Quotes about Contextualization

And here is the absolutely vital and life-changing take-home point for us: ancient and ambiguous laws, in order to remain relevant, needed to be adapted—which results in the diversity of the laws we see in the Old Testament.

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law.

To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.

Each generation of the church in each setting has the responsibility of communicating the gospel in understandable terms, considering the language and thought-forms of that setting.

Contextualization is not giving people what they want. It is giving God's answers (which they probably do not want) to the questions they are asking and in forms they can comprehend.

There is a strong movement, especially in Protestantism, to recast the Christian message in order to make it acceptable to modern man.

Contextualization is about showing the relevance of the gospel, not making the gospel relevant. That's the essence of contextualization.

Reading and understanding the Bible involves lots and lots of interpretation. Not just in light of the world and culture around us, but in reference to other parts of the Bible.

Three Tasks of a Good Missionary Learn the language: educate yourself on how to talk in a way that people can understand and to which they can relate and eventually respond Study the culture: become so sensitized to that culture that you can operate effectively within it Translate the gospel: translate it into its own cultural context so that it can be heard, understood, and appropriated