Ecclesiology, Cultural Relativism, Language Games

Ecclesiology/Relativism
Okay, this is a huge philosophical/theological post based on discussions we had today at training. Many questions circled around the concept of church in a cross-cultural setting. In a cross-cultural setting, what is eternally true and what is culturally true. For example, what do we do about infant baptism or even the Lord’s supper? These are things I would argue are necessary in a church, but what modes do you use? And is it only an ordained person who can perform these functions as well as preaching? What if a minister is not around or what if they went to some weird seminary with dissimilar beliefs? What about dancing in church, which could be the case in Africa? Is this inappropriate for worship or is that our culture talking? There is the concept of what do we consider essential to Christian praxis and what is negotiable. What about the gifts of healing and tongues? We believe many of these gifts were held for the apostles, but many missionaries have stories of healings etc. Should these people be barred from church work or sharing testimonies? These views are incredibly practical because if a person becomes a Christian overseas what kind of church would you send them to.

Also, it says in the bible that bribes are bad. What if I am imprisoned and will be tortured for 3 months, or just be in a jail where I will likely catch nasty diseases. Acts 24:24-27 says that Paul was kept in prison by the government. He often was in prison and it didn’t seem like his followers would get him out, but only tend to his needs. Would you commit to a fast rule of never paying the bribe even if it’s your wife or kid? Or would you pray as a family/team that patience is needed to see if the Lord will work amidst suffering. Many Chinese pastors, as nationals, are under incredible pressure to not run house churches. They are often arrested and tortured for days. A guy with me at training who is going to China said that he knows of a pastor who said, “Please tell your western supporters to not pray for the torturing to cease, but that the Lord may accomplish his will through it.” So what do you do about bribes or ransoms?

Theology of Suffering Excersus
We also discussed a theology of suffering. Basically it echoes the Chinese pastor. What are we focused on, the temporal circumstances that we can see, or the Lord’s perfect will, which we can’t see. Maybe by losing our luggage, experiencing death, etc we have a rough time, but the Lord uses that to bring us and others closer to him. Psalm 84 speaks about pilgrims passing through the Valley of Baca and making it a place with pools. Baca means suffering. By us passing through the Valley of Suffering, we experience God, and therefore can provide refreshment/help to others. This is a very different attitude from our culture, which tells us to flee pain and run for comfort/happiness. Our culture says pain is bad, but God says it has uses. Notice how the former is self-centered and the latter service centered and even empowering for those who have had traumatic/devastating experiences. In regards to living by faith, Hebrews 11 is a great chapter, one of the best in the bible in my opinion. It depicts people stepping out in faith, not sight, and doing things that sometimes gained glory (conquered kingdoms, administered justice) and sometimes accomplished things through suffering (stoned, sawed in two, death by sword). The question is what/who are you living for? Is it to know the Lord and make him known through your life, or to preserve your comfort/happiness?

Cultural Relativism/Language Games
We know as Christians that values are not culturally relative. But Australians come here and see paying tips as bribes. And Africans could see bribes as tips. But then we could be promoting a corrupt African government and system. The early 20th century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein had a theory called language games. He said in society/culture there are many different spheres of life and each has different language games. (I haven’t studied this in a while so this might be rough). For example, in the Australian sphere of life the language game for bribes is different than the language game for bribes for Americans. However, one could not say that one was better or more right than the other. They are just different. You can see that he had a profound influence on the development of postmodernism. I understand the many arguments against relativism and how it basically negates the entire concept of “truth” since “truth” is, by nature, exclusive. But in these contexts with practical applications with real people there aren’t easy answers.

It is the goal of the missionary to not step on cultural mores of their host culture, but to also not commit sin by following wrong habits or customs. Maybe they have something right and we are wrong and maybe it's the opposite. So whether in Ecclesiology or actual practical decisions or both, the question is “Is this essential to my belief system or is this culturally negotiable?” And the problem is that there usually is not a clear answer. Most of us do not have the mental categories to process these questions because we’ve never seen the world/reality outside our own cultural glasses. It can be hard to even ask some of these questions especially about the church. But it is possible that many of our beliefs are culturally tainted. We have been show that as missionaries if it critical to know and be able to defend what we believe. Personally, I would argue that it is important not only for missionaries and church workers but for all Christians to be able to do this. That’s actually biblical. Yes, this requires studying and thinking, which I like.

There was a lot more cultural stuff, but this is a start. For the record, I am still Reformed Presbyterian and not a cultural relativist. But I am a thinker interested in these issues and being open/honest about them in that my system might not have all the right answers. Now I will sit in my room and stare at the wall for the rest of the evening to recover from 8 hours of social interaction and thinking deeply.