Contextual Theology 1

Evaluating the Various views of contextualization

Tesfaye Endale Chenchelo

Department of Mission and Theology

Culture and Contextualization (MS 601)

International Leadership University- Ethiopia

Dr. Girma Altaye (PhD)

25 May 2023
Contextual Theology 2

Abstract

In this essay, various theological backgrounds are explored to evaluate their perspective on

contextual theology. An in-depth survey and critical review of books, academic papers, research

articles, and journals related to the topic was conducted to find out the results. For this study

purpose, the wide-ranging theological backgrounds are grouped into non-reformed theologies

and reformed theologies. According to assessments, in the historic development of Christianity,

God's eternal will and humanism have been seen as a conflict of interest. Although the mission of

Jesus and the early church is grounded on God's redeeming work, however, in the history of

Christian theology, humanism has become a central emphasis. Further, the finding shows that the

differences in theological positions of different theological roots have directly affected their

stance on the contextualization approach. Furthermore, the non-reformed and reformed

contextualization models followed have doctrinal and practical complications that necessitate

reevaluating their standpoint in accordance with Christ and the early church ministries.

Keywords: - Contextualization, Theology, Christianity, Churches, Mission

Contextual Theology 3

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................4

Literatures Review...........................................................................................................................4

Jesus’s and Early Church’s Ministry:...........................................................................................4

Historic Theological Discrepancies: -..........................................................................................8

Theology of Contextualization: - Historical and Conceptual Overview.......................................12

Evaluating Various Views of Contextualization............................................................................16

Non-Reformed Theologies: - Contextualization........................................................................16

Reformed Theologies: - Contextualization................................................................................18

Reference.......................................................................................................................................22
Contextual Theology 4

Introduction

Doing contextual theology is often dialectic (Pears, 2010, p. 1-8). And thus, contextualizing text

and context are not simple tasks. Since it has an obligation to portray the unchanging gospel

message into different cultural settings. Indeed, contextualization is not a new concept for

Christian missions, but the experience and its consequences have been fraught with complex

challenges and crisis (Bosch, 2011, p. 358-379). On the one hand, it is used for political, social,

and economic interests. Again, historically mostly it done against the teachings of Christianity

(McGrath, 2012, p 184-187). For the reason that in the past historic development of Christianity,

people's feelings and interests have been greatly taken into consideration by theologians with

different background. Thus, makes it difficult to evaluate the viewpoints of contextual theology

with different theological roots. In this essay, thus efforts have mad to make it laid-back, as the

various points of view have been scanned by organizing various views systematically and step by

step. At first, the contextual theological views of Christ and the early church were

briefly assessed. Later, the key theological changes and an overview of contextual theology were

critically reviewed. Finally, an effort has been made to have an insight into the possible

perspectives of contextual theology through associating Christian theologies of different

backgrounds with the teachings and practices of Jesus and the early church ministries.

Literatures Review

Jesus’s and Early Church Ministry:

An Evidence for Biblical and Theological Foundations

The New Testament recorded about the contextual theology approach in Jesus’s ministries that

has been undertaken in various area of Israel and Judea. For instance, Jesus ministry in Nazareth

of Galilee and the surrounding area (Matthew 4:12-16; 15:29-31; Mark 1:14-34; 38-45; John 2:1-
Contextual Theology 5
11; 4:46-54; Luke 5 1-14; 17-28; 20-39; 6:6; 17-19); Jesus ministry in Jerusalem (Matthew 21

and 22 chapters; Mark 8:27; 10:52; John 2:13-25; 5:1 -47; 7:14-53; 10;22-38; 12:12-50; Luke

1:13; 21:38); Jesus ministry in Samaria (John 4:1-42); Jesus ministry in Judea (John 3:22- 36;

11:1-45; 12:1-11); Jesus ministry in Mount of Olives (John 8:1-59; 9:1-41; 10:1-21); Jesus

ministry in Capernaum (John 7:1-10), Jesus ministry in Nine (7:11-16; 7:1-10); Jesus ministry in

Gregson (John 5:26-56) some of them. The the central message of Jesus ministries is that the

kingdom of God has come and repent, and he taught the message to people in different nations,

speaking different languages, and people with different social situations (scribes, religious

leaders, uneducated people, children, women, lepers, prostitutes, the poor, etc.). Jesus' preaching

and teaching method was compatible with the culture, psychology and ability of the receivers to

receive the message, so he was able to place and communicate the message in the hearts of the

listeners without being limited by the topographical and social conditions. This can be

understood from the reaction of some people; who believe in him, reject his teachings, follow

him, etc. Another important point is that the teaching and preaching of Jesus gave priority to

God's purpose and will; and because it was submitted only to that, it had no place for the needs

and feelings of the listeners of his time. The needs and thoughts of people could be accepted in

the teaching and preaching of Jesus only when it was in respect of the scriptures, teachings of the

prophets and the will of the Father and was analyzed and accepted from the point of view of his

Christological interpretation. Apart from that human thoughts and desires were not accepted.

After Christ Jesus ascending up, the apostles continued his ministry by following his footsteps

and the church became the main agents for Christian missionaries’ practices. Some theological

writers elucidate the close relationship between the early church and mission by amplification

that mission is the activities of God in Church and everything God does through Church on earth
Contextual Theology 6
is a mission (Mashoko, 2005, pp. 65-66). Likewise, Bosch (2011, pp. 32) affirmed that, the

history of the early church is a theology of Christian mission, and Church identity cannot be

explained in any other way than mission. Further, he argued that since mission was started and

originated with Jesus’s and early church’s teachings and practices of gospel ministry, the

missional doctrine and practices of Jesus and the early church could be considered as the mother

of Christian theology. However, the missional movements have been bursting with challenges

since the early church. The writers of Christian theology reported that one of the fundamental

challenges for the Christian mission in every age is the existence of unorthodoxy of theology

throughout the history of Christianity. Although the church has suffered especially with false

theological teachings. Despite God's use of Church’s suffering for his glory is not only a solution

to the problems it has faced in every age, He has been working with the selected generations to

spread the gospel of the kingdom, which does not change according to the conditions of the time.

And still He works.

It can be understood from the history of God’s salvation working that taking a stance about God's

will, based on our own thoughts or understanding from other people, can not only eradicate our

relationship with God, but also cause us to stand in opposition to God’s will. This is what

happened to God's chosen Israel in the process of God's redemption history of the world. Israel's

understanding of itself is different, and God's understanding of Israel was different. Wright

(2006, 515-516) argues, that Israelite’s self-understanding was wrong. The covenant that God

entered into with Israel through angels at Sinai had planned to reach the entire human race and

all creation through them, but they made a theological repudiation by the inadequate

understanding of God that is only in terms of their own interests. The same challenge continued

during Christ's earthly ministry, the early apostles, and the early church. Because of this, not only
Contextual Theology 7
did Israel stand against God's plan, but the mission of early Church, which was the reason for the

first church to exist on this earth, appeared as a reason for not fulfilling God's plan, which was

first witnessed in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Bosch (2011,

53-57), in his book Mission Transform, explains how the early church overcame the tribulations

it faced. According to him, the early apostles (Peter, James and others) and some of the believing

disciples with a Hebrew background had a wrong theological understanding of salvation. But the

translation of Christ's message into Greek and the beginning of the apostle Paul's ministry

illustrations that the early church removed the misunderstandings that hindered mission. The

translation of Jesus' teaching into Greek helped the Jews believers with a Hellenistic background

(for instance, the disciple Stephen) and were able to understand that after the resurrection of

Christ, the work of the Law ended and instead the Holy Spirit took responsibility to work in the

lives of believers. Because they understood and started teaching this, they faced suffering and

persecution from conservative Jews.

As a result, on the other hand, the believing disciples of Jesus who began to suffer from the Jews

were forced to question their identity. Since, the early Christians saw themselves as a sect of the

Judaism. Finally, those who are saved by faith and grace understand that they were different from

Judaism and identified themselves as Christian (Acts 11፡26). However, in terms of the global

mission that Christ gave to his apostles, the church had not yet come to a proper position. It was

after Barnabas and the Apostle Paul were set apart by the Holy Spirit to serve in Antioch that the

church came to have the right position and distinctiveness as well as to be fit for the work of

mission. The church of Antioch was a redeemed people who had been called out of the world by

Jesus Christ, regardless of race, language, male or female, slave or gentleman. In Antioch the

Holy Spirit was working with power. Especially since the theological foundation of Torah-free
Contextual Theology 8
self-definition of Gentile Christianity was laid by the apostle Paul's ministry, the church was

qualified to fulfill the prophecy of Jesus Christ to preach to the Jews and to all mankind (Bosch,

2011, p. 146-147). This is the global Christian mission that was started by the previous apostles

and disciples of Christ and has reached our time in different ways. The same movement of the

church has continued until our time. However, the church has become different from its

predecessors in terms of teaching and practical movement, it is more numerous in number, it is

different in practical activities and it is reflected in deviant theological positions.

Historic Theological Discrepancies: -

An Evidence for Denominational Developments

Since the birth of the first church, Christianity has become a faith with a history of more than

two millennia. In these long history, various changes and developments have been seen in

Christian theology. The development of Christian theology is closely related to the development

and civilization of the world. Perhaps it is believed that it has a foremost, direct and significant

impact on human civilization. This is why writers who want to understand the history of

Christian theology line the development of theology with the world civilization. McGrath (2011,

pp. 44) is one of the most well-known authors in our time, and recognized four main periods in

which historical theological developments are seen, namely 1) patristic period (100c - 700c),

Middle Ages and renaissance period (700c-1500c), reformation and post reformation period

(1500c -1750c), and modern period (1750 to present day) based on which he surveyed,

discussed, and characterized the theological development agendas of each era. From the patristic

period to the present day, different theologians held different positions on theological matters that

arose according to the civilization and social conditions of the time, but the content of the

theological topics of the fathers, the Middle Ages, the reformation and the modern period
Contextual Theology 9
continued to change with the same thought. The main topics that are being raised in all these

years are possibly related to the doctrine of scripture, soteriology, church tradition, sacramental

issues, ecumenical and faith creeds, Christology, Trinity, Ecclesiology, the doctrine of grace, the

doctrine of the original sin, and the doctrine of man (McGrath, 2011, p. 45-188). Regarding

scriptures, the issue that received attention in the patriarchal era was the setting distinctively between

canonical and non-canonical scriptural writings. According to Zorinthara (2017, p. 2) and Bruce (1988,

pp. 19), the Council of Nicaea in 350 and St. Athanasius in 367 as authoritative divine revelation

documents of Christianity gave confirmation that thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and twenty-

seven books of the New Testament are canonical. However, Akin (2010, pp. 133), argued that the first

Christian generation did not precisely provide us with a list of which books counted as canonical scripture

and which did not, resulting all time controversies among the Christian denominations. Thus, it became a

cause for the Christian theologies to take their own positional differences in recognizing canonical

scripture (Podhajska, 2017, p. 50). The reformed protestant accepts only 39 Old Testament and 27 New

Testaments books as canonical scripture and rejects the Apocrypha, intended to scripture alone whereas

both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics recognized the Apocrypha as deuterocanonical in

addition to that of Old Testament and the New Testament books. (Akin, 2010, p. 58).

The subject of tradition theology was rooted during the patriarchal period. According to McGrath

(2011, pp. 57), Gnostics writers often interpreted the Bible in unorthodox ways that did not seem

right to their fathers. Thus, the way of interpretation of the scriptures created a dissimilarity

between the church fathers and the Gnostics perception resulting the traditional system of

interpretation of the scriptures in the church. The fathers of the church taught that they were

apostolic successors and that their teachings were received in a secret tradition from going back

to the disciples of the apostles (Ferguson, 2005, pp. 108). Furthermore, according to McGrath

(2011, pp. 58), tradition thus seen as a legacy from the apostles, by which the church was guided
Contextual Theology 10
and directed towards its correct interpretation of scripture. On the other hand, the Donatists

group of people in the patriarchal period had a movement that said the church is the body of

Christ and holy, and thus sinners should not have a place in the church (Viss, 2018, p. 4-5). This

situation also changed the view of the church significantly, and combined with the position held

by the church fathers that the authority to interpret the scriptures should be through the church

according to the tradition we received from the disciples of the apostles, the church began to hold

a higher position. This claim has been started during patrician period and became very influential

after the Middle Ages. However, for most medieval theologians’ scripture was the materially

sufficient source of Christin doctrine (McGrath, 2012, pp. 116). Thus, this view expanded and

developed in the modern era and became the main characteristic of the traditional and

sacramental theology of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. On the other hand,

the tradition of Protestantism has been very influential after the reformation that gave birth to

Protestantism began with a local protest in a small German town on 31 October 1517 (Noll,

2011, p. 31).

As people began to enlighten in logical reasoning, philosophy, civilization and reformation; in

addition to that of the previous controversies in the lists of canonical scriptures, and the

interpretation methods of the scriptures, with emergence of Protestantism in the West, the views

that challenges the inerrancy and authoritative scriptures of the scriptures has been evolving.

Although the earlier Protestant tradition (particularly Luther and John Calvin) followed the

scripture alone principle, reformers had a low attitude towards culture, science, and philosophy.

Furthermore, the earlier Protestantism found itself placed on the defensive responding to cultural

developments and agenda happing within the cultural around it (McGrath, 2011, p. 160). This

situation has led to the adoption of a theological program for liberal theology, often characterized
Contextual Theology 11
by assimilating itself to culture. In addition to regarding the scriptures as the work of all human

ancient books, Liberal Protestantism confirmed that they do not accept the basic doctrines of

incarnation, Christology, Trinity, resurrection, etc., which they considered it as a scientifically

unproven. It was around this time that the theological movement of neo-orthodoxy began as a

response to liberal theology. It is sometimes also called a radical orthodoxy because it gives a

strong response to liberal Protestantism theology. The new movement supports the authority of

Scripture and fundamental Christian teachings on par with the Reformation. Neo-Orthodoxy is

known for its dialectical theology because it has a middle position between liberal and reformed

theological views. There are those who say that neo-orthodoxy is a skeptic because they

considered God as highly transcendent.

In addition, according to their schooling it is impossible to know God through other external

evidence except through revelation, so critics argues that their theological truth couldn’t to prove

by any external references and thus require blind faith. Radical orthodoxy often follows a

fundamentalist view, so the relationship with culture, science, philosophy, etc. seems not to be

good for many. On the other hand, it is well understood that the marriage of liberal Protestantism

with culture and science denied the basic teachings of Christianity and created chaos in the social

life of the people of the time. One of the fastest-growing theological movements in modern times

is the Pentecostal movement that began in the 19th century. The teachers of this theology fully

embrace Reformed theology but differ in their focus on the Holy Spirit. Pentecostal teachers

affirm that modern Christianity, like the previous apostolic era, is led by the Holy Spirit, who

teaches that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit through charismatic activities and perform

miraculous teaching activities. On the other hand, in the 20th century, evangelical theology was

accepted and spread rapidly in Europe and other parts of the world. Evangelical theology mostly
Contextual Theology 12
has an attitude that is compatible with the reform movement and the matter of difference is upon

which a substantial degree of pluralism and their willingness to be flexible over the question of

ecclesiology and they often distinguished from radicals by emphasizing the importance of

intellectual and cultural development engagement.

Theology of Contextualization: - Historical and Conceptual Overview

The first use of the contextualization expression in publication was in Christian missionary

context (Martin, 2022, p. 57). Christian theology is often considered to be inspired, so it is

thought to be a universally valid truth that does not raise critical questions. It is considered a duty

to accept the missionary culture, which is believed to be the source of theological teachings and

the place where the church tradition emerged, as they are considered holy and true (Pears, 2010,

p. 8). This was an idea that was particularly influential in the Protestant reformation movement

that dominated Europe until the end of World War II. However, after the Second World War,

many countries were freed from European colonial rule, and the Protestant missionary, who

remained under the influence of European culture, faced strong opposition. Bosch's (2011, p. 25)

explanation of the modern mission crisis may be evidence of this. According to him, the causes

of the modern mission crisis were three: 1) wrong assumptions on which the vision of mission is

founded, 2) unbiblical and anti-ethical motives and aims of the Europeans for the practices of

mission in the hosted nations, and 3) inappropriate nature of mission of the time. However, after

the end of the Second World War, with emergency of the contextual theology attitudes formation,

the West-led worldwide movement were challenged. According to Melton (2005, p. 165),

contextual theology of the time was aimed to de-westernizing the global protestant movement.

Besides, Bevans (2018, p. 3-4), explains the two important factors for the de-westernization., i.e.,

1) external factors 2) internal factors, that the European-led global Protestantism was challenged.
Contextual Theology 13
The external factor was the end of the colonial era and the rise of nationalist views following the

independence of the colonial countries. On the other hand, there was a positional change that

prohibiting the assimilation of in the Western culture, which was previously seen as universal,

transcultural, and normative (Lowe, 2008, p. 67-79). Internally there was also a change in

attitude towards the Christian tradition that has been challenged and critical questioning of the

dominant Protestantism traditions. Moreover, being able to understand that Christianity becomes

incarnate in every culture and context, and its revelation is not only focused on theological

knowledge, but instead, it is a faith that necessitates people to have communion with God

through Christ in their practical lives (Bevans, 2018, p. 2). 

The attempt to spread the one size fits to all theological approach of the West-led movement

created a crisis in the Christianity faith (Bosch, 2011, p. 25-26).  In the modern mission

movement, it seems that there are misunderstandings and great differences about the Christian

mission in Europe and the third world. For this reason, for a long time, different attempts were

made to solve these problems. Lastly, as a result, the missionary activity has been undertaken

paradigm shift from being universal, trans-confessional, transposal and inculturation process to a

particular mode of contextualizing God’s kingdom word in a specific cultural setting (Pears,

2010, pp. 24; Bergmann and Vahakangas, 2021, p. 1). At the same time, attempts have been

made to embrace contextual theology with a particular task of the education and formation of

people for the Church ministry (Bosch, 2011, p. 358; Hesselgrave, 1991, p. 133-134). In

addition, it was also done to reform the dominant the West-led Christianity in relation to the

crisis of faith and social justice movements (Hesselgrave, 1991, p. 133-134). And thus, combined

with the different theological positions created in the Christian teaching led to the creation of

different stances in the mode and methods of contextual theology. Those who have a theological
Contextual Theology 14
view with high attention to Scriptures understood the contextual theology as the unchanging

word of God with a specific cultural salutation, but considering to provide people in a specific

cultural with the relevant, meaningful, and legitimate implication of the word of God

(Hesselgrave, 1991, p. 139). Whereas those who have theological views that do not have much

attention to the scriptures and the fundamental teachings of Christianity, greatly stretched the

context of Christianity and by incorporated into a political and social agenda such as social

justice, human rights, etc. At the end with the advocacy that all theology is contextual, further,

led to the emergence of a variety of theology in the West and dispersed into other areas

(Bergmann and Vahakangas, 2021, p. 5).

Contextual Theology, like classical/traditional theology, is not simply the study of God. Rather

by the justification of His word, it striving to identify and analyze how God is working to bring

out what he has said and done to a society living in a certain culture and context and to bring

about contextual reform (Okafor, 2014, p. 3). Thus, various methods and modes of contextual

theologies have been identified and introduced. At the early era, Schreiter (1985, p. 6-16),

recognized two types of contextual theology, which are 1) the indigenization model and 2) the

socio-economic model. Further, he categorized the indigenization model into the translation

model and the enculturation model. Similarly, the socio-economic model embraces both

evolutionary and revolutionary models. The indigenization model has a more theological focus,

while the socio-economic model has a more contextual approach than theology. Furthermore,

detailed approaches to contextual theology have been discussed by various theologians. Among

them, Bevans (2018, p, 2-3 and Pears (2010, p. 24-30) introduced the main contact theology

practices, namely 1) Transitional 2) Anthropological 3) Praxis 4) Synthetic 5) Transcendental,

and 6) Countercultural Can be viewed. 

Contextual Theology 15
Bevans (2018, p. 3), compares the translation model with what was seen in Acts 17:2-31 with the

apostle Paul's approach and explains that the gospel is about preserving the culture that has

enculturated it and explaining the message of the gospel in the context of that culture. Further,

Pears, (2010, p. 24-25) simply described the translation model as the supracultural or

supercontextual of the Christian message into culturally appropriate terms. In the translational

model, scripture and basic Christian doctrine have high-level attention and are more radical in

terms of valuing culture (Pears, 2010, p. 36). But unlike the translational model, the

anthropological model focuses not on scriptures and traditional doctrine of Christianity, but on

the context of separate cultures, and its procedure is based on the study of how God has

expressed himself in a particular human culture. The praxis model laid it focuses on the practice

of faith (James 1:22) and the cultural identity of Christians. It strives to examine the tragedy and

impact of the Christian message on their attitudes and practice (Bevans, 2018, p. 3).

Furthermore, the praxis model is also known as the liberation theology model as it rereads and

reinterprets the scripture based on the results and reactions obtained during the enactment of

God’s word (Pears, 2010, p. 38; McGrath, 2012, 176-178). The third one that combines all three

of the above contextualization models is known as the synthesis model. Bevans (1985, p. 194),

described it as a dialectical approach since it works to understand a context and culture by

drawing from scriptures, church tradition, and practical Christianity. It also tries to explore a

cultural identity based on the unique and shared values of a culture and context. According

to Pears (2010, p. 40), the transcendental model focuses on the theologians who produce it and

operates as an authentic converted subject. Thus, the attending of theologians both as a

theologizing agent and as a subject matter in a particular culture is a very critical point (Bevans,

1985, p. 199). He further explained, in a transcendental model, revelation is found only in one’s
Contextual Theology 16
personal experience, and the working and exigencies of the human mind are understood as

transcendental. This model, as affirmed by Bevans (2018, p. 5), is one that takes the context with

utmost seriousness, but also looks upon it with utmost suspicion. This model is known when the

Israel prophets and Christ Jesus challenge the people of their time, and it works to directly

implement the gospel of truth and transform the culture and context where the word of God is

preached by the power of the Holy Spirit that gives life and power.

Evaluating Various Views of Contextualization

In general, for this study purpose, the Christian theology thoughts have been divided into two,

specifically non-reformed and reformed Christian theologies. The Non-Reformed theologies

represents both Church of Roman Catholic theologies and Eastern Orthodox Churches

theologies. The theologies of Reformed represents the theology of Protestantism. However, since

within itself Protestantism is highly diverse, this study directly adopted the division Hesselgrave

(1991, p. 138-144) gave and placed it in the framework of 1) classical or traditionally Reformed

Protestantism 2) neo-orthodoxy and 3) neoliberalism and 4) classical or traditional liberalism.

We evaluate theological perspectives. 

Non-Reformed Classic Orthodoxy: - Contextualization

After the end of the colonial era, the impact of European and Eastern Christian theology on the

culture they made in the name of missionaries can be explained in two ways. One is the

theological (spiritual) aspect and the other is socio-political. In his book of mission

transformation, Bosch's (2011, p. 358-359), presented similar thought about the way the West

theology approached in the hosted culture, i.e., the theological inculturation and socio-political

mode of theology of contextualization that the Catholic Christianity of the Western world and the

Christianity of the East of the world were carried out in the name of Christian missionaries where
Contextual Theology 17
they were hosted. As we have seen in the historical theological section, these parts of the

Christian faith are mainly acknowledged for their strong devotion to the ecclesiology

Communio, Christian scriptures (both written and unwritten sources of theology), sacramental

theology, Pelagianism salvation theology and the church traditions handed down to them from

the preceding fathers and apostles orally and in writing. (McGrath, 2012, p. 116-119). These

theological thoughts of heritages have the directly affected the way they approached their

theological to the introduced culture (Lowe, 2008, p. 67-79). As a result, the missionary teaching

and practice of these Christian churches were mostly based on Latin, so it was long-established

that it could not accommodate a diverse culture. To overcome these challenges, Joseph Masson

SJ, the known Catholic theologian, first introduced the inculturation model to make their

theology to be relevant to cultural challenges arising from cultural disparities (Guirguis, 2019, p.

8). However, this theological approach does not seem to have yielded much results. Instead,

efforts were made to indigenize the whole world to Roman Christianity, especially with the

notion of totality that considered the local churches and particular denominations as a

manifestation, representation, or embodiment of the one universal Roman Catholic church

(McGrath, 2012, p. 653). Accordingly, imposing Western theology and culture on Africa and

other developing nations, has resulted the indigenous cultures faded away and replaced by

Western ethos and policies. The Catholic Church also has been able to influenced by the colonial

powers of the European government through its development and aid cooperation (Lowe, 2008,

p. 67-79; Anthony, 2012, p. 238; Bosch, 2011, p. 202-204).

In order to evaluate the impact of non-reformed theology in Africa in his presentation to Catholic

seminaries, Owoeye (2018, p. 11), identified five effects of Catholicism in Africa, namely 1)

syncretism 2) secularism 3) pluralism 4) ecumenism and 5) mechanical exercise of substitution

Contextual Theology 18
with this constructive presentation, he offers explanations for the multiple influences of the

indigenization theology approach. According to him, African syncretism can be defined in two

ways. The first is that he does not accept the basic teachings of Christianity. For example,

salvation is only by grace and faith in Christ, it denies these mandatory teachings of Christianity

that the holy books are the word of authority, that God is revealed through Christ, etc. In

addition, the creation of hybrid forms of religion that are not traditional or Christian religion but

have a different form and content by mingling both traditional beliefs, myths and some elements

of Christianity. On the other hand, most of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, who are against

the Reformation, see themselves as divine representative institutions in earth, so their

relationship with governments is based on superior and inferiority complex, having no on

cooperation (Bosch, 2011, p. 196-197). Their ecumenical relation within their church’s

cooperation has a higher Communio ecclesiology orientation rather than theology and spirituality

(Hietamaki, 2023, p. 6). Therefore, their opponents are arguing that their ecumenism is not about

a unity among churches, but rather a strengthening of the autonomous diversity of faith in Africa

and other developing nations. On the other hand, it can be understood that there is a situation

where Catholic missionaries have mixed elements of European culture with the Gospel. This is

possible for two reasons. It is because the European have a low opinion of the host culture and a

high opinion of their own culture, i.e., ethnocentrism (Borruso, 2014, p. 2-3). Especially after

many of the world's developing countries were freed from the right-wing rulers, the approach of

the Catholic missionary was repressive and oppressive, so many fought for freedom.

Reformed Theologies: - Contextualization

Like the non-reformers, the efforts of European Protestant agencies to deliver the gospel message

in a host culture have not only theological implication but also social, economic and political
Contextual Theology 19
implications (McGrath, 2012, p. 186-187). In order to understand this situation, some scholars

have analyzed the impact of West-South Christian relations as a basis, while others have focused

on the theological context (Owoeye, 2018, p. 1-12; Lowe, 2018, 67-79). Classical Protestantism

was based on the theological positions that were at the beginning of the Reformation, and has

excessive consideration to the Scriptures, recognizes that the Church's traditions are important

for the spiritual service of the Church, and above all, salvation is by grace and faith alone (Noll,

2011, p. 31-44; McGrath and Marks, 2004, p. 40-53). On the other hand, Protestant theology has

a position that promotes low ecclesiological Communio and church’s unity with reconciled

diversity (McGrath, 2012, p. 627-631). Moreover, according to Hesselgrave (1991, p. 140),

classical Protestantism adhere to doctrines that are biblical even though unwelcome to the natural

mind. However, since classical did not develop a clear theological perspective on the relationship

between science, culture, civilization, and government structure, its relationship with them was

full of paradoxes (Finger, 1985, pp. 100-103). This is also evident during the pre-liberal

Protestantism era in western Europe that can be well understood by its deviation of culture

(Niebuhr, 1951, p. 170-185). Although classical Protestantism encourages the unity of the church

through the diversity and aware of cultural adaptation, protestant missionaries were put down the

indigenous traditions of the host culture and have been working to spread the missionary’s

cultural element in the name of mission (Hastings, 1994, p. 210).

As a response for the challenges of classical Protestantism and with its emphasis on human

feelings and the need to relate human situation, the Liberal Protestantism has been emerged

(McGrath, 2012, p. 164). Hodgson (2007, p. 2-3), also affirmed that, the complexities of the

postmodernism era are where liberal theology begins its works. On the other hand, the

proponents of liberal Protestantism are known for promoting various forms of contextual
Contextual Theology 20
theologies (Pears, 2010, p. 53; Floyd-Thomas and Pinn, 2010, p. 1-13). And thus, since

Christianity spread greatly in the West and East in the first three centuries, it was possible to

create not only a global Christian religion but also a culture developed by Christianity in

different areas. As it is affirmed by Floyd-Thomas and Pinn (2010, p. 1-13), Christianity has not

only religious structure but it become strong linkage with cultural, social and political spheres.

There are those who argue that Christianity served as a way to expand not only theological but

also political and economic interests of the developed nations. For example, the spread of

colonialism in developing nations, the development of indigenous theologies in India, the

apartheid political system in South Africa, the discrimination and exclusion of blacks’ people in

America, etc., are argued to have contributed certainly to classical reformed and non-reformed

Christian culture (McGrath, 2012, 183-187; Pears, 2010, p. 10-19; Floyd-Thomas and Pinn,

2010, p. 1-15). Liberal Protestant theology worked show its loyalty to culture and people feelings

and also to reconcile traditional belief with Christianity. More strictly speaking, Lewis (2007, p.

61-84), said that a liberal theology is a deaf people constructed theology in church. Furthermore,

it is considered as the death of God theology and deconstructive theology since it was potentially

worked to deconstruct the fundamental teachings of reformed theology (Hodgson, 2007, p. 2-3;

Davie et al.,2016, pp. 515-516). Both writers' views show that liberal theology has deviated

greatly from God's will. Thus, it is based on cultural and people's needs, and its theological

teachings in a systematic way, it works for the proliferation of not only pluralistic Christianity

but also traditional beliefs.

The era after liberal theology was called post liberalism. This period saw a further significant

theological shift in contextual theology. At this time, the antifoundational, i.e., the idea that

Western philosophy is considered to be universal, lost its validity and communitarian, i.e., where
Contextual Theology 21
social values were valued more than individualism, came to the fore (McGrath, 2012, p. 180-

183). On the other hand, it was a time when systematic theology more prolificated based on the

internal conditions of culture (Williams, 2005, p. 199-200). In addition, it was a time that the

Enlightenment idea of a universal set of morals was challenged at a high level (McGrath, 2013,

p. 207-208). Neo Liberalism and Neo Orthodoxy are among the theological views innate during

this period. There are similarities theology and differences between liberal and orthodox

theology. Both have in common that they are dialectical theology. This is because they find it

difficult to separate the role of God and humanism (McGrath, 2012, p. 180-181). In particular,

difficult to reconcile the contradiction between context and contextualization (McGrath and

Marks, 2004, p. 78). In addition, Hesselgrave (1991, p. 141-142), provides an explanation of the

two perspectives. According to him, neo-liberalism is an attitude that gives a higher place to the

Bible and judges culture more critically than liberalism. In other words, they doubt that neo-

orthodoxy is inspired and inerrable even if they do not see any books. However, the Bible does

not respond to the inner feelings or conditions of human beings, but to the word of God which

requires a response to an account of its intrinsic nature (McGrath, 2012, p. 185).

Contextual Theology 22

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