Missionaries and Culture

Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, Sojourners Magazine/February 2005: "If American Christians wear the politics of war on their sleeves as they simultaneously support worldwide evangelism, they will be sharing a 'watered-down at best, poisoned at worst, version of the gospel of Jesus Christ,' says Eastern University professor Meneses. 'Whenever the church allows itself to be co-opted by the political powers of the day,' she continues, 'it commits the sin of syncretism,' or 'blending the sacred Christian faith with profane elements of the culture.'"

Many who read this blog also read Sojourners, so you probably received your copy this week as well. But this article is well worth the read. It raises some very important issues about the perils of interconnecting politics and faith.

It also raises very challenging questions regarding missionary activity. I am cautious about missions, simply because I know the very checkered history of American mission activity. In the 19th century, American Christians bought many of the broader cultural assumptions. They accepted Manifest Destiny and white supremacy. Many supported slavery and helped fight women's suffrage. They approached Native Americans with an eye only on Americanizing and removing the "native." The approached foreign missions with the "white man's burden" and unwittingly helped American business expand their markets.

American Christianity has always struggled to tell the difference between faith and country. We certainly see that now with the American flag draped churches and pro-war stances of most conservative evangelicals. History is a warning here. That blurring of faith with political/cultural mission was incredibly harmful to native cultures and American race relations--to say nothing of supporting the growth of American imperialism. Now is a time for American Christians to reflect on those lessons and look at this new period with some nuance and dissernment. That means first and most importantly, they have to look at Bush outside his Christian-speak.

One other note on syncretism. I would love to hear Caleb's take on this, but think that syncretism has been a part of Christianity for a long time. One of the issues raised in McLaren's book was the fear among conservatives of syncretism. That actually surprised me, simply because I had never heard it from that source. Syncretism has occurred in all of the mission areas (as far as I know) when one culture has adopted Christianity. That adoption was never clearly distinct and so, for example, Native Americans in New Mexico were fond of simply changing native deities into Catholic saints.