Biblio Format	Annotation
Adeyemo, Tokunboh. "Contemporary Issues in Africa and The Future of Evangelicals." Evangelical Review of Theology 2:1 (April 1978): 2-14.	The search for identity sets the tone for a proper understanding of contemporary events in Africa; this article examines four major expressions of this crisis and then discusses issues related to the future of evangelicalism.
Barney, G. Linwood. "The Challenge of Anthropology to Current Missiology." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 5:4 (October 1981): 172-77.	Introduces recent developments in anthropology and argues that culture is the acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate social behavior. That definition is applies to three areas of missiology: a theology of culture, a definition of the Christian faith, and a definition of the nature of the church. These imply strategies for cultural learning, a more adequate hermeneutics, an approach to analyses of church and mission history and of 'doing theology'.
Barrett, Peter J. "The Gospel and Western Culture: On the Ideas of Lesslie Newbigin." Missionalia 27:1 (April 1999): 62-72.	An outline of Newbigin's career leads Into a discussion of his challenge to the church to engage with the modern science-based culture of the West, evaluating the latter in terms of a contemporary biblically-based world view. Thus can the Church begin to see the gospel as 'public truth', affecting all areas of public life if its members are equipped for the engagement, for the gospel can form the heart of a metaphysical scheme of the widest rationality and greatest explanatory power. His approach is compared briefly with ideas of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Konrad Raiser.
Beyerhaus, Peter. "Possessio and Syncretism in Biblical Perspective." In Christopaganism or Indigenous Christianity?, ed. Tetsunao Yamamori and Charles Russell Taber, 119-42. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1975.	We can distinguish between three stages of possessio: In the first stage God invades this occupied world of nations and establishes bridgeheads of his sovereignty. Here the whole emphasis lies on demonstrating the uniqueness of God's Godhead, and in guarding it against the insidious counterattacks of the present demonic usurper of the world. In the second stage these bridgeheads of elected communities become the basis of operation for a progressive reconquest of the whole ethnic and cultural territory which they represent. The third stage lies beyond this present age. Here the Devil, the prince of this world, will completely be removed and the kingdoms of the world will totally have become the kingdom of the Lord. In missiology we are only concerned with the first two stages of possessio. We may distinguish them as exclusive and comprehensive possessio. If they are seen against syncretism as the other end of the axis, a tripartition of our discussion becomes logical. We have to speak firstly about the principles of biblical identity, secondly about the danger of its syncretistic falsification, and finally we have to outline a missionary strategy of translation which is aware of both.
Bjork, David. "A Model for Analysis of Incarnational Ministry in Post-Christian Lands." Missiology 25:3 (July 1997): 279-91.	Why are Western Protestant missionaries who work in areas of the world where Christian churches date back many centuries so ineffective? Is it really necessary and unavoidable that we be seen as members of sectarian and cultist groups by the post-Christendom peoples we seek to win for Christ? This article considers the ways in which our missional paradigm and ministry methods combine to shape the way we are perceived by others. Based on lessons learned from years of ministry in France, it provides conceptual glasses through which we may discover new perspectives on the incarnation of the gospel in countries marked by Christendom.
Bolyanatz, Alexander. "Messages from Symbols That We Often Miss." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 24:3 (July 1988): 230-34.	Introduces the concept and significance of symbols (verbal, behavioral, and physical) in cultures and how we can work to understand them.
Chinchen, Delbert. "Valentine's Day Comes to Africa." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 34:2 (April 1998): 198-204.	Discusses clashes between modern and traditional ways of life in Africa using the way Valentine's Day in Nairobi as a starting point. The moral fabric of traditional societies in Africa is in danger of being torn apart by the sheer force of invading values; this article examines the reactions and effects together with the ways Africans are adjusting to these changes and the role of the church in the midst of the dust storm.
Cho, Kiyoko Takeda. "Christian Dialogue with Traditional Japanese Culture." The Japan Christian Quarterly 44:1 (Winter 1978): 5-11.	The theme given me concerns a very important subject: the dialogue between Christianity and traditional Japanese culture. It is a popular but difficult theme, one that I have been struggling with for many years. How can Christianity rightly confront the heart of Japanese culture and, conversely, how, can Japanese culture open its heart to meet the gospel?
Christensen, Thomas G. "Suggestions from an African View of the World." Dialog 30:4 (Fall 1991): 284-89.	Presentation of Gbaya (Cameroon and Central African Republic) world view and proposal that it offers a way back to biblical symbols for American Christians.
Cochrane, James R. "Christ and Culture: Now and Then." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 71 (June 1990): 3-17.	Whichever way one describes the matter, the conflict of interpretations of the fact of the Christian Church drives us to take seriously the question of Christ and culture, as much as it does to ask the reasons for the conflict in South Africa, and the potential for any way forward. The rest of this essay will attempt just this task, utilizing themes introduced by H. Richard Niebuhr in his classic work which gives the title to this paper. He will function as our dialogue partner of the past, the one who will remind us of the need to debate not just with contemporaries but with all who have tried in their own times and places to give testimony to the "dangerous memory" of Jesus Christ. Alongside and through him I shall introduce our contemporary debate.
Cochrane, James R. "God in Context: The Symbolic Construction of a Religious Universe in a Base Christian Community." Scriptura S12 (1993): 35-56.
Conkey, Calvin. "Doing Theology Among the Zuni." International Journal of Frontier Missions 4:1-4 (1987): 39-51.	Although the Zuni have been acquainted with the Gospel for some 400 years, they have yet to embrace Christianity. Why is, this so? Calvin Conkey here offers an explanation and suggests new approaches based upon a more thorough understanding of the Zuni world view.
Connor, John H. "When Culture Leaves Contextualized Christianity Behind." Missiology 19:1 (January 1991): 21-29.	When the context changes, a genuinely contextualized church must re-contextualize in order to avoid being left behind by the culture.
Dianpeng, Zhao. "Chinese Culture and Christian Faith." Chinese Theological Review 4 (1988): 32-40.	The Chinese people enjoy a long history, a great culture and great achievements in the arts. Their superior ethical heritage is not only one of the best in Asia, but is outstanding among the nations of the world. China is regarded as an ancient civilization, a country which highly values propriety and decorum. It should be noted that China's ideals for human life and concepts of the highest deity are not devoid of elements of Christian doctrines and ethics and elements that may be elevated and sanctified into articles of belief. We know that there cannot be contradiction between one truth and another, nor can this "beauty and goodness" and that "beauty and goodness" be mutually exclusive. For all truth and beauty come from the great Creator God. Without a doubt, it would be beneficial for the spread of the gospel in China if the Church were to have a sufficient understanding of Chinese culture and appropriate it to its own use. This paper is an initial exploration into the possibility of harmonizing Chinese culture and Christian faith, and I hope it will stimulate further discussion on the subject.
Dierks, Friedrich. "Communication and World-View." Missionalia 11:2 (August 1983): 43-56.	My aim is to show what influence world view has on communication. When I speak of communication, I refer specifically to missionary communication of the Christian message, which frequently is cross-cultural. This means that two different cultures, their systems and thought-forms are involved, and the Christian message is entangled in the complicated relationship between culture and religion and its many features and aspects. In this paper we cannot deal with the complicated issue of the relation between Christianity and culture in general. We shall, however, approach the problem from the limited perspective of the communication of the Christian message. I shall argue that with regard to Christian communication we should make a distinction between the formal component of human culture which we call "world view" and the material components of human culture of which religion is the most important and prominent one.
Drohan, Michael. "Christianity, Culture and the Meaning of Mission." International Review of Mission 75:299 (July 1986): 285-303.	I would like in this article to look historically at the concrete relationships between the Catholic Church based in western Europe and the new cultures with which it came into contact over the last few centuries. Occasional references and comparisons, however, will be made to other Christian churches. The objectives of this approach are twofold: (1) to understand the broad outlines of the historical relationship and (2) to discern the present direction of the relationship. Following this historical part and based upon it, a more theoretical and speculative discussion will attempt to formulate some principles on the relationship between Christianity and culture and to outline the direction in which it should move.
Droogers, Andre. "The Africanization of Christianity, An Anthropologist's View." Missiology 5:4 (October 1977): 443-56.	Our sincerest efforts to facilitate Africanization may prove counter-productive. Both Western missiologists or African churchmen are vulnerable to generalized or idealized views of African culture; and these trends may be accentuated either by guilt feelings or cultural chauvinism, leading us to seek solutions in broad theoretical categories rather than in the specific diversity of the real Africa. Droogers believes that a better application of his discipline can help avoid the resultant risk of "artificial Africanization." He urges us to discern realistically, and view more optimistically, the degree of spontaneous folk-level Africanization that has already taken place despite the Western outer-garments that most African churches wear.
Flatt, Donald C. "Reading Symbolic Systems: Key to Evangelization and a Challenge to Modern Mission." Missiology 7:2 (April 1979): 179-93.	Recognizing symbol systems is critical but neglected element of understanding culture. Discusses the homogeneous unit principle and describes major features of symbolic system of the Arusha of Tanzania before suggesting approaches to integration within missiology and implications for evangelism and change in a culture.
Fleming, Kenneth C. "The Gospel to the Urban Zulu: Three Cultures in Conflict." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 22:1 (January 1986): 24-31.	Three conflicting cultures compete for Zulu loyalty: traditional Zulu, colonial Christian, and secular urban. This article explores these three and works through implications for making the Gospel meaningful to a Zulu and developing a contextual church in an urban Zulu setting.
Foster, Warren. "Integrating Maori Culture into Christianity." In Asian Theological Reflections on Suffering and Hope, ed. Kim Hao Yap, 61-64. Singapore: Christian Conference of Asia, 1977.	It is important to see that the urgent need is now to reinstitute the traditional spiritual emphasis of our forefathers on the present and future generations of the Maori people. This may appear to be a backward step but we must look at it as the embodiment into Christianity of those concepts which can restore the cultural stability and sanity into our total way of life. When God created man, he also gave him culture, art, music and language and from these emerged opportunities to proclaim Jesus Christ in a variety of forms--that same Christ image, translated into the very depths of each cultural thought form with all its inherent richness.
Geffre, Claude. "Christianity and Culture." International Review of Mission 84:332/333 (January/April 1995): 17-31.	To begin with, I would like to state three convictions: 1) the gospel is never confined to any one particular culture; 2) whatever its limitations and serious shortcomings, no human culture is a culture of death; 3) throughout the history of the Christian, church, in spite of failures and crises, there has been a mutual fertilization of Christianity and cultures. Proceeds in five steps: 1) the search for a definition of culture; 2) emphasizes the new conjuncture of Christianity facing a plurality of cultures at the dawn of the third millennium; 3) reflects on the theological foundations of any inculturation of the Christian faith; 4) delineates several enduring criteria for the encounter of Christianity and cultures, and 5) argues that the faith of all times is necessarily conditioned and colored by the cultural experiences of a given era.
Gehman, Richard. "African Religion Lives." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 27:4 (October 1991): 350-53.	Describes the resurgence of African religions, which has been fanned in the universities of Africa. There are at least five reasons we should study African religion: 1) for its own sake 2) it is the background of the people we are trying to reach for Christ; 3) many Christians rely on traditional religion in crisis; 4) the Christina faith must become rooted deeply in people's lives; and 5) the revival of traditional religion brings added urgency.
Gibbs, Philip. "Blood and Life in a Melanesian Context." In Christ in Melanesia, Point Series, ed. James Knight, 166-77. Goroka, Papua New Guinea: Melanesian Institute for Pastoral and Socio-Economic Service, 1977.	If the Gospel is to become truly incarnate in Melanesia today, we will have to continue our search for an authentically local theology as the proper response to the Christian message. Adaptations or translations of Christian forms and concepts do not go far enough. For a truly Melanesian theology to emerge we must begin at that level of meanings which bear the distinctive stamp of Melanesian life and thinking. Such a task is not easy. We too readily treat culture and cultural forms as factors extrinsic to the Gospel; as historical contingencies within which the Gospel message finds its con text; as factors which can be separated from any appearance of the Gospel in a situation. The Gospel does not present itself as a kernel of truth easily separated from a contextual husk; rather, the notion of the incarnation tells us that they are always given together and have to be read and understood in that way.
Gnanakan, Ken. "Christ, Culture, and Christianity in India." In Doing Contextual Theology: A Festschrift in Honour of Bruce John Nicholls, ed. Sunand Sumithra, 67-78. Bangalore, India: Theological Book Trust, 1992.	Christ transcends culture, God in his grace has transfused culture with the ultimate goal of transforming it. It is to actualize this goal that all generations and all cultures must make themselves available for God to be utilized as active agents for the transmission of his message appropriately and authoritatively in and to their context. Despite our cultural differences now, what a great event we await when "every tribe and tongue and people and nation" will sing that one new song praising God who alone is worthy (Rev. 5).
Gordon, Robert C. "The Silent Language Every Missionary Must Learn." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 9:4 (Summer 1973): 230-36.	Presents issues of non-verbal communication from Hall as a foundation for learning culture. Concludes with a list of eighteen questions you should be able to answer about the people among whom you live and minister.
Grayson, James H. "Elements of Protestant Accommodation to Korean Religious Culture: A Personal Ethnographic Perspective." Missiology 23:1 (January 1995): 43-59.	Protestant church has accommodated to Korean culture on three levels of culture: behavior, ritual, and faith.
Hadfield, Anne. "Gospel and Cultures--A Perspective from the Pacific." Reformed World 46 (1996): 25-34.	My perspective is that of a fourth generation pakeha or New Zealander of British-European descent. In a short article I cannot incorporate all the complexity of the gospel and cultures issue as it affects our area but at the request of the Pacific regional consultation, I hope to highlight some key points in our discussions. Headings include: the missionary influence, identity in culture, identity in the Gospel, soteriology and the text of creation, and power.
Halverson, Dean C. "Animism: The Religion of the Tribal World." International Journal of Frontier Missions 15:2 (April-June 1998): 59-67.	Animism is the religious faith and life system of the tribal peoples of the world. The author explains the basic characteristics of animism--a perspective of life totally different from the Western non-religious view of life. He also list the key ingredients which missionaries must understand in order to reach tribal peoples in an effective manner with the Gospel so as to plant the Church of the Supreme God among them. Nothing is more challenging-nothing is more rewarding!
Harper, Susan Billington. "Ironies of Indigenization: Some Cultural Repercussions of Mission in South India." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 19:1 (January 1995): 13-20.	Indigenization carries come inherent ironies (e.g., operating respectfully within a culture but facing the tensions of demands for self-determination made in contexts of violence over ethnic identities). There is a need for deeper exploration of Christianity's relation to culture and in the particular historical setting of South India in the 19th and 20th centuries, and that is the focus of this article.
Hiebert, Paul G. "Conversion and Worldview Transformation." International Journal of Frontier Missions 14:2 (April-June 1997): 83-86.	The process of doing theology in a particular setting must be that of critical contextualization in which the culture is studied, then Scripture, and finally Biblical truth and morality are used to judge and correct the culture and its world view. This is the key to world view transformation.
Hiebert, Paul G. "Gospel and Culture: The WCC Project." Missiology 25:2 (April 1997): 199-207.	The World Council of Churches (WCC) has launched a major study project on the gospel and cultures resulting in the formation of study groups around the world and the publication of 15 study pamphlets that discuss how the gospel relates to different cultures. This article reviews the contents of these pamphlets around the themes of the gospel and cultural pluralism and the church and social pluralism. In evaluating these materials, it is noted that the tension between gospel and culture, revelation and hearing, divine and human is central to the Christian Faith.
Hiebert, Paul G. "The Gospel and Culture." In The Gospel and Islam: A 1978 Compendium, ed. Don M. McCurry, 58-66. Monrovia, CA: Missions Advanced Research & Communications Center, 1979.	How do we bring the gospel to Muslims in Arabia, or Pakistan, or India or Indonesia? Suddenly, in the last few years, we are confronted by a great many new words and theories which are supposed to answer our question:' dynamic equivalent Bible translations, church growth, missiology, cross-cultural communication, contextualization of the gospel, and on and on. What can we make of all of this? The first Church conference (Acts 15) was held to decide the questions what is the gospel--the good news unto salvation, and how does it relate to a people's culture? In order to be Christians do people have to change their dress ... their food habits ... their marriage practices ... their ties to their relatives ... their ideas of God... their worship of idols ... or what? The article discusses three key principles on the relationship of the gospel to culture emerge from the text.
Jacobs, Donald R. "Culture and the Phenomena of Conversion: Reflections in an East African Setting." Gospel in Context 1:3 (July 1978): 4-14.	What world view is and how it impacts conversion with discussion from East Africa; later is published in Stott and Coote Gospel and Culture.
Kanyoro, Musimbi. "Reading the Bible from an African Perspective." The Ecumenical Review 51:1 (January 1999): 18-24.	The reality of African Christians being ardent believers in the Bible. This paper presents research on the role culture has in providing a lens through which the Bible is read. Posits that the African cultural heritage needs to be explored through cultural hermeneutics so that we may understand how culture conditions people's understanding of reality at a given time.
Kaplan, Steven. "The Africanization of Missionary Christianity: History and Typology." Journal of Religion in Africa 16:3 (1986): 166-86.	Of the many issues confronting African Christians today, none would appear to have received more attention than the problem of defining the precise relationship between Christianity and African culture. The lively, sometimes heated, debate which has developed over this issue has produced in its wake a substantial body of literature on diverse aspects of a process variously labeled as "Africanization", "incarnation," "contextualization," "adaptation. As with almost any large corpus of literature, the writings on this topic vary significantly in scope, intention, and quality. Yet, almost without exception these works are consistent in their avoidance of any discussion of two topics: historical precedents and typological distinctions. Whatever the differences in the authors' stands in present-day debates, they are generally united in the limited attention they give to early attempts at Africanization and their lack of interest in defining different forms of adaptation. It is with these two issues that this paper is primarily concerned.
Katoke, Israel K. "Christianity and Culture: An African Experience." Transformation 1:4 (1984): 7-10.	The young churches of Africa have a great role to play in the ecumenical movement. They must show that they are not bound by the European historical and doctrinal divisions. These new churches can become a bridge between separated brethren. Further, our attitude towards other religions must be one of peaceful co-existence. While never abandoning our missionary task, we must be careful of the way in which we speak of Christ. We must be as diplomatic and tactful as Christ himself. We must approach the non-Christian with a message of love and passion. It is imperative that we develop a deep understanding of the people. We need to love them as God loves them in their geographical and cultural environment and through appropriate cultural means. Finally, it should be said that, as in the words of the Willowbank Report, 'Conversion to Christ does not mean the destruction or unmaking of a given culture but rather the remaking or transforming of that culture into a culture which accepts the Lordship of Christ and serves him'. Christianity is not just the religion of white people but a universal way commissioned by the Lord Jesus himself for the explicit purposes of saving all people from the powers of Satan and sin and for reconciling them with God, their Creator.
Kim, Kyoung Jae. "Gospel and Cultures--A Northeast Asian Perspective." Reformed World 46 (1996): 15-24.	Author's orientation in exploring gospel and culture in northeast Asia: Although the Christian gospel is inevitably related to the event of Jesus Christ it is not merely a. repetition of the past event. It requires both continuing reinterpretation and a creative response in every new situation. The gospel is not revelatory information from a gnostic heaven above, it is a dynamic action of the Holy Spirit who gives love and freedom of the mysterious God who is always with, and gives true life to all creation. The gospel needs to be differentiated carefully from theology, the Bible, Christian culture, and Christianity as a religion in history. The Bible is a holy testament of those people whose lives were changed by the gospel, but it is not in itself the gospel. Theological systems based on the Bible testify to the gospel and serve the church, but they are not in themselves the gospel. It is the same with church ritual and historical Christian culture.
Kunhiyop, Samuel Waje. "Christian Relevance in Modern Africa." Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 16:1 (1997): 3-16.	Relevance is a contemporary concern for Christianity worldwide. The gospel by its nature is always relevant, for it has been revealed by the eternal true God to humanity made in the image of God. But the gospel must be made to address men and women in the particulars of their culture. It must become incarnate within each culture even as Christ, the eternal Son of God, was incarnate as a Galilean Jew of Nazareth. The gospel must speak to specific men and women in their particular cultural contexts. Dr. Kunhiyop sets forth helpful guidelines in making biblical Christianity relevant for Africa even while it remains the unchanging gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lenchak, Timothy. "The Bible and Intercultural Communication." Missiology 22:4 (October 1994): 457-68.	A missionary cannot simply enter a new culture with Bible in hand and expect that people will automatically understand the gospel message. God's word can be misunderstood if it is not communicated according to the world view of those receiving it. Since many of the world's cultures are oral and not literate, this requires the learning of oral skills in order to preach the gospel. The Bible is a literary work, but we may have to unlearn our literary habits in order to refashion our proclamation of the gospel with oral concepts and methods.
Lipner, Julius. "Facets of the Relationship between the Gospel and Culture." International Review of Mission 74:294 (April 1985): 158-68.	The question of the relationship between the gospel I and culture is not a new one for Christian theologians; it has been on their agenda since the very birth of the church. In the light of comparatively recent advances in our understanding of the nature of religion and society, however, we must perceive anew what the Christian gospel and culture are and the methodological problems that attend our grasp of their relationship. This article posits two major tendencies in the Christian understanding of gospel and culture: dialectic (gospel is other than and inimical to culture) and dialogic (gospel and culture are viewed in some sense as complimentary rather than inimical).
Louis, Bernardine M. "Gospel and Culture in the Process of Interaction: A Study on Inculturation in Indian Context." In Faith, Culture, India Today: Perspectives, ed. Augustine Mulloor, 175-207. Kalamassery, Kerala, India: Jyothir Dhara Publications, 1991.	When persons of one cultural background accept another religion, certainly together with the religion many elements of the alien culture too are accepted. But slowly the converts, inheritors of their own culture, question the foreign cultural elements, try to express their faith-commitment and experience in their own, patterns, symbols and ways. When the group intensely tries to live, worship and reflect, i.e. translate their faith experience in this new way, inculturation takes place. And it is a creative process. This paper would be basically dealing with the interaction between Gospel and culture and specifically with the issues relating to the inculturation in the Indian context.
Lundell, Peter N. "Behind Japan's Resistant Web: Understanding the Problem of Nihonkyo." Missiology 23:4 (October 1995): 401-12.	When facing the persistent conundrum of evangelical missions in Japan, one pervasive, though largely hidden, factor emerges in the resistance of the Japanese to the gospel: the web-like interconnection of world view assumptions collectively known as Nihonkyo ('Japanism'), as distinct from Japanese culture per se. Developing sociologically in the Edo Period and ideologically in the Meiji Period, the fabrication of Nihonkyo changed attitudes toward cultural elements such that a nation once very open to the gospel has become very closed. Principles of the problem and its discernment are widely applicable.
Mafico, Temba J. "The African Context for Theology." Journal of the Interdenominational Theological Center 16 (1989): 69-83.	The fundamental difference between Western people and Africans lies in their world views. This paper explores the traditional African Worldview as the context in which theologizing in the African setting takes place. It explores issues such as time, social relationships, God, and witchcraft.
Maggay, Melba. "Indigenous Religious Consciousness: Some Implications for Theological Education." AETEI Journal 9:1 (Jan. - June 1996): 14-40.	Deals with the communication problems presented by incongruities between the indigenous consciousness and the cultural assumptions behind the theologies that come to us via Western Protestant missionaries. Largely descriptive, this study is meant to stimulate some thinking in the direction of more sensitive ways of understanding the indigenous religious consciousness and bridging the gap between it and the various streams of Christianity that are coming in contact with it.
Maimela, Simon S. "Traditional African Anthropology and Christian Theology." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 76 (September 1991): 4-14.	In this paper, we shall attempt to analyze and discuss the broad African insights on life and its problems, and also try to show how the African anthropology could make a meaningful contribution to the Christian theological discourse on the great questions of sin and salvation. In order to bring the African anthropology and Christian theology into dialogue with each other, we shall employ the method of correlation. Therefore, we shall first outline and discuss the African perspective on life and then try to bring that perspective in dialogue with biblical tradition.
Mark, David. "Fiesta!" Evangelical Missions Quarterly 30:4 (October 1994): 426-31.	Asks how missionaries should respond to local culture, using the example of dance and fiesta in a Mexican house dedication. Reviews Niebuhr's categories, discussing implications for them.
Mastra, Wayan. "Christianity and Culture in Bali." International Review of Mission 63:251 (July 1974): 386-99.	Discusses Balinese history, culture, religion, and church history. Explores the indigenous church, including questions of culture and theology and advocates greater efforts at indigenization to make the Gospel more relevant to the Balinese people.
Mbiti, John S. "Christianity and African Culture." Evangelical Review of Theology 3:2 (October 1979): 183-197.	Explores the gospel in the African context, examining eight areas of African culture and church life. Concludes that 1) African culture must bring glory to God; 2) the Gospel must judge African culture; 3) African culture must maintain ecumenical openness towards other cultures; 4) a 15-item agenda for further consideration, 5) maintaining the attitude of "Christian first, then African (American, German, etc.)" and 6) the relationship among eschatology, culture, and Gospel.
Mbiti, John S. "Christianity and African Culture." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 20 (September 1977): 26-40.	The question of culture and the Christian Faith is very important as exemplified by the fact that, since the time of our Lord and the early Church, it has continued to come upon every generation of Christians in new and demanding ways. In this address, culture will be used to mean human pattern of life in response to man's environment. This pattern is expressed in physical forms, in inter-human relations, and in form of reflection on the total reality of life. In this respect, African culture is like any other culture in the world. We can also speak of African cultures in the plural, if we wish to draw attention to regional and local expressions of culture. But for our purposes I will use culture generically in the singular.
McClintock, Wayne. "Demons and Ghosts in Indian Folklore." Missiology 18:1 (January 1990): 37-47.	Among the rural peasantry of South Asia there is a tendency to attribute the misfortunes of life to the attacks of demons and ghosts. Serious attempts to incarnate the gospel message in this context must, therefore, seek to understand this cosmos of malignant spirits and its relevance to the everyday life of the villager. Within Indian folklore, the term bhut represents a large amorphous category of spirit beings with common distinctive characteristics. Twenty-nine demon/ghosts are identified in the nomenclature presented here. Other beliefs and practices associated with bhut are also examined, and several recent field studies indicating the persistence of traditional beliefs concerning these beings are briefly summarized.
McGavran, Donald A. "The Adaptation-Syncretism Axis." In Christopaganism or Indigenous Christianity?, ed. Tetsunao Yamamori and Charles Russell Taber, 225-44. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1975.	McGavran discusses four main dimensions of the Adaptation-Syncretism axis: the geographical-historical, the anthropological, the theological and the ecclesiastical.
Menconi, Margo Lyn. "Understanding and Relating to the Three Cultures of Cross-Cultural Ministry in Russia." Missiology 24:4 (October 1996): 519-31.	When missionaries or church workers enter a new culture with the gospel, they actually have three cultures to deal with: their own native culture, the culture of the target people, and also biblical or "kingdom " culture. We need to understand all three in order to communicate faithfully our message to the people we aim to reach for Christ. In this paper, I compare Russian, United States, and biblical culture, using Carolyn Ryffel's adaptation (1994) of one of Geert Hofstede's "Dimensions of Culture" (1991, 1986, 1984) as a framework. The purpose s to encourage the reconsideration of the place of each of these three cultures in our missionary activities and the making of conscious, informed decisions about our approach to mission in regard to them.
Mishioka, Yoshiyuki Billy. "Worldview Methodology in Mission Theology: A Comparison between Kraft's and Hiebert's Approaches." Missiology 26:4 (October 1998): 457-76.	This article describes and compares theories of world view developed by two missiological anthropologists, Charles H. Kraft and Paul G. Hiebert, in order to discover and appreciate deeper levels of culture for contextualization, while maintaining biblical truth for transformation. It suggests that these two approaches may be complementary at the practical and application level, but the theoretical synthesis may not be attainable without critical assessment of the paradigmatic discrepancy between the two.
Moon, Cyris Hee-Suk. "Culture in the Bible and the Culture of the Minjung." Ecumenical Review 39 (1987): 180-186.	Explores the reality of two levels of culture: the culture of the dominating class and the culture of the masses. Concludes: The problem has been that with Christianity in general there is a tendency to identify the gospel with the dominating culture. The great task for us today is to liberate the gospel from the dominating culture in order to serve the minjung of the world.
Moreau, A. Scott. "A Critique of John Mbiti's Understanding of the African Concept of Time." East Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology 5:2 (1986): 36-49.	Presents Mbiti's concept of time in African perspective and critiques it, offering suggestions for contextualizing the Gospel in light of Mbiti and the critique.
Moreau, A. Scott. "The Human Universals of Culture: Implications for Contextualization." International Journal of Frontier Missions 12:3 (July-Sept. 1995): 121-125.	A three level model of how humanity, our nature and culture help mold the contextualizer's task: Effective communication of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Mosala, Jerry. "African Traditional Beliefs and Christianity." Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 43 (June 1983): 15-24.	The role of religious beliefs within an African society is one of function. They are a means to a social end rather than the end itself. To this extent their study is useful for an understanding of the relation, between religion and society. And to this theme we must now turn. Our conclusion, therefore, is that whereas Western Christianity would need to be subjected to thorough purification and de-ideologisation before its relationship with African religion can be properly established, there is nevertheless a striking and fruitful relation between the biblical communities as we encounter them in scripture and African religion. The details of such a relation would necessitate another lengthy paper.
Mpaayei, John T. "How to Evaluate Cultural Practices by Biblical Standards in Maintaining Cultural Identity in Africa." In Let the Earth Hear His Voice: International Congress on World Evangelization Lausanne, Switzerland. Official Reference Volume: Papers and Responses, ed. J. D. Douglas, 1229-34. Minneapolis, MN: World Wide Publications, 1975.	Orientation of the article: The words of Paul in Ephesians 2:1-3 should help us in thinking about cultural practices, past or present. Paul, a Jew, liberated by the Lord Jesus Christ, is unafraid in applying the grace of God and his salvation to himself as well as the Ephesians, both Jews and Gentiles. For him the criterion of judging any idea of living is whether it is from God's grace, from God's love in Christ or from the ruler of this World and those still under his control. In union with Christ, Paul is freed from applying the criterion of Judaism to applying only that one, valid for all time, the grace of God in Jesus Christ. We can do no better than follow his example, since we -too now belong to the same Lord Jesus Christ as he did and we live in union with him.
Nagai, Yasuko. "Being Indigenous As Well As Christian: A Case of Maiwala Christians in Papua New Guinea." Missiology 27:3 (July 1999): 393-402.	This article is a case study of contextualization in a Melanesian community and explores the challenge of how to life faithfully as a Christian and relate effectively to one's own culture. After discussing the difference between contextualization and syncretism, the author portrays several examples of how Maiwala Christians in Papua New Guinea are trying to affirm much of their traditional culture while remaining faithful to the claims of the gospel on their lives. While practices of feasting, fighting, and killing have stopped, the practice of and belief in magic continues underground.
Nevell, Marvin J. "The Belief System of the Biak/Numfoor People." Catalyst 19:3 (1989): 265-76.	Introduction to an Indonesian people group and their belief system with implications for communicating the Gospel among them.
Newbigin, Lesslie. "Can the West be Converted?" International Bulletin of Missionary Research 11:1 (January 1987): 2-7.	Works through the question, "Can the experience of cross-cultural missions to the many pre-modern cultures of our world in the last two centuries illuminate the task of mission to this modern world?"
Nwahaghi, Felix N. "Contextualization of Christian Liturgy in Igboland: A Pragmatic Approach to African Christian Theology." Africa Theological Journal 20:2 (1991): 123-34.	Christianity has made a tremendous impact on Igbo culture without Igbo culture making a corresponding impact on Christianity. The time has come for the Christianity in Igbo to examine carefully her relationship with Igbo traditional religion.
Osei-Mensah, Gottfried. "The Theology of Church and Society." Perception 10 (August 1977): 1-7.	In light of the increase of political theologies and calls for the church to more actively engaged in human society (and the political arena) the article explores the biblical foundation of the nature and function of the church in the world.
Padilla, C. René. "Hermeneutics and Culture: A Theological Perspective." In Down to Earth: Studies in Christianity and Culture: The Papers of the Lausanne Consultation on Gospel and Culture, ed. Robert T. Coote and John Stott, 63-78. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.	General orientation of the chapter: "hermeneutics and the historical situation are strongly linked. Without a sufficient awareness of the historical factors, the faith of the hearers of the Gospel will tend to degenerate into a "culture-Christianity" which serves unredeemed cultural forces rather than the living God. The confusion of the Gospel with "culture-Christianity" has been frequent in western-based missionary work and is one of the greatest problems affecting the worldwide church today. The solution can come only through a recognition of the role that the historical context plays in both the understanding and communication of the biblical message."
Pan, James. "Contextualization: A Methodological Enquiry with Examples from the History of Theology." The South East Asia Journal of Theology 21:2 (1980): 47-64.	How to proceed in contextualization; what are the problems and proposed methods from historical perspective; case studies on Greek apologists, a Chinese theologian to help find out what the roles of Worldview, assumptions, and fundamental concerns have played in the shaping of the contextualizing attempts.
Paredes, Tito. "Popular Religiosity: A Protestant Perspective." Missiology 20:2 (April 1992): 205-20.	This paper explores the theme of popular religiosity within the context of Andean Latin America from an evangelical perspective. After defining the concept of popular religiosity, the article explores its historical context; it also discusses some of the current interpretations of Andean popular religiosity, including a Protestant perspective. After discussing the positive and negative aspects of the phenomenon, the article delineates some of the challenges of popular religiosity for evangelicals in the light of 500 years of Spanish presence in the New World.
Paton, David M. "Twelve Assumptions about Confessing the Faith in the Global Village." East Asia Journal of Theology 2:2 (1984): 308-311.	A listing of twelve assumptions as a starting point for discussion of how to enable our faith to be seen as relevant in light of global realities we face today.
Perez, Pablo M. "Biblical Theology and Cultural Identity in Latin America." In Let the Earth Hear His Voice: International Congress on World Evangelization Lausanne, Switzerland. Official Reference Volume: Papers and Responses, ed. J. D. Douglas, 1251-62. Minneapolis, MN: World Wide Publications, 1975.	It is urgent now more than ever that the Protestant church in Latin America be confronted with the need to define its own personality and to follow its own path within the will of God. The task in itself is almost impossible and cannot even pretend to find the final word on the subject. But our predicament demands that we at least promote thinking along these lines in order to encourage an ever increasing nucleus of men and women who are concerned about reaching satisfactory conclusions within our own context. As such, the plan suggested by the title of this paper seems to be the most adequate to confront the problem, only following an inverted order.
Piryns, Ernest D. "The Encounter of the Christian Message with Japanese Culture." The Japan Christian Quarterly 50:1(Winter 1984): 3-14.	Reflecting separately on the Christian message and Japanese culture is in itself a difficult task. It is difficult to express the core of the message of Christ and equally difficult to spell out what Japanese culture is. Reflecting on the encounter process of the Christian message and Japanese culture is even more risky, since between both there are certainly bridges and barriers. Who could protect us from overestimation or underestimation of both the message and Japanese culture, and where is the right balance to be found? Is it right to go in search only for similarities or to stress confrontation? It is doubtful that both ways correspond to a right view of evangelization and even interreligious dialogue. Both positions have their limitations and one-sightedness and the danger of exaggerated apologetic stances is always with us.
Poerwowidagdo, Judo. "Communicating the Gospel through Indonesian Symbols and Images." In Doing Theology with Asian Resources, ed. Choo Lak Yeow, 138-46. Singapore: ATESEA, 1993.	What I am about to present to you this time is a form of sharing; sharing of our experience and of our struggle, in "doing theology" within a particular context, that is, in a particular time in history and in a particular place or geographical location, within a particular cultural milieu, Indonesia. In other words, what I am about to share is, an experience of doing "contextual" theology. Theology, and I mean all theologies, by nature or by definition is contextual. There is no theology or theological thought or reflection which is not bound by a particular context. In this case, my context is the Indonesian society and the Indonesian churches, and more specifically, the Javanese society and the Javanese churches.
Priest, Jr. Doug. "Do the Maasai Know God? An Exercise in Cultural Exegesis." Africa Theological Journal 20:2 (1991): 81-88.	Utilizes cultural exegesis (parallel to biblical exegesis in terms of tools and methodology) to explore the traditional Maasai concept of God. Concludes that the Maasai do have knowledge about God--the same God the Christians know.
Pui-lan, Kwok. "The Emergence of Asian Feminist Consciousness of Culture and Theology." In We Dare to Dream: Doing Theology as Asian Women, ed. Virginia Fabella and Sun Ai Lee Park, 92-100. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1990.	I would attempt to outline here the emergence of Asian feminist consciousness on culture and theology from a historical perspective. The discussion is based on my ongoing research on Chinese women and Christianity, and many conversations with Asian sisters in the ecumenical movement. At the outset, I would like to stress that the following account represents only one way to look at the complex issue, as there are many different approaches to interpret our heritages and histories. It is written as a sincere and open invitation to engage more people in the continuing dialogue. The discussion will be divided into three parts. Part one examines the emergence of critical feminist consciousness in the nineteenth century, a period when Asian churches were heavily dominated by missionary influences. Part two brings us into the twentieth century when Asian women began to reassess Christianity in the context of rising nationalism and people's aspiration for independence. The concluding part discusses issues raised by Asian women theologians when we construct Asian theology, taking serious consideration of our identities as Asians and women.
Ramseyer, Robert L. "The Gospel and Culture in Evangelism." Mission Focus 5:1 (September 1976): 4-8.	Christians can be engaged effectively in evangelism, in the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, only when the gospel and culture are in proper relationship to each other both in the life of the individual Christian and in the corporate life of the fellowship of believers that we call the church. This gospel-culture relationship is seen most clearly in Jesus Christ. When this relationship is not maintained properly the church and individual Christians either become so isolated socially that they are unable to communicate the good news to those outside the church, or they become so much like the society around them that they have no good news to communicate.
Ryan, Noel. "Sociological Perspectives for Australian Theologians." In Toward Theology in an Australian Context, ed. Victor C. Hayes, 74-84. Bedford Park, S. Australia: Australian Association for the Study of Religions, 1979.	Sociology is a discipline in continual need of definition. This is required not only to curb the pretensions of her more ardent partisans, who would make her the arbiter of the universe, but also to reply to her critics, who complain that she merely reiterates the obvious. We therefore began our workshop with a demarcation of territory especially with an eye to the other disciplines represented at the Conference--literature, the visual arts and history. We went on to state what we expected sociology might contribute to theological reflection, then tested our expectation by exploring the Australian context with the aid of sociological models. In the present workshop three models were chosen for the analysis of the Australian scene. The first viewed Australia in its place in the world, the second the inner processes of Australian society itself, and the third the individual members in their status and roles in the structure of the Australian community. Finally a critique was instituted of the use and abuse of the models in preparing a basis for a contextual theology.
Sabra, George. "Gospel and Cultures--A Middle Eastern Perspective." Reformed World 46 (1996): 12-14.	The relation of gospel and culture is a vital concern of mine for two reasons. I am a Reformed Protestant in the Middle East, where Protestantism is viewed as something 'western' and foreign to what is called 'oriental' or 'eastern' culture. Secondly, I am a theologian who is very interested in the topic from the point of view of theological methodology for part of the discussion of the relation of gospel and culture is that of contextual theology. There is no question as to the vital importance of this topic for the church and theology. The gospel comes to through the mediation of culture, and we express it and witness to it through our different cultures. This has always been the case, and it will remain so. What I propose to do here is to offer some ideas about how the relation between gospel and culture may viewed in the context of the Middle East.
Sanneh, Lamin. "Christian Mission in the Pluralist Milieu: The African Experience." International Review of Mission 74:294 (April 1985): 199-211.	Posits that the success in missions in Africa is due to the vernacular achievement in missions--that enabling people access to the Bible in their own languages has resulted in Christian missions being instruments of pluralism (cultural and religious) . Through the process of vernacularization, mission infused a spirit of stimulus and conservation which laid the foundation in the African church for its contemporary pluralistic experience.
Sanneh, Lamin. "The Gospel, Language and Culture: The Theological Method in Cultural Analysis." International Review of Mission 84:332/333 (January/April 1995): 47-64.	Gospel cannot be separated from culture, thus there is no "gospel pure and simple." Culture is both a natural ally and a natural foe for the gospel. It does not really matter whether we are speaking of culture in the west or in the third world in this regard. In all situations the gospel seems to find its natural congruence within the cultural stream while at the same time encountering there its most serious obstacles. Article expounds this theme in terms of its religious and theological significance, and in terms of a missiology of linguistic and cultural symbols. The aim here is to pioneer a methodology, not to produce a comprehensive statement.
Sarpong, Peter K. "Emphasis on Africanizing Christianity." In 32 Articles Evaluating Inculturation of Christianity in Africa, ed. Teresa Okure, Paul van Thiel, et al. 105-111. Kenya: AMECEA Gaba Publications, 1990.	Some time this year, [1975], as part of the celebrations of the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Pax Romana [Association in Ghana] invited me to speak on the above topic. The talk was 'an innocent one', with no intention to offend; nor did it contain any original thought. Yet, the outcry raised against it was incredibly out of all proportion to my supposed guilt. This was the result of the sensationalization of some of the points I made, by some people and by the papers, especially, The Standard. Some laymen, but especially priests and sisters who had not directly heard me, basing themselves on newspaper reports on the lecture, tried and condemned me, without allowing me to make my plea. Only one man, Mr. Aaron Ofori-Attah, was kind enough to write and subsequently listen to me. He was satisfied that I was innocent. The rest put me before the 'firing squad'. I need a coup de grace. So, I publish verbatim as far as I can remember, as the first half was delivered from notes--"the forbidden" words I dared to pronounce.
Schreiter, Robert J. "Culture, Society, and Contextual Theologies." Missiology 12:3 (July 1984): 261-73.	Three basic questions linking culture and theology to explore the impact of the culture concept on our attempts to develop theology in local situations: 1) what constitutes the cultural unit for developing theology?; 2) Is culture the best category to use? and 3) What are some of the characteristics of a culturally or socially sensitive theology? Proposes three characteristics of a contextual theology: 1) it will reflect more of a wisdom tradition; 2) oral forms need attention, not just written; and 3) the experience of the community is the point of departure for theology.
Schreiter, Robert J. "Faith and Cultures: Challenges to a World Church." Theological Studies 50 (1989): 744-760.	This article explores that relationship between faith and cultures as it has been shaping up over the last half century. I will begin with some observations about terminology, since there is still no consensus about how best to categorize the phenomena under study. The second section will trace major milestones in thinking about the issues, as found in official Roman Catholic Church documents and major theological works on the topic. Some attention will be paid to major resources available in this area as well. A third section will look at some of the major approaches that are being taken to address faith and cultures, and a fourth section will look both at the thorny points impeding theological development and at issues creating the principal challenges for the years ahead.
Schrotenboer, Paul G. "Christ and Culture." Evangelical Review of Theology 22:4 (1998): 316-336.	In a wide and comprehensive sweep of salvation history, the author focuses on the role of culture in God's redemptive plan. He critiques Richard Niebuhr's Christ and Culture and discusses the relationship of the kingdom of God to the principalities and powers. He notes that evangelicals have been slow to relate the gospel to culture.
Schwarz, Brian. "Seeking to Understand Cargo as a Symbol." Catalyst 10:1 (1980): 14-27.	Melanesians have compared themselves to outsiders, and, since wealth is important to them, they compare their own wealth (unfavorably) to the cargo of the outsiders. The significance of "cargo" must be found initially within the traditional cultural context, and this article explores that idea.
Scoville, Gordon. "Culture Against Christ: Church Planting as Exodus from Christendom." Mission Focus: Annual Review 3 (1995): 3-13.	Even as cultural barbarism in the United States corrodes the foundations of Christendom, it also opens a providential opportunity to pass through the Red Sea to a new church, a church freed from its American captivity and thus able to surpass the ideological values and practices of the once quasi-Christian nation: that more and bigger are better and hence are progressive; that success (through material abundance) follows the faithful who demonstrate their righteousness; and that God somehow ordained this nation to be a special agent of "democracy" in the world. Under the ideology is power. That is all. The new church can hear this and then plant for a future under the Lordship of Christ alone.
Shen, Philip. "Concerns with Politics and Culture in Contextual Theology: A Hong Kong Chinese Perception." The South East Asia Journal of Theology 22 (1982): 97-102.	Article explores theological and political issues related to the Hong Kong context. Starts by defining Christian theology as reflection on Christian life in relation to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the presence of God in Christ is the source or ground and the world is the context of Christian life and therefore theology. The aim of theology is to achieve some measure of understanding of what it means to be Christian in the world and to provide some measure of guidance as to how to do so properly or effectively in ways not only relevant to its context but also true to its source.
Singgih, E.G. "Contextualisation and Inter-Religious Relationship in Java: Past and Present." Asia Journal of Theology 11:2 (1997): 248-262.	Focus on the misunderstanding of the context which resulted in the wrong picture of reality by Christians in Java. Calls for Christians to move from confrontation of the culture to appreciation (and even confirmation).
Sitompul, A. A. "Nature and the Natural in Asian Thinking--Asian Animism and Primal Religion." The East Asia Journal of Theology 1:1 (1983): 15-27.	A presentation of the main categories of primal religious beliefs in Asia.
Sitton, David. "The Basics of Animism: Spiritual Warfare in Tribal Contexts." International Journal of Frontier Missions 15:2 (April-June 1998): 69-74.	Animism is a growing concern in all parts of the world and forms the basis for new religious movements. Sitton lists basic characteristics which help to identify the world view of tribal peoples. All of this leads to the challenge of doing effective spiritual warfare among animist peoples in order to reach them with the Good News and plant the Church in their midst.
Sng, Bobby E. K. "Gospel and Culture." In Church and Culture: Singapore Context, ed. by Bobby E. K. Sng and Chee Pang Choong, 1-15. Singapore: Graduates' Christian Fellowship, 1991.	Describes culture, biblical anthropology, and the relationship between Bible and culture. Attempts to see how we can approach culture and remain true to scripture. "We wish that it were possible to say a simple 'yea, yea' or 'nay, nay' to various customs and practices but it is not always so. R. Niebuhr's three basic positions ('Christ against culture', 'Christ in culture', 'Christ above culture') describe the different ways Christians view culture. There are elements of truth in each." In light of that orientation, presents 8 issues for reflection.
Snyder, Howard A. and Runyon, Daniel V. "Ten Major Trends Facing the Church." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 11:2 (April 1987): 67-70.	Discusses ten trends which will shape the church's life and witness over the next fifty years. These were developed by surveying perceptions from over fifty leaders (with international awareness) representing the spectrum of theological and ecclesiastical perspectives.
Solheim, Dagfinn. "Japanese Culture and the Christian Church." Missiology 12:2 (April 1984): 213-21.	Why has the missionary effort in Japan been so unsuccessful? Culture holds several important keys, as a barrier still exists between the Church and the Japanese culture.
Sontag, Frederick. "A Plea for Common Sense." Missiology 7:3 (July 1979): 365-68.	Explores human universals which transcend cultural particularities for application in contextualization?
Spindler, Marc R. "Europe's Neo-Paganism: A Perverse Inculturation." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 11:1 (January 1987): 8-11.	The resurgence in paganism in Europe is discussed, starting with their self-understanding and offering theological assessment.
Stauffer, S. Anita. "Culture and Christian Worship in Intersection." International Review of Mission 84:332/333 (January/April 1995): 65-76.	Proposes six theses on the intersections between culture and Christian worship: 1) there is an ecumenical core of Christian worship; 2) Christian worship has always interacted with culture; 3) the dynamics between worship and culture involve several balances--several sets of values at opposite ends of a continuum or axis (e.g., authentic--relevant; confessional--catholic; local--global; Christocentric--anthropocentric); 4) cultures are to be respected but also critiqued; 5) Christian worship relates to culture in three ways: it is contextual, countercultural, and transcultural; 6) There is an important eschatological dimension to both worship and the Christian approach to culture.
Steffen, Tom A. "Foundational Roles of Symbol and Narrative in the (Re)construction of Reality and Relationships." Missiology 26:4 (October 1998): 477-93.	What provides the foundation for deep-level presuppositions? Scholars have offered multiple possibilities: world view universals, interests influenced by economics, social relationships, symbols, and narrative. This article attempts to answer this question by exploring the interrelationship between ideas, interests, economics, social relationships, narrative, and symbol. I argue that symbol-based narrative serves as the lifelong, foundational conceptualization agent that allows for the (re)construction of reality and relationships. Shared symbols and stories socialize the personality within the broader communal context; they construct and reconstruct social values and social relations.
Strom, Donna. "Cultural Practices--Barriers or Bridges." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 23:3 (July 1987): 248-56.	Will widely-varying cultures in India be barriers or bridges to the gospel? Will mass movements to Christianity spoil or destroy culture? Or will a caste-ridden Hinduized church emerge? Uses Hesselgrave's seven-channel model of cross-cultural communication to explore the issues.
Sundermeier, Theo. "Unio Analogica: Understanding African Dynamistic Patterns of Thought." Africa Theological Journal 11:1 (1982): 36-62.	Describes in general terms African world view and focuses in particular on belief in God, ancestors, and magic.
Swain, David L. "Japanese Society Today: Some Conceptual Maps." The Japan Christian Quarterly 58(1992): 61-74.	In this essay the author focuses on certain basic dynamics and by providing figures as "conceptual maps" in which readers can perhaps find some coordinates of their own experiences. This is an essay, not an academic thesis; citations are made to illustrate, not to "prove", a point and to suggest collateral reading. Moreover, no final conclusions are offered, only some reflections on missional implications for Japan. The first part is of a structural depiction of Japanese society, the second broad-stroke historical perspective.
Tai, Ji. "Gospel and Culture: Interpretation and Reinterpretation." Chinese Theological Review 11:2 (1995): 101-11.	What is the real crux of the question of the relationship between Gospel and culture? The problem is that we often consider gospel and culture as two equal categories. This approach is too superficial to deal with the problem we are facing. In fact, gospel and culture are related, but quite different, categories. Let us first re-examine them, and then try to find out their essential relationship. Concludes: Gospel and culture are not simply two parallel categories. The so-called "gospel" which people usually hear is, in fact, an interpretation by different cultures of the apostolic gospel. The right method to deal with the relationship between gospel and culture is first to pass beyond all cultural carriers, retrieve the message, and then reinterpret it in our own cultural terms just as the digital tectonic does. Therefore, evangelization should not be a transplanting of culture, but a reinterpretation of the Event or Message of God's salvation for a different culture. If we could be clear about this concept, the real gospel would be spread correctly and more effectively.
Taylor, Arch B. "Clash of Cultures--Japanese Polytheism vs. Biblical Monotheism." The Japan Christian Quarterly 48:3 (Summer 1982): 139-52.	It is sometimes said that Christianity is unsuitable for the Japanese because it is a "foreign" or a "Western" religion. Serious-minded Christians persist in the quest for "indigenization" and for means of communication appropriate for Japanese. But one cannot but believe that the more clearly Christianity is explained, the more obvious it will appear that there is a basic incompatibility between the Worldview by most Japanese and the Worldview of the Bible which is the indispensable foundation of the Christian faith. One way to demonstrate that incompatibility is to summarize the lecture "Two World Views" by the late Professor Ishida Eiichiro of Tokyo University. In broad strokes Ishida undertook to describe the two categories into which all the religions of humankind can be divided: the monotheistic world view represented by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the polytheistic world view including all others.
Tiénou, Tite. "Christianity and African Culture: A Review." Evangelical Review of Theology 3:2 (October 1979): 198-205.	Review of Mbiti's article (Evangelical Review of Theology 3:2 (October 1979): 183-197) by focusing on developing a theology of culture. Critiques Mbiti for remaining too general, and notes that his 15 item agenda would have better served as the focus of his entire discussion.
Tippet, Alan. "Christopaganism or Indigenous Christianity?" In Christopaganism or Indigenous Christianity?, ed. Tetsunao Yamamori and Charles Russell Taber, 13-35. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1975.	The first chapter of the book was assigned the role of preparing the stage for our exchange, taking up a position in such a way that the other writers could react either positively or negatively, either by developing the argument further or by turning it in another direction. In any case, the first presentation, it was felt, should pinpoint the missionary problem which underlies the whole book--namely, how to avoid syncretism and to achieve an indigenous Christianity. So often the search for the latter leaves us with the former instead. The purpose of this presentation, then, after delineating the scope of the series and defining the terms, will be to demonstrate the character of the alternatives -Christopaganism or indigeneity.
Turner, Harold W. "New Mission Task: Worldwide and Waiting." Missiology 13:1 (January 1985): 5-21.	Defines new religions and the associated terminology and why study of them is important for Christian mission.
Van Gelder, Craig. "Defining the Center--Finding the Boundaries: The Challenge of Re-Visioning the Church in North America for the Twenty-First Century." Missiology 22:3 (July 1994): 317-37.	It is becoming increasingly clear that we are experiencing a shift in North American culture that requires the church to think of North America as mission field. The thesis of this article is that the church will need to develop a new paradigm of mission to accomplish this. This article identifies 18 issues which such a paradigm of mission will need to address. These issues are discussed in terms of three aspects: (1) the context in which we live, (2) the gospel we seek to proclaim, and (3) the church which seeks to proclaim this gospel.
Van Rheenen, Gailyn. "Animism, Secularism and Theism: Developing a Tripartite Model for Understanding World Cultures." International Journal of Frontier Missions 10:4 (October 1993): 169-171.	What do African Animists, Japanese Shintoists and American Secularists have in common? How do they differ from one another? Here is a preliminary discussion draft suggesting that theirs and the Worldview of others can be classified by summing their animistic, secularistic and theistic components.
Wagner, C. Peter. "A Vision for Evangelizing the Real America." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 10:2 (April 1986): 59-64.	The 'real America' is a multi-ethnic society on a scale that boggles the imagination, and it is this America that God has called us to evangelize. Builds argument on use of ethne in Matt. 28:19. What is God's vision? It involved three parts: the social vision, the spiritual vision, and the strategic vision.
Walls, Andrew. "Africa and Christian Identity." Mission Focus 6:7 (November 1978): 11-13.	Africa has every appearance of providing much of the greatest number of professing Christians in any continent by the end of the present century. The shape of the church, the theology that later church historians have to write about, is likely to be determined by what happens in Africa over the next few generations. And Africa's primal religions, the substratum of the religious life of the most substantial body of the world's Christians, are therefore of fundamental importance for the future of the church.
Walls, Andrew F. "The Gospel as the Prisoner and Liberator of Culture." Missionalia 10:3 (November 1982): 93-105.	In Christian theologizing we face two principles: 1) the indigenizing principle, in which people strive to make the church "fit" their culture (seen in all cultures and times of the church) and 2) the pilgrim principle, in which we display the reality that we not 'of this world'. Both principles are rooted in Scripture, and both play significant roles in the development of theology.
West, Charles C. "Gospel for American Culture: Variations on a Theme by Newbigin." Missiology 19:4 (October 1991): 431-41.	The author argues that Lesslie Newbigin's missiological diagnosis of secular pluralistic Western culture applies to the United States with three important variations. First, the United States is not a traditional ethnos but a society formed by a covenant. Its survival depends upon maintaining and continually reforming the conditions of that covenant so as to include all of the people who live in the country Second the pluralistic ethos of American society raises the question of unity with special urgency because that unity cannot be assumed, hence the importance of ecumenical witness. Third, in American society power plays a central role in validating the truth, not only of science and technology but also of values and social structures. This article probes these three areas of covenant, ethos and power in American society and offers some missiological suggestions for mission to our culture.
Whiteman, Darrell L. "Effective Communication of the Gospel Amid Cultural Diversity." Missiology 12:3 (July 1984): 275-85.	Issues of culture and communication from an anthropological perspective. Topics include discovering original biblical meanings, distinguishing them from contemporary cultural forms, communicating biblical meanings rather than transferring cultural forms, and dynamic equivalence versus formal correspondence.
Whiteman, Darrell L. "Some Relevant Anthropological Concepts for Effective Cross-Cultural Ministry." Missiology 9:2 (April 1981): 223-239.	General overview of culture and selected problems of culture and cross-cultural communication from an anthropological perspective.
Zhao, Dianpeng. "Chinese Culture and Christian Faith." In Doing Theology with Asian Resources, ed. Choo Lak Yeow, 78-84. Singapore: ATESEA, 1993.	The Chinese people enjoy a long history, a great culture and great achievements in the arts. Their superior ethical heritage is not only one of the best in Asia, but is also outstanding among the nations of the world. China is regarded as an ancient civilization, a country which highly values propriety and decorum. It should be noted that China's ideals for human life and concepts of the highest deity are not devoid of elements of Christian doctrines and ethics and elements that there cannot be contradiction between one truth and another, nor can this "beauty and goodness" and that "beauty and goodness" be mutually exclusive. For all truth and beauty come from the great Creator God. Without a doubt, it would be beneficial for the spread of the gospel in China if the Church were to have a sufficient understanding of Chinese culture and appropriate it to its own use. This paper is an initial exploration into the possibility of harmonizing Chinese culture and Christian faith, and I hope it will stimulate further discussion on the subject.