Last sun night had a couple from intersever, who'd done a lot of work in India, come and speak. Talked a lot about missionary kids and those born in other countries where their parents have a different nationality to their kids etc. which is not really something I'd thought much about- dispite being half one myself with dad.
Something else I'd never really thought about-
Allah?- Through the ages, Christians have tried to convey the living word through the everyday language of the people they are reaching out to. Christians took up the words 'Theos' and 'Gott' (amongst many others) to talk about the Creator. Both these originally had connotations not compatible with God as revealed in the Bible. However, we now read them exclusively as 'God'. When the message ges to new cultures, we need to find terms that start where people are at, whether that's in New Guinea, Brazil or the Middle East. Do we drop this custom just for a Muslim neighbour?
'But surely there is a big difference between the understanding of Allah and the true nature of God?' True! True indeed. But we all start with a poor understanding of who God is. For some of us he was God the policeman, for others he's God the kindly grandfather. As we get to know him, these misconceptions are replaced by knowing him in relationship. The peopleI know who have used the word 'Allah' all their life but now know him throught Jesus almost all say, 'I knew Allah before, but now I know him so much better. I see him so much more clearly and my relationship is so much deeper through Jesus'. Very few of my colleagues want to stop using the word 'Allah' in their prayers; instead, the word is infused with new, fresh and dynamic meaning.-interserve Australia
Something else I'd never really thought about-
Allah?- Through the ages, Christians have tried to convey the living word through the everyday language of the people they are reaching out to. Christians took up the words 'Theos' and 'Gott' (amongst many others) to talk about the Creator. Both these originally had connotations not compatible with God as revealed in the Bible. However, we now read them exclusively as 'God'. When the message ges to new cultures, we need to find terms that start where people are at, whether that's in New Guinea, Brazil or the Middle East. Do we drop this custom just for a Muslim neighbour?
'But surely there is a big difference between the understanding of Allah and the true nature of God?' True! True indeed. But we all start with a poor understanding of who God is. For some of us he was God the policeman, for others he's God the kindly grandfather. As we get to know him, these misconceptions are replaced by knowing him in relationship. The peopleI know who have used the word 'Allah' all their life but now know him throught Jesus almost all say, 'I knew Allah before, but now I know him so much better. I see him so much more clearly and my relationship is so much deeper through Jesus'. Very few of my colleagues want to stop using the word 'Allah' in their prayers; instead, the word is infused with new, fresh and dynamic meaning.-interserve Australia
posted by Mim @ 8:42 PM
2 Comments:
At 9:35 PM,
waynemus said…
Interesting segement of choice Mim. I too read that and it got me thinking. According to a book I got from my great uncle, the word God is from Icelandic.
"The name is derived from the Icelandic Godi - Supreme Magistrate, which perfectly agrees with the scriptural name Jehovah, as the moral governor of the Universe. Dr. A. Clarke derives the word from the Anglo-Saxon, as synonymous with good;... Some trace the word to the Hebrew eched - unus - 'The One Being" (Handbook of Christian Theology, Hodder and Stougton, 1902)
So our own word for a universal being went through this process of being a native word infused with new meaning in Christianity. The point of using the native language of people is something I greatly support, I hate hearing of some people who believe that part of another culture isn't Christian, hence all of their culture must be scrubbed, and replaced with "the Holy and Pietous Anglo-Culture." (misplaced exaltation in their culure) Personally I believe they are just racially self-righteous, and fail to see God's preparation in the cultures. He may not be voluntarily worshiped in the culture, but that does not mean His hand is completely removed from it.
The idea of TCKs is something I hold respect for. It shows a willingness for the parents of the children to accept the host culture being mingled with their own. Establishing faith in God's work in the community they live in.
At 8:01 PM,
Mim said…
Yeah, not something I'd thought about- interesting. Traditional words just have so many connotations that people from other cultures would have no idea of so it's a tough one.
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