December 13 - Clash of Worlds

Central Argument. David Burnett writes to share his vision of how the Christian movement should manifest itself theologically and missiologically. He argues that while the Christian church should definitely be evangelical, it should also exercise a great deal of prudence as it introduces the gospel to new cultures. To do this Burnett, the third practitioner of Christian mission on our reading list, draws a distinction between changing the worldview of a people rather than their culture. For him culture changing is wrong. Worldview changing, however, happens to every individual and every culture that meets Christ.

Sub-points. Burnett defines worldview as “the main topic of this book” (12); the first characteristic is its distinctiveness from our idea of culture. Using a game analogy, a culture is “the total game” and a worldview “is the unseen set of rules that determine how the game is played” (13). The second characteristic is “the ideas and values that it embraces always seem logical and obvious to the people in the particular culture” (15). A third characteristic of worldview is that is a way of describing reality, an attempt to “show order and then predictability with everyday experiences” (16). Finally, worldviews are “learned unconsciously early in life as the person acquires their culture” (18). They also explain the origin of the world and “how it continues”, allows a culture to evaluate good and evil, gives stability “in times of crisis” (31), integrates new experiences and makes a culture “adaptable” to them (32).

Burnett’s first objective is to “understand some contemporary worldviews that have influences millions of ordinary people over many centuries” (33). He begins with the secular worldview which he characterizes as “materialistic” (41), in an orderly, closed system with no outside divine influences. In this worldview the individual is at a premium, community is at a minimum, one can only believe in what one can measure, time is money, everything is relative, and all is headed to a Hegelian-Marxist idea of progress. However, in traditional societies, community is at a premium, there is great belief in things that cannot be measured, and knowledge is passed on through mythology. Yet these worldviews are “fragile” (66) as they struggle to manage rapid change.

Different religions also have unique worldviews rooted in the traditional worldviews. For Hinduism, there is one ultimate divine reality Brahman, all the rest of the world is maya, or an illusion of our own making. Community is at a premium in Hinduism, and, according to Burnett, in practice, the value of an individual life in this worldview is not high, given the belief in reincarnation. Hinduism is known for its “synthesis” of other religious perspectives (72). Buddhism came out of Hinduism, and follows the teachings of The Enlightened One, who sought the reason for suffering in the world. The Buddha taught that desire was the reason for suffering. As the first “major religion with a missionary emphasis” (96), Buddhism also affected the Chinese worldview. According to Burnett, the Chinese worldview is characterized by the presence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. In Chinese thought, there is no idea of a supreme creator, however, many Chinese believe in a spirit world. The world is held together in a balance of “yin” and “yang” (103), even sickness is regarded as an imbalance in this natural order. Also in Chinese culture, “face” (107) is a valuable commodity similar to honor, but more so. Losing face is a shame on the family and community, both of which have the highest value.

The final major religious worldview that Burnett discusses is Islam which follows the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, concerning the one “all powerful” God Allah (115). Due to the total sovereignty of Allah, the person must submit to his will. Community is at a premium, and knowledge as well as value comes from the revelation of Allah. Christianity and Islam, both evangelical religions that claim the authoritative word of God, have come into conflict since the birth of Islam. At first this conflict was over territory and resources. However, because of the energy industry as well as the wealth, trade and close contact into which it brings the Islamic and Western world, friction inevitably results. Many Muslims feel forced to decide between their traditional worldview and the secular. Many Muslim nations and organizations, such as Iran and Al Qaeda, have reconnected with the traditional worldview, often violently.

However, despite all the cultural inertia behind each of these movements, change comes. Indeed, for each of these worldviews, especially for the highly synthetically Hinduism, change has already come and we are seeing it active again. Burnett’s second objective is to detail how these worldviews are in flux, giving rise to several new religious movements. Change in a culture causes stress to which culture respond in several ways: “cultural conversion” [where the incoming culture is accepted], “syncretism” [where a hybrid culture forms], “revitalization” [where the traditional culture reasserts itself], or “extinction” (134). New Religious Movements come out of these stresses to culture, as do the various New Age movements.

Burnett’s next objective is to outline the non-essentials and essentials of Christian faith. He calls for a return to a renewed focus on the “special revelation” of scripture (210). According to Burnett, the scripture testifies to one almighty God, creator of all things seen and unseen. The scripture understands God through the framework of the Trinity, the “origin of love and communication” (214) and “personality” (215). God is intimately involved in his creation, sometimes taking the forms of mighty acts and miracles. Human beings, the “guardians of planet Earth … consisting of a material body, and also an immaterial part …” have a “degree of freedom” to follow “the will of God or not” (215). God can communicate with us and we are given the ability to use our reason and experience to learn new things. And as God is in community with himself, we are called into community with each other as people of “one parentage” (217). In this biblical view, “biblical ethics are not arbitrary but based upon the absolute nature of the creator” (219. Each person has an “indwelt sense of right and wrong” and these ethics are communicated “through the Bible” (219). However, we have failed to live up to these standards and God “entered time and space in a human form” (218) to save those who “fulfill God’s will” (218) from the “final judgment” so that the “new community” of those people who “trust in Christ” can “live in the kingdom of God … a perfect blend of control with freedom, and freedom with control” (219).

Burnett’s final objective is to “learn some principles for communication of the Christian gospels to people of other worldviews” (33) by redefining “conversion” (222). Building on the biblical model he outlined, Burnett proposes seeing Christian mission as a goal in “changing the worldview themes” of a given culture, rather than the culture itself (228). There will be “many good and useful things” (230) in every culture that we may use in changing their worldview, but “some things must be rejected” (231). Referring to scripture, Burnett reminds us that God encounters “people where they are” and that conversion implies a “conscious change of allegiance to God” (223-224). Conversion also should bring about a “relationship with God” where people “grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord” and anticipate a “warmed heart” or emotional responses to God’s work in our lives that are all “worked out in community” (224). Finally, we cannot “manufacture” moments of conversion; we must be as patient and loving as God is being with us and our respective cultures.

Compliment and Clash. Again, these books are building upon each other. American Cultural Patterns focuses on American culture form a secular perspective. How Does America Hear the Gospel discusses American culture from a Christian perspective. Contextualization in the New Testament develops the biblical foundations and rationale for contextualizing the gospel within any given worldview. Clash of Worlds develops the terms and background for how the historical and emerging worldviews come into both constructive and destructive interaction. In short, Stewart, Bennett and Dyrness help us understand ourselves, Flemming helps us develop a biblical theology of mission, and Burnett gives us the historical background for how to connect with the diverse major (and many minor) worldviews. Generally, they seem selected to complement and build upon each other and to develop our missiological insight.

However, these authors do clash. The secular humanism of Stewart and Bennett would likely be appalled at what they might deem to be cultural or religious imperialism of Burnett. I cannot say that all the Christian family would agree with Burnett’s views on what is and is not a biblical perspective on mildew, let alone mission. However, Dyrness and Flemming would find a home in much of what Burnett writes, because of their common faith background.

Vision of Class Discussion. One area that I would like to see discussed is how Burnett’s “Stages in a Revitalization Movement” (146-147) could manifest themselves in a declining denominational culture or system. Based on my reading, I would say that the United Methodist Church is somewhere in stage three. What would stages four and five look like, and how would they manifest themselves? Many United Methodists dream of renewal and revitalization, but do we have to go through stages four and five to arrive at that renewal?

Scripture, Tradition, Reason, Experience & Ministry Application. When I finished this book I felt that I had a crash course in global religions, cults and historical theology. It was quite an intellectual journey, but parts of it left me wanting. I have no personal problem with “the” biblical worldview (209) that Burnett defines. It seems a refreshingly and classically Wesleyan theological perspective to me. However, as much as I disagree with them on the fine points of theology, somehow I do not want to slight my Calvinist brethren. As much as we disagree on the nature, purpose, and goal of evangelism, I do not want to slight my Universalist brethren. As much as I find much of their theology extraneous, unnecessary and even bordering on idolatrous, I do not want to slight my Catholic and Orthodox brethren. As we battle the powers and principalities of this world, I would prefer to go into battle with all of our family. I know that realistically this is impossible apart from the grace of God. Yet I know many of them would insist that Burnett’s biblical worldview is not the biblical worldview.

Also, Burnett seems to think of faith primarily in intellectual terms. For instance, in his exegesis of the term metanoia, he refers to it as a “change of mind” (223). There are two things about this that would have bolstered his argument. First, and I am sure that Burnett knows this, the Hebrew term for repentance means to turn around, a radical course change. Second, repentance is more than a mere change of mind. I imagine that he did not mean the phrase as I am receiving it. He is from the United Kingdom, and I am from the United States. We have different modes of discourse, but I find his characterization of repentance a little cold, especially of a student of John Wesley. The closest he gets to emotion is “God’s spirit in an individual life is not limited to the intellect” (224); he even phrases it negatively. Where is the passion?

We read this book to examine the varieties of worldviews and cultures in the world around us, and there are many. God calls us to love our neighbor; implied in that is the loving and respecting of culture. Ultimately, the primary ministry application is informing my own missiolog. As Burnett calls on Christians to connect with other cultures with “empathy” (240) and “understanding” (238), recognizing that “Christian transformation of a culture must primarily be concerned with changing the worldview themes of that culture” (228). We must connect to each culture, their “storehouse of meaning and illustration” (243) as well as adhering to our “biblical” worldview (247) so that its “themes can be manifest” (248) and incarnate so that we and “all the world” who will listen (Matthew 28:19 NRSV) can find our place in eternity.