Cultural Anthropology for Missions

CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY FOR MISSIONS
M.M.NINAN
various ways.” (Heb 1:1) The solution to the cross cultural problem
was found in the man-God incarnation.
The selection of the Hebrew through which this final revelation was
given was purely arbitrary. But Christ was universal and his
message was universal. Jesus walked, talked and lived like a Jew.
His imagery, diction and expression were Jewish. But if you
analyze the way Jesus responded to every problem that was
presented to him – like the Sabbath problem, the problem of
adultery, polygamy, paying taxes – he went beyond the cultural
narrowness. But he interpreted them in Jewish symbols – even his
death on the cross. The messages were encoded in the Jewish
culture. A message may be heavily or lightly coded. A truth like,
love thy neighbor as thyself’ is universal but its interpretation in daily
life as in the story of the Good Samaritan is not fully understood
without the Jewish culture.
Early in the history of the church the missionaries had the problem
of responding to the Greco-Roman culture. We notice immediately
that there was a lot of conflict in which Paul and Peter had to face
the orthodoxy and the Judaisers. The working of the Holy Spirit in
revealing all truth in the context was vital. Notice that Peter (Acts
10:1-19) himself was astonished at the method of approach of the
Holy Spirit. If we look into the early missionary techniques we can
learn even much more today. Paul’s Athenian address makes no
reference to the Old Testament or the Jewish tradition. He starts
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