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An 11 page summary of Sherwood Lingenfelter's book Transforming Culture, A Challenge for Christian Mission (1998). The writer offers chapter-by-chapter synopses, outlining primary points. The premise for his text is based on the observation that in spreading Christianity, missionaries have done so within the context of their own cultural perspective. The problem is that "Missionaries have succeeded in bringing a biblically informed worldview, but one that is thoroughly contaminated by their culture" (Lingenfelter 12). The author questions whether or not it is possible to offer the world a "truly transforming gospel" or if Christians are necessarily limited to "reproducing our own cultural reflection of Christianity" (Lingenfelter 12). The remainder of the book suggests that this is possible and the author outlines practical suggestions for accomplishing this task. No other sources cited.
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11 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khlintc.rtf
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observation that in spreading Christianity, missionaries have done so within the context of their own cultural perspective. The problem is that "Missionaries have succeeded in bringing a biblically informed worldview,
but one that is thoroughly contaminated by their culture" (Lingenfelter 12). The author questions whether or not it is possible to offer the world a "truly transforming gospel" or
if Christians are necessarily limited to "reproducing our own cultural reflection of Christianity" (Lingenfelter 12). The remainder of this chapter goes on to outline Lingenfelters position on culture, which rejects
the "notion that culture or worldview is neutral" (Lingenfelter 16). The author feels that culture is intrinsically tied to power, as people will create relationships with others through culture
that are designed to protect their personal and/or group interests (Lingenfelter 16). In contrast to this, the gospel "liberates men and women" from obedience to cultural imperatives (Lingenfelter 17). By
"transformation," the author is proposing a "new hermeneutic--a redefinition," which offers a means for them to reintegrate their lives as "Gods people" within the cultural system in which they live
(Lingenfelter 18). As part of this discussion, Lingenfelter stresses that he will be examining the question of how Christians can avoid transferring their culture, while helping indigenous cultures to transform
according to Christian doctrine (Lingenfelter 19). Chapter 2: A Model for Analysis of Social Order Using a cultural example from the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific, Lingenfelter begins
this chapter by discussing the difference between an individualistic culture, such as the US, and the culture of this Pacific island, which is collectivist, that is, a culture that places
a "high value on working together as a community" (Lingenfelter 23). The author goes on to outline the sociology of what he refers to as "social games," which are basically
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