Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Mission Theology

Bosch, David J.; Scherer, James A.

doi:10.1177/009182969101900203

Cited by 385 publications

(455 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

419

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Bosch (1991) The following (all brief) points might explain more of Bosch's understanding of contextualisation:…”

Section: Contextualisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mission as breaking down walls, opening gates and empowering traders: From contextualisation to deep contextualisation

Niemandt

2017

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wikipedia describes Banksy as an anonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist and film director of unverified identity. Banksy is more than a single artist -it is a movement of social activists: 'Their satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stencilling technique. Banksy's works of political and social commentary have been featured on streets, walls, and bridges of cities throughout the world' (Wikipedia 2017).Banksy's art is especially visible on walls and places that divide, leaving huge statements on the injustices of divisions and political power plays. It should come as no surprise, then, that many of these graffiti murals are found on the wall dividing Palestinians and Israelis.This mural (Figure 1) serves as a powerful icon of many other famous walls: The original wall built by Nehemiah to safeguard ancient Jerusalem; the great wall in China; the monstrous wall that divided East and West during the Cold War; the mostly symbolic, but just as powerful, wall of apartheid signs that divided South Africa with just four words 'Slegs Blankes, Whites only'; the wall running through huge areas of Palestine, separating Arabs and Israelis; and, of course, Donald Trump's dream of a wall that will keep all migrants and foreigners out of the nation of migrants and foreigners, the Un-united States of America.Walls divide. Walls segregate, preserve and institutionalise. Walls safeguard borders, identities, wealth. Walls are, by nature, static, immovable, stark and dark. They beg artists to make statements and to transform the dullness and cold isolation associated with walls. Sometimes, artists protest more than just the physical barriers. They shout out at the walls found in everyday life, in the workplace and classrooms and, perhaps, universities. Who, from my generation, will ever forget Pink Floyd?The research addressed the issue of symbolic walls that divide, segregate, preserve and institutionalise. The way in which institutions and especially the Faculty of Theology at the University of Pretoria facilitated symbolic 'walls' was discussed in the overview of the Department of Science of Religion and Missiology in the first century of the Faculty of Theology. The concepts of 'gatekeepers' and 'traders' were then applied because walls, paradoxically, need gates to facilitate control, movement and, eventually, life. Gatekeepers were described as the guardians of the status quo, and traders as agents who, in one way or another, facilitate movement, trade, flow and life in the midst of the shadows of walls. Missionaries are, by the very nature of the missionary enterprise, more traders than gatekeepers. Here, the work of Bosch -specifically his ground-breaking work on mission as contextualisation -provides an explanation of the art of mission as breaking down walls, opening gates and empowering traders. That is precisely why Missiology is particularly well suited to assist the church and theology in the art of breaking down walls. The theolog...

show abstract

“…Bosch (1991) The following (all brief) points might explain more of Bosch's understanding of contextualisation:…”

Section: Contextualisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mission as breaking down walls, opening gates and empowering traders: From contextualisation to deep contextualisation

Niemandt

2017

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Missiologists like Newbigin (1984;1986;1989:64f) and Bosch (1991;1995) have analysed this feature of modernity in depth and pointed out its negative effects on Christian public witness. It gives rise to "inferiority voicelessness" (as I called it) among theologians who have no background in the natural sciences and are too intimidated by scientific "facts" and "experts" to open their mouths in public.…”

Section: Theological Voicelessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming theological voicelessness in the new millennium

Kritzinger

2014

mis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This opening paper of the Voicelessness conference in October 2011 gives an introduction to the theme. After tracing the semantic fields in which "voicelessness" is used, the paper develops a "phenomenology" of the concept. Seven types of voicelessness are identified and applied to theological voicelessness. The periodisation implied in "the new millennium" is also explored, before reflecting on the theological method needed to face these challenges. The paper concludes by proposing five ways of overcoming theological voicelessness. These involve developing new strategies in relation to identity, research, politics, the academy, and worship.

show abstract

“…Trinitarian ministry A missional ministry is always and primarily Trinitarian (Purves 2004;Bosch 1991;Goheen 2000). It is God who calls and sends, Christ who provides a new identity, and the Spirit who metes out gifts to everyone, irrespective of sex.…”

Section: Missional and Serving Leadership By Both Men And Womenmentioning

confidence: 99%