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Kingdom Theology: Introducing Animists to Christian Perspectives
The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. [Ps. 103:19] Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. [Rev. 12:10]
The tenseness of my visitors was apparent as they sipped tea at my house. They were wondering, "Will this missionary understand what we have come to explain?" After circling the problem for some minutes, they exclaimed, "Two of our children are possessed by spirits. They have been sick for almost two years now. What shall we do? What does Christ say about this?" These questions were asked by Kipsigis Christians of Kenya who greatly feared the anger of an irritable ancestor. As most Kipsigis do, they believed that all spirits are ancestors and that ancestors frequently possess the living and inflict harm. Ancestors, who at death are separated from their physical bodies, become impatient when they are not called back into the realm of the living within a reasonable period of time. The anger of an impatient spirit is greatly feared. These beliefs were so foreign to me that I had no ready answers. I lacked the theological framework to understand spiritual beings. The biblical message I preached had little to do with God's cosmic work in defeating spiritual powers. I could respond only by saying, "Let us pray God Almighty to free the children of the spirits." My inadequacy led me to search for theological models, rooted in biblical theology, that would speak to those coming to Christ from animistic backgrounds. It was evident that my Western theological framework, which had little to do with spiritual powers, was insufficient for teaching in animistic contexts. The Individualistic Nature of Conversion Theology Western missionaries have grown up in a culture where the autonomy and dignity of the individual are stressed. The individual is considered more important than the group. Western mythical heroes are the strutting cowboy and the private detective who boldly confront societal injustice yet as loners stand apart from the group. For example, while admired and respected by the masses, the Lone Ranger "never settles down and marries the local schoolteacher....It is as if the myth says you can be a truly good person, worthy of admiration and love, only if you resist fully joining the group" (Bellah 1985, 145). Heroes are individuals who, while respected and loved, never become participants in the group. Individualism is stressed in every facet of life. At an early age children learn to distinguish between "my things" and "your things." As adults, they differentiate "my rights" and "your rights." Independent nuclear families mirror the culture as a whole; each nuclear family is independent of the control of the extended family. Elective democracy stands as the cultural ideal; each individual has an equal voice in government regardless of his understanding of the issues involved. Praise and honor are given to the individual who outperforms his peers; certificates of achievement decorating the walls testify to his success. Even team sports are individualized with detailed statistics kept on each player. The accomplishments of star players--the number of strikeouts, home runs, and stolen bases--are frequently more important than the team who wins. Such intense individualism is foreign to most animistic peoples. The Hopi consider all things as "ours" and seek what is right for the group. Teachers in such a society cannot praise the outstanding accomplishments of an individual student or give individual awards without causing severe cultural disruption. The Kipsigis of Kenya, although more individualistic than the Hopi, are also group-oriented. They live in a face-to-face society in which relations are worked out within the extended family. The dead are understood as the extension of the family in the world of the spirits. Within this context a missionary was justly rebuked for creating jealousy by publicly praising individual evangelists. Sever cultural disruptions frequently occur when Western individualistic perspectives are projected upon group-oriented peoples. Individualism is based on the belief that a person has within himself the power to succeed. He needs no other powers or spirits, magic or wizardry to direct his life. His success or failure depends on his own individual achievement. If he succeeds, it is due to his human capabilities. If he fails, it is due to his inadequacies. An individual must make his way without reliance on social or spiritual resources. Western individualism has become so intense that it has frequently undermined biblical Christianity. My rights and my needs become more important that God's sovereignty and his wishes. Robert Bellah rightly comments that "modern individualism seems to be producing a way of life that is neither individually nor socially viable," and he wonders if "older civic and biblical traditions have the capacity to reformulate themselves while simultaneously remaining faithful to their own deepest insights" (1985, 144). For the purpose of this study it is extremely important to note that individualism has critically affected the message communicated by Western evangelists. Emphasis is placed upon a person's individual conversion. Prospective converts are led to consider individualized questions such as "What must I do to be saved?" "Are you saved?" "Have you received Jesus?" The emphasis upon the individual is shown by the stress placed on the personal pronouns I and you when asking these questions. The human response to God is emphasized rather than the sovereign working of God in the world. This individualized formulation of the gospel, called conversion theology, presents some biblical truths but does not portray a holistic picture of God's working in the world. The nature of God and his mighty acts, God's saving work through Jesus Christ, and the degenerative character of sin, which has severed the relationship between the human and divine, are communicated as pieces of a cosmic picture not as an integrated worldview. These core theologies often become tangential rather than integral and indispensable parts of the core message. Although Western Christians typically begin teaching non-Christians about personal salvation, they realize that other teachings are also required. Consequently, they attach other teachings to their conversional message. For example, since they realize that those converted must be organized into a group, they attach the concept of church. Frequently, one study brochure is developed to convert the individual and another to integrate him into the church. Even this appended teaching about the church is understood individualistically; the church is an aggregate of individual Christians brought together to minister to one another and worship God. When Christian teachers see the newly converted struggle with sin, they belatedly tack on teachings about overcoming problems. These sins might involve marital fidelity, sexual purity, discipline and training of children, ethics in the workplace, or the achievement of success in a stressful world. Only when the Western Christian gets down to the level of overcoming problems might the message deal with the sovereignty of creator God. Even on this level, God might be looked upon as a functional being, a help-me god, formulated by culture so that believers might solve their human dilemmas. This god is a product of culture rather than the God of the Bible. Such functional Christianity is more rooted in human response than in an awe-inspiring belief in God's sovereignty. Individualistic thought forms are diametrically opposed to animistic perspectives. While individualists believe they can chart their own courses, animists believe that they are living in an interconnected world. They feel intimately connected to their families, some of whom are living and some of whom have already passed on to a spiritual realm. Animists also believe they are connected to the spiritual world. Gods, spirits, ancestors, and ghosts pervade the world, and their ambivalent yearnings affect the living. Animists frequently feel a connectedness with nature. The stars, planets, and moon are thought to influence earthly events. Events of the natural realm are so related to the human realm that practitioners divine current and future events by analyzing what animals are doing or by sacrificing animals and analyzing their livers, entrails, or stomachs. Animists also believe that they are connected with other human beings. They access the thoughts of other human beings through extrasensory perception or another type of thought transfer. Thus the animist believes that no person can live as an individual, separate and apart from his extended family, spiritual powers, nature, or thoughts of other human beings. Animists live in an interconnected universe. Conversion theology is an inadequate model for converting animists for two reasons. First, conversion in animistic contexts frequently is not individualistic. Decisions to come to Christ might be made by a group of people interacting with each other and with God. For example, societies like the Hopi and Kipsigis make consensus decisions. A lengthy discussion precedes any response to the gospel message. The individuals in the group significantly influence each other to accept or reject the Christian message. Second, and more significant, the content of the biblical message encompasses more than conversion. The message to the animist must present a God who sent his Son not only to bring salvation from sin (Luke 19:10) but also to destroy the works of Satan (1 John 3:8).
Copyright
©2000 by Gailyn Van Rheenen -- excerpt from Communicating Christ in
Animistic Contexts (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1996)
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