. Now they are trying to regain who they are while remaining Christian.

Africans sing and dance; it is a part of their communal soul. I watched the joy on the faces of the group light up we were called out by country to dance in the middle of the conference worship space. Even I, the Nazarene, danced! Our African friends worshiped fully in dance. Their bodies moved with the rhythm and their hearts beat to the spirit of worship. When I was in Rwanda I attended an Anglican church. When the Anglican liturgy arrived it came with its staunchness; I saw it quenched the African spirit. Even after the service the priest told us that when he is in the robe he feels stifled. I think about our own Nazarene confessions in light of dancing. Why would we stifle the beautiful human expression which flows out of these people? This is only one example of culture expression which has been labeled less than Christian. In truth, for the African, it may be less than Christian not to dance during communal worship.

The speaker, Dr. Kenzo, reminded us that when we take the African out of the Christian that it does injustice to the incarnation. When we take the African out of the Christian we have at least a weak theology of the incarnation. We also must have a weak theology of the atonement and resurrection. (and that is just for starters) Christ lived, died and rose again to reclaim and redeem all parts of human life, even the cultural parts. We often say that Christ transforms culture. Yet how often has our western packaged gospel gone to the nations to transform them in the name of Christ into western Christians? I’m sure that is not what Christ intended to transform! Christ transforms culture but not from one people’s culture to another people’s culture.

Frankly, although I’m saddened by the effects of colonialism on African Christianity I see the difficulties. I realized that because I am western and from the United States that I work out of a colonializing context by nature. I’m formed to do so. I need to be de-formed! I do not even see that what I do could dis-empower or dehumanize those I intend to minister to. We are called to listen more! Learn more! Create space for the other more!

Also, when we talk about contextual theology I have to ask, “what are those parts of our theology that are essential and what are non-essentials?” Is there anything that must transcend culture? Can anything within a theology be without cultural packaging?