Their newest discovery is contextual approach which has been...

Their newest discovery is contextual approach which has been much debated in some theological books and journals which throw ample light on its theological and practical implications.

Arguments For Contextualization The term `contextualization' as a specific missionary term came to the fore in 1972 when the Theological Educational Fund (TEF), spon­sored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), published its report “Ministry in Context”, in which churches were strongly urged to introduce some radical reforms in theological education'. Since then there has been heated controversy representing a very wide divergence of opinion on the issue.

However, it has been used in some parts of the world as a successful method for missionary outreach and this has imparted to it further significance and validity. In 1972, contextuality was a somewhat complicated nuclear concept. However, in 1988, after a period of sixteen years in which it has been much debated, it looks somewhat comprehensible, though some serious practical questions still remain.

Is it a new terminology to express the old concept of indigenization or does it mean something: more or is it a totally new concept? And if it is fairly a new terminology how can it be defined and what are the parameters to distinguish it from being a syncretism? These are some of the questions which, figure in all discussions. Indigenization and contextualization, in fact, are not contradictory to each other. However, the later has a wider meaning than the former.

The concept of an indigenous church came to the fore in the nineteenth century when Christianity was severely criticized as the white man's religion in Africa and charged with foreignness in Asia.

As the Africans and Asians were required to embrace the paganized Christianity of Europe and denounce their own culture and with the local churches under the direct control of the white foreigners, who were obsessed with a sense of racial superiority and administrative wisdom, the afore­said Afro-Asian criticism contained a great deal of truth.

Moved by such `allegations' some church leaders, determined to bring some dignity to the national and regional churches, and conceived the idea of an indigenous church. Indignity was then defined as to establish a self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating native church.