Ancient Future Evangelicalism

In tribute to Dr. Webber, this week's Christian History & Biography newsletter contains excerpts from a few of his books and statements from those who knew him or were influenced by him.

Looking backward, moving forward"Classical Christianity was shaped in a pagan and relativistic society much like our own. Classical Christianity was not an accommodation to paganism but an alternative practice of life. Christians in a postmodern world will succeed, not by watering down the faith, but by being a countercultural community that invites people to be shaped by the story of Israel and Jesus.

"We now live in a transitional time in which the modern worldview of the Enlightenment is crumbling and a new worldview is beginning to take shape. Some leaders will insist on preserving the Christian faith in its modern form; others will run headlong into the sweeping changes that accommodate Christianity to postmodern forms; and a third group will carefully and cautiously seek to interface historic Christian truths in the dawning of a new era.

"My argument has been that evangelicals will do well to affirm a Christianity that has a deep kinship with the faith of the early church. … For here is a faith that, like a tapestry, weaves everything in and out of the main thread—Christ. … Here, I believe, is a faith for our time, a faith that finds in the ancient Christian tradition a power to speak to the postmodern world."

—From Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World (Baker: 1999)

***

"The concern of this writing is to go back to the earliest convictions of Christian spirituality. Why go back? Because the Roman culture in which Christianity first emerged is very similar to the culture of today's world. It was a culture of political unrest, a world of numerous religious options, a time of moral confusion and poverty. The religions of the day made no demands on believing, behaving, or belonging. In this context the Christian message was not presented as one more spirituality among the spiritualities but as Alan Kreider points out, Christians proclaimed, "We believe, we behave, we belong." One would think that the clarity of union with God in the context of the plurality of religions would doom it to failure. But it was that very union with God—lived out in belief, behavior, and belonging—that resulted in the rapid spread of the Christian faith throughout the Roman Empire."

—From The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life (Baker, 2006)

***

"How do you deliver the authentic faith and great wisdom of the past into the new cultural situation of the twenty-first century? The way into the future, I argue, is not an innovative new start for the church; rather, the road to the future runs through the past. These three matters—roots, connection, and authenticity in a changing world—will help us to maintain continuity with historic Christianity as the church moves forward."

—From Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality Through the Christian Year (Baker, 2004)

Ancient Future Evangelicalism

In tribute to Dr. Webber, this week's Christian History & Biography newsletter contains excerpts from a few of his books and statements from those who knew him or were influenced by him.

Looking backward, moving forward"Classical Christianity was shaped in a pagan and relativistic society much like our own. Classical Christianity was not an accommodation to paganism but an alternative practice of life. Christians in a postmodern world will succeed, not by watering down the faith, but by being a countercultural community that invites people to be shaped by the story of Israel and Jesus.

"We now live in a transitional time in which the modern worldview of the Enlightenment is crumbling and a new worldview is beginning to take shape. Some leaders will insist on preserving the Christian faith in its modern form; others will run headlong into the sweeping changes that accommodate Christianity to postmodern forms; and a third group will carefully and cautiously seek to interface historic Christian truths in the dawning of a new era.

"My argument has been that evangelicals will do well to affirm a Christianity that has a deep kinship with the faith of the early church. … For here is a faith that, like a tapestry, weaves everything in and out of the main thread—Christ. … Here, I believe, is a faith for our time, a faith that finds in the ancient Christian tradition a power to speak to the postmodern world."

—From Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World (Baker: 1999)

***

"The concern of this writing is to go back to the earliest convictions of Christian spirituality. Why go back? Because the Roman culture in which Christianity first emerged is very similar to the culture of today's world. It was a culture of political unrest, a world of numerous religious options, a time of moral confusion and poverty. The religions of the day made no demands on believing, behaving, or belonging. In this context the Christian message was not presented as one more spirituality among the spiritualities but as Alan Kreider points out, Christians proclaimed, "We believe, we behave, we belong." One would think that the clarity of union with God in the context of the plurality of religions would doom it to failure. But it was that very union with God—lived out in belief, behavior, and belonging—that resulted in the rapid spread of the Christian faith throughout the Roman Empire."

—From The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life (Baker, 2006)

***

"How do you deliver the authentic faith and great wisdom of the past into the new cultural situation of the twenty-first century? The way into the future, I argue, is not an innovative new start for the church; rather, the road to the future runs through the past. These three matters—roots, connection, and authenticity in a changing world—will help us to maintain continuity with historic Christianity as the church moves forward."

—From Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality Through the Christian Year (Baker, 2004)

What is the Christian Reponse to Religious Pluralism?

Christianity has to coexist with Islam, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Bahai’ism, and many indigenous tribal religions in multi-racial Malaysia. Each of these religions have their sacred books, their traditions, their civilisations which may be thousands of years old, and each claim to be the one true religion.

What should be the Christain response to religious pluralism?

There have been a number of options in which Christians respond to religious pluralism. The commonest is withdrawal into a religious ghetto. Here we isolate ourselves from the demands of other religions, limiting our interactions with practitioners of other religions, and reserve our interactions with Christians alone.

The second option is to start a crusade and by violence make Christianity the dominant religion and wiping out all other religions. Where once practised elsewhere in Christian history, that is not an option in Malaysia.

The third option is to re-examine our theology to see if there are room for other faith to come in. Rienzie Perera, research director of Life & Peace Institute, Sweden presented a paper, Religions, Cultures and Peace: The Challenge of Religious Pluralism and the Common Life in Asia, at the Asian Conference on Church and Society in 1999. He stated that Christians need to re-examine three theological statements if they are to deal adequately with religious pluralism in Asia. “They are: outside the Church no remission of sin, outside Jesus no salvation, and outside the Scriptures no revelation of God.” (italics author’s). It should not be considered heretical to re-examine these doctrines but should be “a distinctively Asian contribution to Third World theologies, that of rethinking Christian faith within the parameters of religious pluralism.”

Song, professor of theology in the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology comments,

“Let us be clear, then, that it is not our business to protect the truth. Rather it is our business to serve the truth, wherever and whenever it is found…God’s salvation can no longer be explained in terms of a history moving forward along a straight line. To explain God’s salvation this way is to explain it away. God moves in all directions: God moves forward, no doubt, but also sideways, and even backwards. Perhaps God zigzags too. It does not seem God's interest to create neat and tidy landscapes in certain selected places. God goes anywhere a redeeming presence is called for- in Asia, in Africa, as well as in Israel and in the West.”

There is a great need to develop Third world theologies that will adequately address this problem of religious pluralism in the various Third world countries. With increasing migration, religious pluralism will be an issue in the First world in the coming years.

The fourth option is to deal minimally with other religions while maintaining our doctrinal purity. Albert Vun, an Anglican priest advises, “The challenge is to modify ethical behaviour so as not to give any occasion for stumbling to the church of God nor to create hindrances to the not-yet-believing to accept the gospel.”

The final option is to engage in dialogue with the other religions . This dialogue will deal with common grounds, with the intention to learn from one another. Yap Kim Hao, the first Asian Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia and Singapore, comments, “Therefore, dialogue does not demand the avoidance of differences or the suspension of theological convictions. It is not a polite refusal of facing up to the essential things that divide us. Experience in dialogue reveals that the dialogue partners are very much interested in the differences of theological convictions. They are eager to try to understand the other person’s faith and beliefs even though they are contradictory to their own cherished ideas and practices. It is within the setting of dialogues that we witness to one another of our faith. We are called to approach with honesty and integrity”. The aim is to find ways to co-exist with tolerance and harmony through dialogue.

What do you think?
Which option is your respond?

What is the Christian Reponse to Religious Pluralism?

Christianity has to coexist with Islam, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Bahai’ism, and many indigenous tribal religions in multi-racial Malaysia. Each of these religions have their sacred books, their traditions, their civilisations which may be thousands of years old, and each claim to be the one true religion.

What should be the Christain response to religious pluralism?

There have been a number of options in which Christians respond to religious pluralism. The commonest is withdrawal into a religious ghetto. Here we isolate ourselves from the demands of other religions, limiting our interactions with practitioners of other religions, and reserve our interactions with Christians alone.

The second option is to start a crusade and by violence make Christianity the dominant religion and wiping out all other religions. Where once practised elsewhere in Christian history, that is not an option in Malaysia.

The third option is to re-examine our theology to see if there are room for other faith to come in. Rienzie Perera, research director of Life & Peace Institute, Sweden presented a paper, Religions, Cultures and Peace: The Challenge of Religious Pluralism and the Common Life in Asia, at the Asian Conference on Church and Society in 1999. He stated that Christians need to re-examine three theological statements if they are to deal adequately with religious pluralism in Asia. “They are: outside the Church no remission of sin, outside Jesus no salvation, and outside the Scriptures no revelation of God.” (italics author’s). It should not be considered heretical to re-examine these doctrines but should be “a distinctively Asian contribution to Third World theologies, that of rethinking Christian faith within the parameters of religious pluralism.”

Song, professor of theology in the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology comments,

“Let us be clear, then, that it is not our business to protect the truth. Rather it is our business to serve the truth, wherever and whenever it is found…God’s salvation can no longer be explained in terms of a history moving forward along a straight line. To explain God’s salvation this way is to explain it away. God moves in all directions: God moves forward, no doubt, but also sideways, and even backwards. Perhaps God zigzags too. It does not seem God's interest to create neat and tidy landscapes in certain selected places. God goes anywhere a redeeming presence is called for- in Asia, in Africa, as well as in Israel and in the West.”

There is a great need to develop Third world theologies that will adequately address this problem of religious pluralism in the various Third world countries. With increasing migration, religious pluralism will be an issue in the First world in the coming years.

The fourth option is to deal minimally with other religions while maintaining our doctrinal purity. Albert Vun, an Anglican priest advises, “The challenge is to modify ethical behaviour so as not to give any occasion for stumbling to the church of God nor to create hindrances to the not-yet-believing to accept the gospel.”

The final option is to engage in dialogue with the other religions . This dialogue will deal with common grounds, with the intention to learn from one another. Yap Kim Hao, the first Asian Bishop of the Methodist Church in Malaysia and Singapore, comments, “Therefore, dialogue does not demand the avoidance of differences or the suspension of theological convictions. It is not a polite refusal of facing up to the essential things that divide us. Experience in dialogue reveals that the dialogue partners are very much interested in the differences of theological convictions. They are eager to try to understand the other person’s faith and beliefs even though they are contradictory to their own cherished ideas and practices. It is within the setting of dialogues that we witness to one another of our faith. We are called to approach with honesty and integrity”. The aim is to find ways to co-exist with tolerance and harmony through dialogue.

What do you think?
Which option is your respond?

I Got Tagged for a Thinking Blogger

Wow, I got tagged for the Thinking Blogger award by bob. Thanks.

I wanna tag these fellow bloggers. Here are my five in no particular order.

(1) L-Space

Life is like a box of chocolate...sometimes people sit on it

(2) 1st & last do no harm

Someone who do not like exams can't be all bad

(3) sze seng's life

he got a life? right

(4) Lilian's Journey.

Being the Beloved is the origin and the fulfillment of the life of the Spirit.

(5) Making a difference

Making a difference in this generation, yes!


Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging ..

(1) If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,

(2) Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

(3)Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' (like the one above) with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

I Got Tagged for a Thinking Blogger

Wow, I got tagged for the Thinking Blogger award by bob. Thanks.

I wanna tag these fellow bloggers. Here are my five in no particular order.

(1) L-Space

Life is like a box of chocolate...sometimes people sit on it

(2) 1st & last do no harm

Someone who do not like exams can't be all bad

(3) sze seng's life

he got a life? right

(4) Lilian's Journey.

Being the Beloved is the origin and the fulfillment of the life of the Spirit.

(5) Making a difference

Making a difference in this generation, yes!


Should you choose to participate, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging ..

(1) If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,

(2) Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

(3)Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' (like the one above) with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

Watching 300 Years of Church History

This multi-awards DVD is a good introduction to early church history and is suitable for home, small group studies, and large group viewing.

Produced by Gateway Films in association with the Christian History Institute and EO Television.

The video is divided into 6 segments. Each segment is about a half hour viewing. Together they show the history of the early church from Christ to Constantine.

The segments are:
(1) Foundation
(2) Spread
(3) Accusation
(4) Persecution
(5) Testimony
(6) Transition

As in most documentaries, it is shot on location in the historic sites where the events took place. Thus we have the opporunities to see the ruins in Rome, Ephesus, Patmos, and certain parts of Asia Minor.

Unlike most documentaries, the hosts in this series, Steve Bell, Nigel Goodwin, Russell Boulter, and Jane Campion (except for Steve) are actors. They make the documentary interesting by acting out the part of historic figures in the early church, often reading from their writings (paraphrased).

A good DVD to get for your church.

Watching 300 Years of Church History

This multi-awards DVD is a good introduction to early church history and is suitable for home, small group studies, and large group viewing.

Produced by Gateway Films in association with the Christian History Institute and EO Television.

The video is divided into 6 segments. Each segment is about a half hour viewing. Together they show the history of the early church from Christ to Constantine.

The segments are:
(1) Foundation
(2) Spread
(3) Accusation
(4) Persecution
(5) Testimony
(6) Transition

As in most documentaries, it is shot on location in the historic sites where the events took place. Thus we have the opporunities to see the ruins in Rome, Ephesus, Patmos, and certain parts of Asia Minor.

Unlike most documentaries, the hosts in this series, Steve Bell, Nigel Goodwin, Russell Boulter, and Jane Campion (except for Steve) are actors. They make the documentary interesting by acting out the part of historic figures in the early church, often reading from their writings (paraphrased).

A good DVD to get for your church.

Too Many Doctors in Malaysia?

Medical Tribune, issue 15-30 April 2007 featured an article by Simren Gill entitled, Doc surplus may cap future enrolment.

The projected surplus of 4,000 doctors by 2020 may warrant future governmental control over the enrolment of medical undergraduates, says a Malaysian Medical Council member. Dato’ Dr. Abdul Hamid Abdul Kadir said the MOH’s 2010 goal of one doctor per 600 population had already been exceeded in Kuala Lumpur, where the ratio now stood at one per 400.

He noted that when combined, the nine public and nine private local institutions, alongside foreign accredited ones, produced between 1,500 and 2,000 medical graduates every year.

“What is not in the equation is the quality of students at the point of [admission] and the quality of teaching,” he said, noting that dubious entry requirements were detrimental to the
healthcare system.

Abdul Hamid made these observations during the 5th ASEAN conference on Primary Healthcare held last month in Ipoh. Nationwide, the doctor population remains inadequate with 2005 statistics estimating a ratio of one doctor per 1,400 population. read more

It may be a low estimate that currently Malaysia are receiving 1,500-2,000 medical graduates annualy because there are no statistics on how many Malaysian students are studying medicine overseas. The number of medical students counted overseas are government scholars only. There do not seem to be any overall coordination between the Ministry of Health and the Malaysian Medical Council on what is the medical manpower requirement for the future. And if there is a projected surplus in 2020, should not action on enrolment be taken now? Every university, state and private foundations want to set up a medical school, and apparently they have no difficulty in obtaining the necessary permission. Even at this moment there are apparently not enough houseman posts for the local and returning medical graduates. With the recent changes in immigration laws in the United Kingdom, we shall be expecting more Malaysian medical graduates to return.

At the rate we are producing medical graduates, it will not be long before my experience in Jakarta becomes the norm here. In Jakarta, I was in a cab and the cab driver is a medical doctor. When asked why, he said, "Too many doctors, not enough jobs."

Too Many Doctors in Malaysia?

Medical Tribune, issue 15-30 April 2007 featured an article by Simren Gill entitled, Doc surplus may cap future enrolment.

The projected surplus of 4,000 doctors by 2020 may warrant future governmental control over the enrolment of medical undergraduates, says a Malaysian Medical Council member. Dato’ Dr. Abdul Hamid Abdul Kadir said the MOH’s 2010 goal of one doctor per 600 population had already been exceeded in Kuala Lumpur, where the ratio now stood at one per 400.

He noted that when combined, the nine public and nine private local institutions, alongside foreign accredited ones, produced between 1,500 and 2,000 medical graduates every year.

“What is not in the equation is the quality of students at the point of [admission] and the quality of teaching,” he said, noting that dubious entry requirements were detrimental to the
healthcare system.

Abdul Hamid made these observations during the 5th ASEAN conference on Primary Healthcare held last month in Ipoh. Nationwide, the doctor population remains inadequate with 2005 statistics estimating a ratio of one doctor per 1,400 population. read more

It may be a low estimate that currently Malaysia are receiving 1,500-2,000 medical graduates annualy because there are no statistics on how many Malaysian students are studying medicine overseas. The number of medical students counted overseas are government scholars only. There do not seem to be any overall coordination between the Ministry of Health and the Malaysian Medical Council on what is the medical manpower requirement for the future. And if there is a projected surplus in 2020, should not action on enrolment be taken now? Every university, state and private foundations want to set up a medical school, and apparently they have no difficulty in obtaining the necessary permission. Even at this moment there are apparently not enough houseman posts for the local and returning medical graduates. With the recent changes in immigration laws in the United Kingdom, we shall be expecting more Malaysian medical graduates to return.

At the rate we are producing medical graduates, it will not be long before my experience in Jakarta becomes the norm here. In Jakarta, I was in a cab and the cab driver is a medical doctor. When asked why, he said, "Too many doctors, not enough jobs."

The Battle of Iwo Jima

"Flags of Our Fathers," directed by Clint Eastwood was adapted from James Bradley's book (based on his father's wartime experience) by screenwriters William Broyles Jr. tells the story of the six men who appeared in Rosenthal's photograph of five Marine and a Navy corpsman in the act of raising a flag, focusing most specifically on three of them: John Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), a Navy corpsman; Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), a Marine runner; and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), a Marine and a Native American. Actually, the identity of all six men was not known.

I was expecting a war movie like the black and white The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) staring John Wayne. However, it turns out the capture of the island only forms the backdrop for what happened to the three marines who raised the flag. They were co opted by the US treasury who paraded them around the countries as heroes in order to sell US War Bonds. This film explores the psyche of three men who were whizzed out of the battlefield and were put on a pedestal as heroes when the rest of their unit were wiped out. The film consists of flashbacks as the men masqueraded as heroes before an adoring American public and their actions during the war. To the men, they are not heroes but all their actions were just to avoid being shot, and to look after their buddies. The toll extracted from them to be treated as heroes were as heavy as their wartime actions.

The action scenes were spectacular, rivalling those of the opening sequence of Looking for Private Ryan. [oops, I mean Saving Private Ryan, sorry Tom] Somehow, the lighting was darker and as if we were watching some old restored movie footage. I do not know it as intentional but that is how it appeared from my DVD.

Some thoughts on the movie. First, it makes me realise the powerful effect of a photograph. Rosenthal’s’ photo may have helped US to win the Pacific war while the photo of a South Vietnamese officer shooting a Vietcong sympathiser in the head help them to lose the Vietnam War. Second, people love heroes. Somehow, it must be in our makeup that we love heroes, be they sport superstars, movie stars, or an American idol winner. I wonder why do we need heroes. Finally, these men do not regard themselves as heroes. At least they were honest with themselves.

It is an interesting movie but I feel that Eastwood is trying to do too much in one movie. He was also trying to show the effect of war on normal people, and the post traumatic stress syndrome effects on survivors.

I look forward to seeing the same battle from the Japanese point of view when Letters from Iwo Jima is released.

By the end of 1944, the US pacific command had decided to take the island of Iwo Jima. Situated 660 miles from Japan, it will be the ideal place for airbases of P-51 Mustangs which will escort the B-29 bombers in their raid over Japan.

Heavy bombers attacked the small island (it was only about 5 miles long, with a small mountain named Mt.Suribachi on its north-west corner) for 72 days after which the island was shelled continuously for 3 days by seven battleships and seven cruisers. It was hoped that this will destroy the Japanese defences. Unfortunately, the Japanese had been preparing for the defence of Iwo Jima for a long time. Most of the Japanese base was underground connected by a maze of tunnels. Careful placement of cannon, machine gun pill boxes and hidden gun shelters hasd made the island’s beaches and hills a virtual killing field.

On the morning of 19 February 1945, two Marine divisions hit the eastern beach in what was to become the bloodiest day in Marine Corps history. Eight battalions of marines were deployed along a narrow strip of beach of little more than one mile long. The marines reached the west coast of the small island in the first day but it took another 35 days of hand-to-hand combat to root the defenders from their defences. The famous flag was raised on the summit of Mt. Suribachi on 23 February 1945. The US forces lost 6,821 men in this engagement. Out of a total of 23,000 Japanese soldiers who were defending the island, only 216 survived.

The Battle of Iwo Jima

"Flags of Our Fathers," directed by Clint Eastwood was adapted from James Bradley's book (based on his father's wartime experience) by screenwriters William Broyles Jr. tells the story of the six men who appeared in Rosenthal's photograph of five Marine and a Navy corpsman in the act of raising a flag, focusing most specifically on three of them: John Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), a Navy corpsman; Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford), a Marine runner; and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), a Marine and a Native American. Actually, the identity of all six men was not known.

I was expecting a war movie like the black and white The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) staring John Wayne. However, it turns out the capture of the island only forms the backdrop for what happened to the three marines who raised the flag. They were co opted by the US treasury who paraded them around the countries as heroes in order to sell US War Bonds. This film explores the psyche of three men who were whizzed out of the battlefield and were put on a pedestal as heroes when the rest of their unit were wiped out. The film consists of flashbacks as the men masqueraded as heroes before an adoring American public and their actions during the war. To the men, they are not heroes but all their actions were just to avoid being shot, and to look after their buddies. The toll extracted from them to be treated as heroes were as heavy as their wartime actions.

The action scenes were spectacular, rivalling those of the opening sequence of Looking for Private Ryan. [oops, I mean Saving Private Ryan, sorry Tom] Somehow, the lighting was darker and as if we were watching some old restored movie footage. I do not know it as intentional but that is how it appeared from my DVD.

Some thoughts on the movie. First, it makes me realise the powerful effect of a photograph. Rosenthal’s’ photo may have helped US to win the Pacific war while the photo of a South Vietnamese officer shooting a Vietcong sympathiser in the head help them to lose the Vietnam War. Second, people love heroes. Somehow, it must be in our makeup that we love heroes, be they sport superstars, movie stars, or an American idol winner. I wonder why do we need heroes. Finally, these men do not regard themselves as heroes. At least they were honest with themselves.

It is an interesting movie but I feel that Eastwood is trying to do too much in one movie. He was also trying to show the effect of war on normal people, and the post traumatic stress syndrome effects on survivors.

I look forward to seeing the same battle from the Japanese point of view when Letters from Iwo Jima is released.

By the end of 1944, the US pacific command had decided to take the island of Iwo Jima. Situated 660 miles from Japan, it will be the ideal place for airbases of P-51 Mustangs which will escort the B-29 bombers in their raid over Japan.

Heavy bombers attacked the small island (it was only about 5 miles long, with a small mountain named Mt.Suribachi on its north-west corner) for 72 days after which the island was shelled continuously for 3 days by seven battleships and seven cruisers. It was hoped that this will destroy the Japanese defences. Unfortunately, the Japanese had been preparing for the defence of Iwo Jima for a long time. Most of the Japanese base was underground connected by a maze of tunnels. Careful placement of cannon, machine gun pill boxes and hidden gun shelters hasd made the island’s beaches and hills a virtual killing field.

On the morning of 19 February 1945, two Marine divisions hit the eastern beach in what was to become the bloodiest day in Marine Corps history. Eight battalions of marines were deployed along a narrow strip of beach of little more than one mile long. The marines reached the west coast of the small island in the first day but it took another 35 days of hand-to-hand combat to root the defenders from their defences. The famous flag was raised on the summit of Mt. Suribachi on 23 February 1945. The US forces lost 6,821 men in this engagement. Out of a total of 23,000 Japanese soldiers who were defending the island, only 216 survived.

Are Our Churches also Disneyified?

Disneyisation is the worldwide control of the arts, entertainment, media so that a particular worldview, values and filtered knowledge are disseminated. Its message is that happiness can be bought.

It exports escapism, American culture, products, and a delusion that happiness can be bought and everyone lived happily ever after. Disneyisation has united the world under one culture that regards human beings as consumers. Christians are taught to be consumers of church services and other spiritual things rather than as participants. Through the media, arts, movies, and music, we are exposed to a delusion of a worldly worldview. The consumer worldview worship Mammon as god.

There is some similarity in Mark Chan’s disneyization and Tom Sine’s McWorld. Tom Sine notes that “McWorld is driven by aspirations and values of modernity and is aggressively at work creating a one-world consumer culture in which shopping mall is replacing the church as the centre of religious devotion, and all of life is reduced to a commodity.” (Sine 1999, 52). Both Chan and Sine discern that consumerism will be a major influence on Christians in the 21st century.

John Carpenter, former lecturer at Singapore Bible College thinks that Chinese Christians will be at greater risk,

“Confucianism has a “legalistic” wing that provides strong virtues than can help Asian societies economically progress just as Calvinism helped parts of Western society progress. Unfortunately, it also has a soft, humanistic wing that assumes “man is the measure of all things.” One wing encourages capitalism. The other wing will, by emphasizing the goodness of human nature, encourage consumerism. If Christians in Asia are going to confront consumerism, they will have to uproot all such tendencies to human-centered religion and ideology.” (Carpenter 2002, 109).

Are Our Churches also Disneyified?

Disneyisation is the worldwide control of the arts, entertainment, media so that a particular worldview, values and filtered knowledge are disseminated. Its message is that happiness can be bought.

It exports escapism, American culture, products, and a delusion that happiness can be bought and everyone lived happily ever after. Disneyisation has united the world under one culture that regards human beings as consumers. Christians are taught to be consumers of church services and other spiritual things rather than as participants. Through the media, arts, movies, and music, we are exposed to a delusion of a worldly worldview. The consumer worldview worship Mammon as god.

There is some similarity in Mark Chan’s disneyization and Tom Sine’s McWorld. Tom Sine notes that “McWorld is driven by aspirations and values of modernity and is aggressively at work creating a one-world consumer culture in which shopping mall is replacing the church as the centre of religious devotion, and all of life is reduced to a commodity.” (Sine 1999, 52). Both Chan and Sine discern that consumerism will be a major influence on Christians in the 21st century.

John Carpenter, former lecturer at Singapore Bible College thinks that Chinese Christians will be at greater risk,

“Confucianism has a “legalistic” wing that provides strong virtues than can help Asian societies economically progress just as Calvinism helped parts of Western society progress. Unfortunately, it also has a soft, humanistic wing that assumes “man is the measure of all things.” One wing encourages capitalism. The other wing will, by emphasizing the goodness of human nature, encourage consumerism. If Christians in Asia are going to confront consumerism, they will have to uproot all such tendencies to human-centered religion and ideology.” (Carpenter 2002, 109).

Help, Our Churches are being McDonaldised

Mark Chan, writing in (2000). "Problem and Possibility of an Asian Theological Hermeneutics." Trinity Theological Journal 9: 55-56. , comments,

“A Mcdonaldized ethos is marked by the dictates of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control does not value individuality, creativity, deliberation or attention to details. It is speed, proficiency, and the attainment of objectified goals that count.” (2002, 120).

The characteristics of McDonaldization is derived from the working of the fast food chain;

*efficiency means simplified products,

*calculability means quantifiable products and services,

*predictability means standardisation of product and services, and

*control means replacement of human by technology.

McDonaldisation has arrived on our shores and even in our churches. In the name of efficiency, we have begun to simplify our sermons and church services. Some people call it “dumbing down” (Marwa Dawn (1995). Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture. Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.). Important facts are now delivered in short sound bites.

We have begun to play the number games in marking church attendance and giving. That is calculability.

Predictability means standardising our church programs so that it is easily reproducible and by control, we look towards technology to solve our church problems. That’s why imported packaged education programs produced by megachurches in the United States is so attractive because we have been McDonaldised.

.