Along a dusty path near Antioch, the Apostle John and a young man named Ignatius walk together deep in conversation about the Scriptures and John’s personal relationship with Jesus. Twenty years later, a silver-haired Ignatius and young Polycarp stroll a similar road, both physically and spiritually. It is no exaggeration to say that this chain of teachers and students has continued unbroken for almost two millennia.

Culture and Theology

We want to see all the churches we have helped to plant engaged in excellent indigenous Christian scholarship. From a small beginning in 1924 at Arunjin, Nigeria, schools that serve churches related to SIM now number in the hundreds—communities where men and women reflect on God’s revelation of Himself in Scripture in order to learn how to bring transformation to their respective cultures.

As early church leaders grappled with culture-specific issues such as relations between Jews and Gentiles, class differences in the church, and eating meat sacrificed to idols, the Church today must engage its own context with equal vigor.

• Should girls receive an education?
• How can a believer bury his mother in a Christian way without upsetting ancestor-worshiping relatives?
• What if a man with four wives becomes a Christian? Must he divorce three of them, or continue to care for all four and their children?
• How should preaching and worship be done so that people see and experience the power of the living God?
• How should Christians influence politics and economics in their country?

Contemporary theologians in Africa, Asia, and South America grapple with these and other issues such as female genital mutilation, bride price, and homosexuality.

HIV and Theology

Perhaps the most pressing social issue of our day is the HIV pandemic. With 41 million people infected worldwide, and over 15 million AIDS orphans in Africa alone, the ramifications are staggering. African theologians are turning to ancient Scripture to discern what God is calling the Church to be and do.

	Dr. Black in the classroom

The Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology (EGST) launched a one-year post-graduate diploma program in Theology of HIV and AIDS. The program was funded by the Church of Sweden, which chose the theme, “The Body of Christ Has AIDS.” The 11 participating scholars have helped to break the silence created by ignorance and stigma.

They studied the impact of the early Church’s response to pandemics, and they conducted research in their own communities. Combining the wisdom of contemporary theologians with their own intensive study of the Bible, the scholars defined the issues and articulated culturally radical ways for the Church to love AIDS victims, including models of pastoral care for infected and affected people. They also explored such topics as stewardship and biblical sexuality for their relevance to church-based teaching on HIV and AIDS.

Dr. Stephanie Black, the SIM professor overseeing the theses of these students, says, “Moments like these remind me how valuable it is to do theological education right here in the Ethiopian context rather than sending students abroad.” In further support of local education, Dr. Black is now working with the Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa (a program of excellence and renewal that SIM has helped sustain for more than 30 years).

Why is accreditation important? In the graphic language of a Sudanese seminary board member, “Having no accreditation is like being a girl without family. Nobody wants to marry her. But having accreditation is like being with a good family. Everybody will know this and the students will be accepted everywhere.”

Non-Western Theology

With the majority of Christians now living in non-western countries, God is using their unique cultural sensitivities to highlight vital scriptural truths. Dr. Steve Strauss, professor for 18 years at the Evangelical Theological College in Ethiopia, comments, “African theologians bring an emphasis on prayer, dependence on God, and spiritual warfare. Asian theologians can teach us how to be a minority faith, since Christians are the minority in every Asian country except the Philippines. South Americans continue to teach us about social justice.”

Other new trajectories of inquiry would include a theology of relating to Islam. For instance, westerners tend to couch salvation in the legal terms of debt and redemption, with Christ’s blood acting as payment. Muslim converts, however, have often found a far more compelling metaphor in purity vs. defilement or shame vs. honor, with blood being a cleanser. Both metaphors are biblical, but different cultures gravitate towards what resonates with them. While indigenous theology has enormous benefits for a particular culture, it can also impact the universal Church, expanding everyone’s view of God.

From Jesus’ disciples debating the Torah around a crackling fire, to students in Zambia scouring the Bible for godly responses to the spread of Islam in their eastern provinces, joining Scripture and real-life dilemmas within a community of believers is the lifeblood of an enduring, relevant Church.

SIM promotes theological education worldwide through founding and helping to run training institutions, providing scholarships, funding the writing of indigenous curricula, training leaders and pastors, and much more.

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Teachers, librarians, school administrators, and consultants can help strengthen the Church cross-culturally. Check out the list of opportunities where you can serve