Cultural Anthropology for Missions
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CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY FOR MISSIONS<br />
M.M.NINAN<br />
The Christian approach there<strong>for</strong>e lies not in condemning them, but<br />
in giving them the good news that this unapproachable God can<br />
now be approached through Jesus. But is it true? Is it practical?<br />
He will have to experience it himself. No telling will help except as<br />
in<strong>for</strong>mation. “I cannot replace a real working pagan spiritism and<br />
witchcraft and magic with some doctrine however reasonable it may<br />
look.” Let the Holy Spirit work. Let them see that you are not<br />
afraid of the spirits or the devil himself. Live a normal victorious<br />
Christian life. As a Christian you have all the authority and power<br />
over the spirits and all their hosts and on the devil himself. You<br />
have the power to heal and to cast out demons. These are real<br />
daily problems. If your God is not powerful enough in front of other<br />
gods, He is not worth believing in. Is He?<br />
In other words it is your life that is going to matter. It is your life that<br />
supports your message. Can you sell it?<br />
Your concept of sin – what is right and wrong – is conditioned by<br />
your culture. Thus some things that you, as Christian assert as<br />
wrong may not be a factor determining conviction to your host. For<br />
example, in the past missionaries have insisted that a Christian<br />
should keep only one wife. As a result a man who has four wives<br />
has to give away three, if he wants to be a Christian. This is a real<br />
problem in the Sudan. Even though God’s ideal is one man-one<br />
wife, the casting away of polygamy usually arises from the<br />
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