Revision #11767
Contextual Theology
Localized for English-speaking readers
Status: approved
Changes from the previous English revision
= ## Definition and Meaning
=
- **Contextual theology** begins from the premise that theology is never produced in a vacuum but is always shaped within a particular linguistic, cultural, political, and economic situation. It therefore seeks to articulate the gospel in terms of the questions and language of that situation. The Korean term is a translation of the English word "contextual," and the approach is also known as "theology of context." The process of communicating the gospel in a way suited to the local culture is called **contextualization**. Contextual theology is less a single school than an umbrella term for a range of theologies. In the broad sense it includes indigenization theology, Black theology, liberation theology, and Minjung theology.
+ **Contextual theology** begins from the premise that theology is never produced in a vacuum. It is always shaped within a particular linguistic, cultural, political, and economic situation. Contextual theology therefore seeks to articulate the gospel in terms of the questions and language of that situation. The process of communicating the gospel in a way suited to the local culture is called **contextualization**. Contextual theology is less a single school than an umbrella term for a range of theologies. In the broad sense, it includes indigenization theology, Black theology, liberation theology, and Minjung theology.
=
= ## Biblical and Historical Background
=
- Proponents of contextual theology find support in Scripture. Their chief example is the Incarnation, in which God became man and came among a particular people at a particular time. They also cite Paul's sermon in Athens, in which he referred to the city's altars and quoted its poets (Acts 17:22-31). Paul's confession, "I am made all things to all men" (1 Corinthians 9:22), and the Council of Jerusalem, which debated how far Jewish customs should be required of Gentile believers, are cited in the same connection.
+ Proponents of contextual theology find support in Scripture. Their chief example is the Incarnation, in which God became man and came among a particular people at a particular time. They also cite Paul's sermon in Athens, in which he referred to the city's altars and quoted its poets (Acts 17:22-31). Paul's confession, "I am made all things to all men" (1 Corinthians 9:22), is cited in the same connection, as is the Council of Jerusalem, which debated how far Jewish customs should be required of Gentile believers.
=
- The term "contextualization" is generally attributed to Shoki Coe (Huang Chang-hui), a Taiwanese theologian who proposed it in the early 1970s within the Theological Education Fund (TEF) of the World Council of Churches. Within evangelicalism, the Lausanne Movement began to discuss the subject when it addressed the relationship between the gospel and culture in the Lausanne Covenant of 1974. Evangelicals, however, have generally held that the content of the gospel does not change and that only the manner of its communication is adapted to the context.
+ The term "contextualization" is generally attributed to Shoki Coe (Hwang Chang-hui), a Taiwanese theologian who proposed it in the early 1970s within the Theological Education Fund (TEF) of the World Council of Churches. Among evangelicals, the Lausanne Movement began to discuss the subject when it addressed the relationship between the gospel and culture in the Lausanne Covenant of 1974. Evangelicals, however, have generally held that the content of the gospel does not change and that only the manner of its communication is adapted to the context.
=
= ## Practice in the Korean Church
=
- In Korea, the indigenization debate of the 1960s, led by Yun Sung-bum, Yu Dong-sik, and others at Methodist Theological University, is regarded as the starting point for the concerns of contextual theology. In the 1970s, Minjung theology emerged, taking the labor and human rights issues of life under military rule as the setting for theological reflection. Theologians associated with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea were deeply involved in Minjung theology.
+ In Korea, the indigenization debate of the 1960s, led by Yun Sung-bum, Yu Dong-sik, and others at Methodist Theological University, is regarded as the starting point of contextual theological reflection. In the 1970s, Minjung theology emerged, taking the labor and human rights issues of life under Korea's military government as its theological setting. Theologians associated with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea were deeply involved in Minjung theology.
=
- Denominations differ in the extent to which they have embraced contextual theology.
+ Korean denominations differ in the extent to which they have embraced contextual theology.
=
= - **Ecumenical bodies such as the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea and the Korean Methodist Church**: These have been relatively receptive to contextual theology.
…
Full revision
Contextual theology is a theological movement that seeks to understand and express the gospel within the realities of a particular era, region, culture, and society. In the mission field, this concern is commonly called "contextualization."
Definition and Meaning
Contextual theology begins from the premise that theology is never produced in a vacuum. It is always shaped within a particular linguistic, cultural, political, and economic situation. Contextual theology therefore seeks to articulate the gospel in terms of the questions and language of that situation. The process of communicating the gospel in a way suited to the local culture is called contextualization. Contextual theology is less a single school than an umbrella term for a range of theologies. In the broad sense, it includes indigenization theology, Black theology, liberation theology, and Minjung theology.
Biblical and Historical Background
Proponents of contextual theology find support in Scripture. Their chief example is the Incarnation, in which God became man and came among a particular people at a particular time. They also cite Paul's sermon in Athens, in which he referred to the city's altars and quoted its poets (Acts 17:22-31). Paul's confession, "I am made all things to all men" (1 Corinthians 9:22), is cited in the same connection, as is the Council of Jerusalem, which debated how far Jewish customs should be required of Gentile believers.
The term "contextualization" is generally attributed to Shoki Coe (Hwang Chang-hui), a Taiwanese theologian who proposed it in the early 1970s within the Theological Education Fund (TEF) of the World Council of Churches. Among evangelicals, the Lausanne Movement began to discuss the subject when it addressed the relationship between the gospel and culture in the Lausanne Covenant of 1974. Evangelicals, however, have generally held that the content of the gospel does not change and that only the manner of its communication is adapted to the context.
Practice in the Korean Church
In Korea, the indigenization debate of the 1960s, led by Yun Sung-bum, Yu Dong-sik, and others at Methodist Theological University, is regarded as the starting point of contextual theological reflection. In the 1970s, Minjung theology emerged, taking the labor and human rights issues of life under Korea's military government as its theological setting. Theologians associated with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea were deeply involved in Minjung theology.
Korean denominations differ in the extent to which they have embraced contextual theology.
These differences also surface in concrete discussions where Korean culture and Christian faith meet, such as the question of ancestral rites and memorial services.