HOW TO SHARE EVANGELICAL WORLDVIEW WITH LIBERATION THEOLOGISTS As is often the case, new interpretations or corrections of traditional christianity morph to fill a perceived void or special interest group agenda. In modern day, we see that Liberation Theology has moved into environmental concerns and the mainstreaming of marginalized members of our society. Latin revolutionary Che Guevara has been rediscovered as a representative icon of liberation of the poor and oppressed in present day North America. An obvious candidate for personal salvation would be someone who is actually preaching the Gospel and doesn’t know it. Two such groups would be secular activists and progressive Christians of faiths that emphasize social activism, yet have abandoned the revelation of the Bible’s truth.
Contextualization of Christian Worldview: Christ and Culture: Niebuhr vs. Yoder Introduction The next two modules address key issues in attempting to be in yet not of the world in the exercise of Christian discipleship in secular societies and cultures. The context of the discussion revolves around H. Richard Niebuhr's articulation of and responses to the challenges of balancing Christ and Culture. What Niebuhr called the "enduring problem" is perhaps more pronounced than ever before in these days of great diversity and increased interactions and conflicts of postmodern global cultures. The problem is involved in relations between loyalties to Christ and culture, church and state, faith and reason...[and] how the assumptions, values, perceptions, and understandings of society penetrate us and influence our understanding of who Christ is, what it means to follow him, and what the mission of the church is. (Stassen, Yeager, & Yoder, 1996, p. 10) Module 4 consists of a clear presentation of the teleological ethical perspective of Niebuhr, as well as his classical typology (and examples from church history) of distinct responses to the enduring problem of how Christians can or should live in a fallen world.
What It Means To Be Like Jesus us tells us that those who follow Him will become like Him. What does it mean to "be like Jesus" in the complex times of today's world? To try and explain how we can be more like Jesus, we are going to examine what Matthew says about being Christ like. To be like Jesus means to accept our heritage. Jesus' heritage was multiethnic and included several questionable individuals.
The ideas of Social Darwinism and Social Gospel were a form of justification brought on by Americans in the late 1800s and 1900s. Social Darwinism was created by using Charles Darwin's theory of natural evolution and natural selection, 'the survival of the fittest'. Social Gospel was a moral reform movement promoted by Protestant clergy such as Walter Rauschenbusch and Washington Gladden. It was a liberal movement within the American Protestantism that applied to biblical teachings and Christian ethics to a variation of social and industrialization problems. Especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, crime, racial tensions, child labor, inadequate labor unions, poor schools, and the danger of war.
Paul's gospel is deeply theological, but it is also eminently practical. The Good News of Jesus Christ is intended to transform a person's life. Until individual Christians own and live out the theology, the gospel has not accomplished its purpose. Paul has briefly touched on the practical significance of what he writes throughout Romans 1-11. But beginning in chapter 12 Paul turns his full attention on the ethical implications of the gospel.” (393) The process of sanctification is constant.
In his view, the Church's first and foremost goal isn't the individual experience, but rather the ability for humans to create the Kingdom of God on earth. For Raushenbusch this could be done through what he called the “social gospel.” “Since the Kingdom is the supreme end of God, it must be the purpose for which the church exists.”[7] By living each day in love, humans should theoretically be able to live like Jesus Christ and in turn reform society. This focus was influenced by many factors. One prevalent factor, which led to this sense of urgency toward social reform, was the migration of the population. In Emerson's time, the majority of American citizens lived in rural areas.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” Paul was speaking about how as Christians, we should not strive to follow the mold of society, but rather follow the will of the Lord. At times, this can be difficult for a Christian business owner, yet the rewards for the Lord will outweigh the financial gains from following society. Kotler and Keller explain that one area of marketing that Romans 12:2 applies to is that of social responsibility marketing. “Because the effects of marketing extend beyond the company and the customer to society as a whole, marketers must consider the ethical, environmental, legal, and social context of their roles and activities” (Kotler and Keller, 2012, p. 22).
But in chapter 12, Paul begins to take a more in depth look at how Christians ought to behave and act. Prior to this section, Paul speaks of orthodoxy, but nor begins to look at orthopraxy. Moo mentions, “All theology is practical, and all practice, if it is truly Christian, is theological. Paul’s gospel is deeply theological, but it is also eminently practical. The good news of Jesus Christ is intended to transform a person’s life.” The power of the gospel is the force which drives sanctification in the lives of those who follow Christ.
The irony in Christianity lied within the justification of slavery. This justification was in the method of twisting the Bibles meaning. Such as in Ephesians, when the Lord tells us that Slaves are to be obedient to their masters, but also for the masters to not harm their servants; exemplifying that the action of Christians was taken out of context of the bible. As time pressed on in America, African Americans became more understanding to the religion of Christianity. In 1775, the Revolutionary war began, resolving the issue of liberty among the Colonists to British oppression.
Christ and Culture This paper will seek to examine and evaluate closely some key historical models in which Christians have understood the relation of Christ to culture. The relationship between Christ and human culture as Scripture presents it. However, this essay is somewhat limited to Andrew Walls’ “pilgrim principle”[1]in his essay ”The Gospel as Prisoner and Liberator of Culture” and Niebuhr’s “Christ Against Culture”[2] view form his book Christ and Culture. This paper will also try to answer the question whether in light of the “pilgrim principle” Christians should adopt “Niebuhr’s “Christ Against Culture” view. In trying to answer the not-so-easy question above, the author will briefly refer to African Culture, a culture with which the writer is familiar and comfortable to discuss.