Gilbert and I attended the Philip Jenkins lectures at Beeson Divinity School this past Tuesday and Wednesday. He made the point that cultures which are far removed from biblical culture run the risk of reading the Bible as fiction....especially the Old Testament. One's attitude toward the authority of scripture makes all the difference in one's vitality of faith. He said that ironically global North Christians (Europeans/Americans) have been influenced greatly by Marcian and tend to act as if the OT doesn't really matter much....the global South Christians run the risk of needing to be convinced that the OT is to be subjugated to the New Testament, because they are not far removed at all from the world of priests, and the need for bloody sacrifices to expiate sin. "If any African finds it difficult to identify with the Old Testament, they have lost their Africanness." Many global south Christians aren't far removed from seeing a literal blood sacrifice. He said global South Christians are ready to fight spiritual warfare, confront demons, and in doing so, they are libertating women, and creating a "reformation of machismo" family structure.Also, there are many issues related to poverty in the global south that create dependence. It is the grasping of life's transience that creates total dependence on God.
He believes the greatest fear of global South Muslims is of the "Weapon of Mass Instruction" and that is why they are out to eliminate Christian proselytizers. Aren't we glad the Word of God is alive and sharper than any two-edged sword!
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