“Whose Religion is Christianity?” – Book Review
Lamin Sanneh. Whose Religion is Christianity? Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003.
INTRODUCTION
In an age of global Christianity, Western believers (especially those in America), have failed to recognize the contributions of the church outside of their own cultural sphere. This is the very matter that African theologian Lamin Sanneh attempts to address in his aptly titled book, Whose Religion is Christianity? Throughout the text Dr. Sanneh makes a series of statements and arguments that both condemn and praise the western church. Further, he makes an appeal for the church outside of the West to have a greater voice at the roundtable of global Christianity. Are his arguments and accusations valid, accurate, and realistic?
AREAS OF DISAGREEMENT
From the onset of the text, Lamin Sanneh hinges much of his case for greater influence of the non-Western church by stating that the West is inevitably becoming more and more secular. He also believes that the influence of the West is declining in global Christianity and will continue to do so.[1] I would disagree with this assertion. Despite the fact that much of Europe has embraced secularism, the American church has battled this shift on every front. America has never been dominated by Bible believing Christians, and she has withstood the onslaught of secularism and moral compromise numerous times in the past. However, in reading through the content as a whole, I cannot help but feel as if Lamin Sanneh sees this shift as inevitable and unchangeable.
The second issue I have with Sanneh’s otherwise excellent work is the format. Early in the book Sanneh states that the reader may “join the conversation at any point without feeling disjointed.”[2] However, I would disagree with this assessment. The question and answer format, which numbers well over 100 hundred instances, causes the reading experience to become very disjointed. While much of what has been discussed is helpful, informative, and innovative; it is completely spoiled, in my opinion, due to format.
AREAS OF AGREEMENT
Despite the horrid structure of the book and what I believe to be a faulty presupposition, much of the information discussed by Lamin Sanneh cries out for careful consideration. For instance, Sanneh excels when discussing the issue of translation. He makes the case for the indigenizing of theology by examining the necessity of theological “translation” from the inception of the Gospel message.[3] According to Sanneh, the fact that Christ did not write the gospels himself necessitates translation in order to produce the biblical text.[4] In taking Christ’s command seriously, to spread the gospel to the surrounding cities and nations, the apostles moved to preach the gospel not through religious discourse but instead through the voice of volk.[5] In the words of Lamin Sanneh, “Christianity could avoid translation like water can avoid being wet.”[6] Further, in his estimation, the Gospel message proves that there does not exist a single culture that carries special access to God. Rather, God is speaking and can be approached through a wide range of cultural contexts.[7]
A second proposition by Sanneh is that in witnessing the development of world Christianity, the church in the west is given a sort of “sneak peek” into what the early centuries of church history and expansion looked like.[8] In observing the processes taking place in cultures facing a Christian transformation, the West is provided with an opportunity to observe people groups who must for the first time grapple with theological issues that the West has viewed as long settled. This can present the careful observer with an occasion to develop a deeper appreciation for the struggles the early church faced in developing a theological framework. Further, witnessing how theological “infants” answer the problems presented by the world around them could instigate those in the West to develop a far more “inclusive” and expansive approach to the theological method.
Another area of observation at which Lamin Sanneh shines, centers on the discussion of Christian expansion within the continent of Africa.[9] He notes that the removal of colonialism from the continent, and its correlation with Christianity, has led to a rapid increase in converts. Many in the West feared that removing this influence would result in the final triumph of Islam; however, the opposite has proven to be true. In Africa during the 1980’s more than 16,000 conversions were taking a day, contrast that to the over 4,000 Westerners who were abandoning the church daily and it will be found that African Christianity has not only survived the post colonial environment, it has thrived. It would appear that the growth of Islam in Africa during the colonial period was actually in response to what seemed to be a Western, cultural invasion. Once this point of contention was removed the Gospel was welcomed with open arms. This Christian revival, according to Sanneh, resulted from three factors: First, as was already discussed, the removal of colonialism. Second, the Bible was translated into popular African vernacular. Last, Africans stepped forward to lead this Christian expansion themselves.[10] This eliminated the sense of foreign invasion. In my estimation this provides the Western church with a test case, a real life example of what importing culture along with the Gospel message and theology can and cannot accomplish. Perhaps, in light of what occurred in Africa, it would be appropriate to rethink the mission strategy currently employed by most mission boards.
CONCLUSION
Through this book, Lamin Sanneh has set out to draw attention to the West’s virtual refusal to acknowledge the contributions of the church throughout the rest of the world. I believe on a small scale he has accomplished this goal. I disagree, however, with his contention that the West is on a path that will eventually cause it to lose its sense of “theological seniority.” Instead, I envision a soon to be revitalized Western church that will find that it has not lost its influence but instead recognize that the rest of the church is now strong enough to survive without our constant care. This realization would result in the American church returning her focus to the mission field she has failed to impact over the last fifty years, the un-churched people of North America.
Sanneh succeeds in pointing out that an evangelized people flourish when nationals stand up and lead the indigenized church. Also, he makes a case that instead of scoffing at the global church’s theological growing pains; the West should stand up and pay attention. This growing process provides scholars, historians, and theologians alike a unique opportunity to witness a similar process to what the early church experienced. Observing this will aid in rethinking the rationale behind the methodology employed by the early church to settle theological questions. Finally, Sanneh’s case for the necessity of translating the gospel into any and every culture must be seriously considered by those within the mission movement. As Sanneh has noted, there is no revealed language or culture, by the very act of incarnation God has shown that the message of the gospel can and must be presented in a way that all people groups can freely recognize.
[1] Lamin Sanneh. Whose Religion is Christianity ? (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003), 1-10.
Based on this post I think i might seek this book out and read it for myself.
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