Presented at the Symposium "Distinctively Christian, Distinctly Mongolian"
in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on March 11, 2003
By Dr. Gailyn Van Rheenen
I have
been honored by the invitation from the coordinating committee to make these
presentations on the essence of Christianity and the nature of syncretism.
I wish to thank the organizing committee, the translators of the
manuscripts, and each of you as participants. I appreciate your wonderful
hospitality.
I come to you with
humility acknowledging that I know little about the ministry context of
Mongolia. My goal is to provide understandings from the Scripture and from
worldview analysis, which will enable you to make focused ministry
decisions.
My goal in these
presentations is to glorify God, to enthrone him as Lord of Lords, and to
provide guidance concerning the transformations of people as they turn their
lives to follow God.
"Waiting on the Lord"
I would like to begin these lectures with some reflection
upon the biblical phrase "wait upon the Lord" in passages such as Isaiah
8:17-20. This phrase signifies that we must trust in the Lord. It
illustrates that humans have a tendency to become impatient and to look for
immediate answers from "mediums and spiritists" rather than "wait upon the
Lord."
In Isaiah 8 the prophet is predicting the fall of the
Northern Kingdom of Israel and their deportation into Assyrian captivity.
This captivity was a result of their continual disobedience to God pursuing
pagan gods and making sacrifices to them (2 Kings 17:14-18). Within this
context Isaiah testified that he would "wait for the Lord" even though it
appeared that God was hiding his face. Isaiah would "put his trust" in the
Lord (vs. 17. Because of their deep distress, however, the Israelites
consulted the traditional practitioners of the pagan religions, "the mediums
and spiritists, who whisper and mutter" (vs. 19). In response Isaiah
emotionally asked, "Should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult
the dead on behalf of the living?" They were to rely on the "law and the
testimony," the Old Testament writings from God, rather than the mediums and
spiritists. Then Isaiah comments that only through this word of God would
they have the "light of dawn." God's light can only shine if we rely on the
word of God rather than the divinations of traditional practitioners.
The emotion of the passage is indicated by the discontinuity
of Isaiah's words in Isaiah 8:19. He begins by saying "When men tell you to
consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter . . . ." but does not
complete his thought. He is so emotionally consumed that he is unable to
finish his sentence. Rather he asks, "Should not a people inquire of their
God?"
This passage explains the distinctive nature of
Christianity. Christians are called upon to walk personally with God and
submit to his will, i.e., to "wait upon the Lord." Christianity is,
therefore, based on a relationship with God, and the Bible is largely a
narrative describing how God has worked through history to bring people into
relationship with him.
Defining Worldview
As illustrated in Isaiah
8:17-20, the way of the Lord provides a distinctive way of looking at the
world. Throughout the world people who grow up in Christian families accept
certain perceptions of reality that are different from non-Christian
people. When Jesus called Paul to be a minister to the Gentiles, he
described the transformation that would take place. Jesus said, "I am
sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of
sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith" (Acts 26:17-18).
These words infer that there is a distinctive worldview change that occurs
when one turns to God and follows the way of Jesus Christ.
Worldviews are learned
as people grow up and absorb the culture around them. We call this process
enculturation, or "the process by which children become functioning
members of their own society." Each person is born into a culture and
molded and shaped by it.
Over a period of time a
worldview is formed in the mind of the child. This worldview is a
distinctive way in which a people define reality which shapes their cultural
allegiances and provides interpretations of the world. This worldview forms
basic assumptions about reality which form cultural beliefs and behavior.
Michael
Kearney says, "The worldview of a people is their way of looking at
reality. It consists of basic assumptions and images which provide a more
or less coherent, though not necessarily accurate, way of thinking about the
world" (Kearney 1982, 51). It is their "set of images and assumptions about
the world" (Kearney, 1984, 10).
Worldview Types
At least four different worldview types are present in world
cultures. Stated succinctly, a secular worldview divides the world
into natural and supernatural realms and focuses almost exclusively on the
natural realm. God is considered to be either non-existent or irrelevant to
human affairs. Secularists tend to be resistant until they realize, usually
during times of trauma, that humans are unable to "direct their own steps" (Jere.
10:23), that the divine and the human are interrelated. An animistic perspective of
reality believes that personal spiritual beings and impersonal spiritual
forces have power over human affairs. During times of disease, death, and
drought, they use divination to discover which beings and forces are
impacting them in order to ward them off or to employ their power. Animists
must learn that creator God is approachable and concerned about human life,
and unlike the gods, "majestic in holiness" (Ex. 15:11). Through the death
and resurrection of his son God has defeated all the principalities and
powers (Col. 2:15). A pantheistic worldview perceives that an
impersonal, all-pervading essence, sometimes defined as "god," fills the
universe. As droplets of water merge to become a stream, then a river, and
finally an ocean, so individuals can become one with the essence of the
world through meditation, thus achieving a change of consciousness called
enlightenment. The pantheist, through living illustrations of Christian
meditation, must experience God to be living and personal, full of
compassion and having a distinctive holiness. A theistic
plausibility system presupposes that God created the heavens and the
earth and continues to care for that universe. Some theists follow God's
distinctive way of salvation through Jesus Christ while others focus on
submission to and honoring of Allah.
Based on these typologies, missionaries and ministers can
diagram the intertwining influences of secularism, animism, pantheism, and
theism within their host culture. While most cultures emphasize one or two
of these types, influences from all four types may be syncretized in various
configurations. Understanding the various influences in the culture enables
missionaries and ministers to encode the gospel in theological metaphors
appropriate to the culture.
To concretely illustrate
these worldview types, let us suppose that a
man was recently struck by lightning not once but twice in the same day, yet
he lives. People holding to various worldview will all ask the causal
question: "Why?" or "How come he still lives?"
People will interpret this event differently depending on their worldview. Each interpretation makes sense only when viewed from their
particular worldview. For example, a theist might say, “God spared him for
some purpose.” A secularist would say, “He was always lucky. The
probabilities of being struck by lightning twice are fantastic, and to live
through both‑‑well, this is one for the record books!” or “A careful
examination of all conditions (weather, location, his clothing, etc.) will
probably explain both why he was struck twice and at the same time explain
why he was not killed.” The animist could conclude, “The gods or spirits
have empowered him. He must now be a man of immeasurable spiritual
powers.” Others (animists, theists, even pantheists holding to karma)
might conclude, “The man was punished for his sins.” In other words, our
worldview has a great bearing on how we perceive reality.
Defining Syncretism
As we have
noted in this presentation, Christians can readily accommodate to the
worldviews of its age. Such accommodation is called syncretism.
What is meant by this word? What happens within a Christian community which
allows syncretism to develop and continue? What are some scriptural
examples of it?
Syncretism
is the reshaping of Christian beliefs and practices through
cultural accommodation so that they consciously or unconsciously blend with
those of the dominant culture. It is the blending of Christian beliefs and
practices with those of the dominant culture so that Christianity looses it
distinctive nature and speaks with a voice reflective of its culture.
Syncretism
develops because the Christian community attempts to make its message and
life attractive, alluring, and appealing to those outside the fellowship.
Over a period of years the accommodations become routinized, integrated into
the narrative story of the Christian community and inseparable from its
life. When major worldview changes occur within the dominant culture, the
church has difficulty separating the eternals from the temporals. The
church tends to loose her moorings because she has for too long been swept
along with the ebb and flow of cultural currents. Syncretism thus occurs
when Christianity opts into the major cultural assumptions of its society
(Van Rheenen 1997).
For example, in my home country there have been two vastly
different worldview types, theism and secularism, intertwined in the souls
of the average Christians and competing for their allegiance. North
American Christians acknowledge God and desire to be faithful to him. They
believe that God sent Jesus to die for them and live with hope that they
will ultimately live with God in heaven. At the same time they have a great
belief in human abilities through science to solve all human problems. They
tend to divide
the world into two large slices, the natural and the supernatural. Only
natural powers, which can be empirically analyzed, are thought to operate in
the natural world. Thus Christians often seek medicine and therapy for
illness without relying on the Great Physician. In other words, prayer and
healing are divorced as if God has little to do with life. Many study the
sciences without reflecting on the Creator who sustains the universe.
Science and religion are thus disconnected. This can lead to the belief
that humanity, with its scientific understanding, is self-sufficient, able
to handle all obstacles in life, and does not need God.
I have lived for many
years in Africa and have empathized with Christians who also struggled with
completing worldviews. Like their North American brothers and sisters in
Christ, they believe that this is God's world because He is its creator,
that by the blood of Jesus Christ we are reconciled to God, and that the
Holy Spirit helps us to overcome the sins of the body so that we might
live. However, when a child becomes sick, a family member dies
unexpectedly, or there is drought in the land, they tend to seek immediate
answers in the spirit realm rather than to wait on the Lord.
While North American
Christians tend to merge theism and secularism, African Christians
syncretize theism and animism.
Biblical Illustrations of Syncretism
The theme
of syncretism occurs so frequently in Scripture that it is like a threat
interwoven through the fabric of Scripture's kingdom narrative. In a very
real sense, the Ten Commandments are injunctions against syncretism. The
first three commandments charge the Israelites to follow Yahweh
exclusively--to distinctively stand before God without reliance on any other
gods (Read Exod. 20:1-7). The oft-quoted and memorized Shema likewise
exhorts Israel to hear that Yahweh is one and to love Him with all
her heart, soul, and strength (Read Deut. 6:4-5). Moses exhorted the
Israelites not to listen to the animistic practitioners prevalent in the
land of Canaan but to listen to the prophet like Moses, whom God would raise
up (Read Deut. 18:9-15). In other words, Israel was to live distinctively,
not fusing the way of God with that of surrounding nations.
Israel,
however, did not always listen to Yahweh. God's chosen people incessantly
accommodated to the dominant cultures around her and blended their beliefs
with hers. For example Jereboam I, the first king of North Israel, built
two golden calves because he feared that his followers might go to the
Southern Kingdom and worship Yahweh in the temple. Ahab and Jezebel
introduced the Phoenician cult of Baalism into Israel. Manasseh of Judah
rebuilt the high places torn down by his father Hezekiah, erected altars of
Baal, practiced astrology, and burned his son in the fire as a sacrifice to
Molech. Because of this idolatrous syncretism, North Israel was banished
into Assyrian captivity (2 Kings 17:16-18) and Judah was exiled for 70 years
to Babylon (Jer. 11:9-13).
Certain
classic statements in the Old Testament describe the nature of syncretism.
The Samaritans were a mixed-breed people who also blended their allegiance:
"They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance
with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought" (2 Kings
17:33). The pre-exilic Jews partially followed Yahweh but also created for
themselves idols out of wood and stone. God, through the prophet Jeremiah
said, "They have turned their backs to me but not their faces, yet when they
are in trouble, they say, 'Come and save us!'" (Jer. 2:27). Zephaniah spoke
of the dual allegiance of the people of Judah, who "bow down and swear by
the Lord and who also swear by Molech" (Zeph. 1:5).
Early
Christians also came to Christ from animistic heritages and were tempted to
borrow from these traditional practices even after becoming Christians.
Paul in writing to the Colossians clearly describes the supremacy of Christ
(Read 1:15-20). By Christ, "all things," both "visible and invisible" were
created. They were "created by him and for him." All of God's "fullness
dwell(s) in him." Although the Colossian Christians had received Christ,
they were tempted to follow the elementary principles of the powers along
with Christ (Col. 2:6-8). Paul wrote that Christ was to have "all the
fullness of the Deity" (Col. 2:9); that is, all things were to be brought
under his authority (1:19-20; 2:9) because only he is "the head over every
power and authority" (Col. 2:10). As with the Israelites of the Old
Testament, some contemporary Christians worship God while paying homage and
making sacrifices to propitiate other gods and spirits.
Factors Creating Syncretism
In this brief
introduction to worldview and syncretism I think it wise to introduce some
factors creating syncretism.
First, the gospel has
frequently been presented in segmented, partial ways and has not actively
intersected with the dominant themes of the local culture. Using the
words of Christ to Paul (Acts 26:18), there has been all too frequently only
a partial "opening of eyes" to perceive God's wondrous work in Jesus
Christ. There has been an incomplete turning "from darkness to light" and
"from the power of Satan to God." Understandings of "forgiveness" and
"sanctified communities" are inadequately grasped. The full dimensions of
the Gospel have inadequately intersected culture. Evangelists have focused
on certain topics of the Christian faith and have not sufficiently taught
Christians a thematically integrated narrative of God's working in history
from creation until current times.
Second, following
Western modes of thought Christianity is too frequently communicated on the
cosmological level without dealing with everyday issues of daily life.
Western Christianity is greatly concerned with questions concerning origins
(From where have we come? How have we become what we are?), destiny (Where
are we heading?), and the ultimate meaning of life (What is the ultimate
purpose of existing?). In most of the rest of the world, however, people
are more concerned with such practical, everyday issues as illness, death,
drought, financial success, and romance. According to the Seoul
Declaration, "Western theology is by and large nationalistic, molded by
Western philosophies, preoccupied with intellectual concerns, especially
those having to do with faith and reason. . . . We urgently need an
Evangelical Theology which is faithful to Scripture and relevant to the
varied situations in the Third World" (Ro and Eshenaur 1984, p. 23).
The end result is too
frequently a split-level Christianity. New Christians follow the way of
Christ on the cosmological level but use traditional ways of thinking when
dealing with every day problems. For example, Dal Congdon has found that
the nominally Christian Zulu of South Africa are still largely animistic at
heart. Fully 69.6 percent of all professing Christians continue to believe
that ancestral spirits "protect" them and "bring them good fortune."
Congdon's study found that "fewer professing Christians affirmed the deity
of Christ than expressed dependence upon the ancestral spirits for problems
connected with daily living" (Congdon 1985, 297). This layered
Christianity with a superficial cosmic theology superimposed over animistic
assumptions and lifestyles is the reason that David Barrett says that the
church in Africa is like a big river, one kilometer in width but only one
inch in depth (In "Towards a 21st Century Africa," Global
Church Growth Bulletin (Jan.-Feb.-Mar. 1991, p. 2). As I will discuss
in a later lecture, the Gospel must be communicated holistically in such a
way that cosmic answers influence everyday life.
Third, syncretism
frequently occurs when forms of Christianity are accepted but are given
traditional meanings. People hold to the cross, not as symbolic of the
sacrifice of Christ, but as a power design. They therefore wear crosses or
put crosses on their houses to protect themselves and their families from
evil influences. They believe in the Bible but consider it as a power
object.
Fourth, syncretism
occurs when the assumptions of traditional culture are not adequately
critiqued based upon biblical theology. Of all the missionary tasks, the
most significant is that of working with developing national leaders in
theological formation. It is my experience that this theological formation
does not take place primarily in the classroom but in local churches when
Christians struggle cultural issues. These deal with foundational issues:
What is Christian marriage within this culture? What is the relationship
between the living and the death? What is the nature of the church?
Without the ability to
reflect theologically the new church will almost always be a
replica of the church in the sending culture, a transplanted rather than a
contextualized church. It will be like a potted plant transferred to a new
culture. It is expected to grow and reproduce exactly as it did in the
original culture. A contextualized church is like planting "God’s seed" in
new soil and allowing the seed to grow naturally adapting to the language,
thought processes, and rituals of the new culture without losing its
eternal meanings. These eternal meanings include a biblical perspective
of God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church, humanity, time and eternity,
and salvation.
A transplanted church could be compared to a banana plant in
Mongolia. To survive winter, it has to be taken into the house and given
special care. Because it is unable to adapt to the new climate, the plant
will never be able to reproduce itself. Contextualized churches, on the
other hand, are like banana plants in the Indonesia. They thrive in their
environment and produce much fruit. Many mission churches, like potted
plants or banana plants in a cold climate, are unable to reproduce and need
special care just to survive.
Finally, syncretism
occurs when churches are not equipped to become the nurturing communities.
Nurturing is most effectively done in the context of a loving, caring
community of believers. Roberta Hesetenes writes, "The Christian life is
not a solitary journey. It is a pilgrimage made in the company of the
committed" (1983, 11). A recurrent theme of early Christian writings is
that spiritual nurturing took place within the context of Christian
fellowship. It was not an individual endeavor.
They devoted themselves
to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to
prayer. . . . Every day they continued to meet together in the temple
courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and
sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people,
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
(Acts 2:42, 46-47a)
Many tendencies toward syncretism are overcome when
Christians study issues of culture with open Bibles in the context of
Christian community.
A case study will enable us to understand these principles
within a specific cultural context.
Case Study: Marriage Among the Kipsigis
During its initial years, the church among the Kipsigis of
Kenya struggled with how Christians marry. According to African traditional
religion, marriage was sealed through a ceremony called katunisietab
segutiet ("the wedding of the grass band"). In this ceremony the bride
and groom stood before an elder of the village dressed in traditional robes
make of cow skins. They bound each others hands with a braided band made
from crabgrass. The elder would invoke the blessings of the ancestors on the
marriage by words of blessing and spitting of traditional beer. Would
Christians follow such customs? The African Inland Church introduced
katunisietab peteit ("the wedding of the ring"), a Western ceremony
introduced into Kipsigis and called "Christian." Should Kipsigis Christians
borrow Western customs and make them their own? The Church of Christ at
various times practiced forms of both of the above marriage ceremonies, but
after extensive dialogue and reflection, has introduced an innovated form
called katunisietab kayanet ("the wedding of faith"). This form is
both Christian and Kipsigis. Marriage is not based on any physical item,
like a grass band or a ring, but on faith in sovereign God. The community is
called together to witness a special union of people under God. This
ceremony is so powerful that frequently I meet new Christians who testify
that they first heard the gospel at a Christian wedding.
The creation of katunisietab kayanet did not occur in
one day but in a process of dialogue and discussion over a long period of
time. The first churches requested that missionaries perform
katunisietab peteit when their young people were getting married. We
refrained and suggested, according to the missiological fad of the day, that
old forms be taken and given new Christian meaning. We did not yet know the
most significant strategical question, "How does God desire that we get
married within this culture?" In any case a community of Christian leaders
decided, with our urging, to take the traditional segutiet (the
"grass band"), subtract the cow-skin apparel and ancestral rites, and
substitute prayer in their place. To my surprise no one felt that this
adapted wedding functioned to glorify God. Christians from the African
Inland Church heritage considered the wedding "pagan" and the
traditionalists felt that traditional items were both openly and
inappropriately employed. Members of these young churches also concluded
that they had made a mistake. They concluded that the rituals were too
close to the traditional rite for their comfort and that it would be better
to follow the Western tradition of katunisietab peteit. For some
time katunisietab petiet and katunisietab segutiet coexisted with the
former practiced in more Westernized areas and the latter in more
traditional areas.
I remember one particular elders’ meeting about seven years
into our work in Kipsigis. After all the topics of the day were concluded,
several urgently suggested that we discuss how people of God get married.
It was a joyous yet hilarious evening. It was a joy to see how a developing
community of faith used scripture to determine the will of God. It was also
a joy to see the extensive reflection that various maturing Christians had
given to the topic. The evening was hilarious when a group of men began to
spontaneously role-play various ways of getting married with some of the men
assuming female roles. At the end of the meeting a new type of wedding
ceremony developed that strives to be both faithful to God and communicative
of God’s will within the culture. The new ceremony was called
katunisietab kayanet ("the wedding of faith") because marriage is a
spiritual bond that cannot be illustrated by physical items that wither and
corrode. It is rather a spiritual bond in which husband and wife are tied
together in a loving relationship in Christ. With this form the Christian
community presents a radically different kind of marriage in sharp contrast
to traditional marriage. The essence of Christian marriage (love, holiness,
relationship) defines the major difference between Christians and
non-Christians.
In this situation innovated forms, developed by a community
of faith through biblical and cultural reflection over an extended period of
time, effectively brought meanings of Christianity into contemporary
culture.
Conclusion
Missionaries should not only be master teachers of the word
of God but also effective cultural listeners. Instead of making cultural
decisions unilaterally because of their life experiences as Christians and
training as missionaries, they should serve as partners within the body of
Christ and collaboratively work with the developing Christian community to
develop church patterns that are both theologically responsible and
culturally impactful.
Sources Used
Barrett, David. 1991.
Towards a 21st century Africa. Global Church Growth Bulletin
(Jan.-Feb.-Mar.)
Congdon, G. Dal. 1985.
An investigation into the current Zulu worldview and its relevance to
missionary work. Evangelical missions Quarterly 21 (July): 296-99.
Hestenes, Roberta.
1983. Using the Bible in Groups. Philadelphia: Westminister.
Kearney, Michael. 1984. World View. Novato, CA:
Chandler & Sharp Publishers, Inc.
Ro, B.R. and R Eshenaur
(eds). 1984. The Seoul declaration: Toward an evangelical theology for
the third world in The Bible and Theology in Asian Contexts. Tarchung:
Asian Theological Association.
Van Rheenen, Gailyn. 1997. Modern and postmodern syncretism
in theology and missions. In The Holy Spirit and
Mission Dynamics, ed. C. Douglas McConnell, 164-207.
Pasadena, CA: Wm. Carey Library.
