永遠是學習者：文化人類學對宣教與門徒訓練的意義

Always a Learner: The Significance of Cultural Anthropology to Mission and Discipleship

許南盛(Nam-Seng Koh)

《華神期刊》 10期 (2019/12) Pp. 96-113

並列摘要

Cultural anthropology helps missionaries interpret local culture, eliminates ethnocentrism, and understands the communities they serve from a native point of view. Although missions have gradually been emphasized by Taiwanese churches, cultural anthropology is still an unpopular subject among the Chinese seminaries. This paper describes what anthropology is, and clarifies how cultural anthropology is incorporated into the system of theological school as a discipline in the West. In the 18th century, mission was intertwined with colonialism. Most Western missionaries came to the East with a superiority complex, thus missions became part of the colonial expansion. Cultural anthropology not only allows missionaries to have a correct attitude to encounter culture, but also has many benefits for missions, such as language learning, cultural adaptation, understanding local social changes, and contributing to contextualization. To proclaim the gospel and make disciples, we must engage the cultural situation of different races and different age groups. Discipleship with the right learning attitude of culture, can effectively lead people to become disciples of Jesus.

並列關鍵字

Cultural Anthropology ； Mission ； Discipleship ； Participant-Observation ； Ethnocentrism