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Gospel and culture - culture in the Bible

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MLA citation style

Nicholls, B. Gospel and Culture - Culture In the Bible. Sydney Missionary and Bible College. 1978. Retrieved from the Atla Digital Library, https://archives.moore.edu.au/documents/detail/179525.

APA citation style

Nicholls, B. (1978). Gospel and culture - culture in the Bible. Retrieved from the Atla Digital Library, https://archives.moore.edu.au/documents/detail/179525.

Chicago citation style

Nicholls, B. Gospel and Culture - Culture In the Bible. Sydney Missionary and Bible College. 1978. Retrieved from the Atla Digital Library, https://archives.moore.edu.au/documents/detail/179525.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

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  • Nicholls speaks on the topic of culture in the Bible, with particular emphasis on Paul’s ministry across a Graeco-Jewish context and how this informs ministry opportunities today. He argues that culture can only be understood through an understanding of humanity. Religion plays the most influential role in shaping and sustaining culture. Biblically, humanity shares a common ancestor and condition in Adam, and man is made in the image of God. Traditionally, this image has been viewed as an ontological distinction between humanity and the rest of creation. However, an evangelical perspective places greater emphasis on the relational aspect between man and God. The Fall disrupted both human nature and humanity’s relationship with God, corrupting every aspect of life and, by extension, every aspect of culture. Nicholls identifies four levels of culture: i) ideologies, ii) values, iii) institutions, and iv) outward expressions of behaviour. What is found in humanity is expressed in culture in an expanded form. Nicholls also addresses the content and form of the gospel. In contextualising theology, the content of Christian teaching must be communicated within the cultural framework of the mission field. For instance, the Hindu idea of incarnation differs significantly from the Christian understanding of the Incarnation of Christ. The gospel is revealed by God and delivered within specific cultural and linguistic contexts. In His sovereignty, God chose particular peoples, cultures, and languages for His purposes. Since both the content and form of the gospel come from God, we have no grounds for altering them. Instead, certain truths must be faithfully taught across every cultural context. Missionaries walk a fine line between acceptable and unacceptable adaptions to cultures when presenting the Scriptures and gospel. Paul presents an example of cross-cultural gospel communication. Paul's language usage reflected a purposeful, deliberate presentation of the gospel.
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  • In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted. This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/