Jonah Syndrome

Fuller Theological Seminary

The Jonah Syndrome: The Churches Irresponsibility With Hip Hop

A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Course MT520/620 Biblical Foundation of Mission Dr. Robert L. Gallagher

By Jack Hakimian Summer 2006

Table Contents Introduction

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Preliminary Issues

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Definition of Key Terms

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Establishing Authority of Old Testament

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Argument: The Old Testament God Was A Contextual Missionary

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Evidence 1: Creation Narrative

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Evidence 2: Circumcision Ceremony

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Evidence 3: Suzerainty Covenant

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Evidence 4: Codes of Conduct

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Evidence 5: Anthropomorphic Language

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Evidence 6: Gentiles Know Yahweh

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Evidence 7: Universal Promise of Blessing

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Application: Principles From The Past

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Apostles Example: STUDY & QOUTE THEIR ICONS

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Church Fathers Example: DIALOGUE & DEFEND RESPECTFULLY

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Roman Catholic Example: RESHAPE & REDIFINE CUSTOMS

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Monks Example: HELP FIX THE URBAN CITY

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Protestant Example: USE THE DEVIL’S ART FOR GOD

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Closing Challenge

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Bibliography

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Introduction

“Remember, Hip Hop is a move of the enemy, so in order to truly infect the body of Christ, it must hide and disguise itself as something good to move into position to destroy” 1 “Cultures are subject to movements of people based on situations or circumstances surrounding them right? That would mean that every culture has a base. And whatever that base is decides what the fruit of that culture will be. In other words, the roots determine the fruit! The roots of Hip Hop are demonic. Oppression, anguish, poverty, violence, and other negative influences created this culture. Zulu customs, teachings, and ideals gave foundation and established the "positive" aspects of Hip Hop. You must realize that God did not play a part in the creation, establishing, or foundation of Hip Hop, so how can we drag him into it at this late stage” 2 These are the words of Craig G. Lewis, a claimed messenger of God who is calling the church to forsake it’s involvement with Hip Hop culture. His thoughts are echoed from the pulpits of black churches of America. Many, like him hold on to the erroneous view that Hip Hop is a pagan culture that is not to be embraced “at all” due to its demonic, pagan origins. While this negative sentiment grows, many Christian institutions in America which are ran and financed by mainstream white America think it is not an issue of much concern and relevance. Their spending on hip hop missions and education proves the point. The general sentiment of seminary academicians is “Hip Hop” is nothing more than amusing pop cultural phenomena that will die like the “disco era”. People don’t care and don’t want to make the effort to understand this strange looking culture with their strange looking art forms, language and sinful tendencies. My contention is that racism and classism still pervades our communities and the church of

1 2

http://exministries.com/arguments/15.html http://exministries.com/arguments/10.html

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America.3 The recent incident with Michael Richards the actor formerly of Seinfeld confirms this.4 Racism always affects the churches vision to see the Christ of crosscultural missions. The Jonah syndrome of “anger and hate” towards that which is foreign to us plagues us as it did the prophet in 760 B.C. This subject is not to be taken lightly, because it involves people and it involves God’s pleasure with the church (Revelation 3:14-22). In this paper I will try to answer two basic questions:

1. Is the God of the Old Testament a contextual missionary who cared for all the cultures? 2. If so, how do we apply His principles in reaching Hip Hop culture?

My premise is that the God of the Old Testament is the “ultimate contextual missionary of the world” and it is his example we must follow.5 The only right response to the evidence I will present is “missionary action”. The church must ask themselves, “Has God called us to reach our generation of prodigals? If so, then how?” Failure to move into action after reading this paper will lead to the discipline of God upon the church, especially those who have sons and daughters who consider themselves participants in “Hip Hop culture”.

“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that

3

Cashin, Sheryll. The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class Are Undermining the American Dream. New York, NY: PublicAffairs, 2004, pg 37-39. 4 http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/27/michaelrichards.ap/index.html. (Michael Richards, 57, played Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit 1989-98 sitcom. A video posted on TMZ.com shows Richards launching into the tirade after two black audience members started shouting at him that he wasn't funny) 5 John R. W Stott, The Bible in World Evangelization. Edited by Ralph Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999.

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man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood” (Ezekiel 33:5-6)

Before I present the key arguments let us first define some important words so that there is no misunderstanding in the communication process. Secondly, I will establish the authority of the Old Testament as a textbook that should inform our missionary practices.

Preliminary Issues

Definition of Key Terms Hip Hop: A popular urban youth culture, closely associated with rap music and with the style and fashions of African-American inner-city residents.6 Pagan: especially: a follower of a polytheistic religion (as in ancient Rome) 2: one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods: an irreligious or hedonistic person7 Contextual, Contextualization: The process of seeking to communicate the message and teachings of the ancient scriptures using contemporary forms of language as well as metaphors and images that are familiar to the current audience. Contextualization is also an attempt to understand ways which the Christian community lives out the gospel in the midst of a non-Christian culture.8 Indigenous: It is a group of believers who live out their life, including their socialized Christian activity, in the patterns of the local society, and for whom any transformation of that society comes out of their felt needs under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures.9

6

hip-hop. Answers.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://www.answers.com/topic/hip-hop, accessed November 30, 2006 7 http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/pagan 8 Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling. Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms. Downers Grove, Illinios: InterVarsity Press, 1999, pg 29. 9 William A. Smalley, Cultural Implications of Indigenous Church. Edited by Ralph Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999.

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Culture: Integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that is both a result of and integral to the human capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. Culture thus consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, and works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and symbols.10 Missionary: 1: someone who attempts to convert others to a particular doctrine or program 2: someone sent on a mission--especially a religious or charitable mission to a foreign country [syn: missioner]. 11 Syncretistic, Syncretism: Mixing of Christian assumptions with those worldview assumptions that are incompatible with Christianity so that the results is not biblical Christianity.12

Authority Of Old Testament

Now that that I have defined these key words, let me move on to establish the authority of the Old Testament as a guiding beacon for missions. In the task of developing principles for missions it would be imperative to consider the biblical text, mainly the Old Testament. As Charles Van Engen a notable missiologist argues, “We cannot have mission without the Bible, nor can we understand the Bible apart from God’s mission”13 Then he goes on to argue, “Even when we affirm that we will take the whole of Scripture seriously, we still need a basis on which to link the Bible, in its numerous contexts, with the here and now for the context of our missionary endeavor today.”14

10

http://www.answers.com/topic/culture missionary. Dictionary.com. WordNet® 2.0, Princeton University. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=missionary (accessed: November 29, 2006). 12 Kraft, Charles H. Culture, Worldview and Contextualization. Edited by Ralph Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999, pg 390. 13 Van Engen, Charles, Dean S. Gilliland, and Paul Pierson. The Good News of the Kingdom: Mission Theology for the Third Millennium. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1993, pg 28. 14 Van Engen, Charles, pg 29. 11

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The fact is that most of the apostles understood the Old Testament to be a manual and an authority concerning such issues as their call to “be a witness” (Acts 2:16-35) and the inclusion of Gentiles into the church (Acts 11:19-21; Acts 15). Jesus used the Old Testament to make theological points about a wide variety of issues (Matthew 22:2946).15 It is clearly inconsistent for someone who calls Jesus “Lord” to think lightly of those Old Testament scriptures which were to Jesus and the Apostles the supreme revelation of God and a guiding principle in all theological decisions. In fact Jesus developed his orthopraxy not only on explicit commands from the Old Testament (Matthew 5-7), but by implicit principles drawn out from the narratives (Matt 12:3-8).16 So, if the Old Testament is authoritative then it can teach us something about missions. I will argue, based on the evidence, that God used pagan customs, language and ideas to communicate His Gospel, His Character and His Will, so we must be willing to allow others and ourselves do the same if we are going to reach “Hip Hop” and plant contextual, indigenous churches.

The Old Testament God Was A International Contextual Missionary

Evidence 1: Creation Narrative

In the Old Testament the Jews were pagan influenced as they came out of Egypt (Exodus 32; Deuteronomy 9:15-17; Psalm 106). In fact Moses had to teach them how to worship the one true God and offer sacrifice in a way which made it clear that “magic” could not 15

David Alexander, and Pat Alexander, eds. Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983 pg 29. 16 David Alexander, pg 40.

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please Yahweh.17 In Genesis 1 they were confronted with a creation model, maybe for the first time, that God hovered over the waters (the deep, chaos:’tiamat’) and out of the waters created an orderly universe. The writer was speaking to Jewish society who had most likely heard the conflicting versions of creation from such accounts as the Enûma Elish. In these accounts they describe how the gods had created the world out of the chaotic waters called the “deep”. Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible writes: “Idea of the deep was in the Babylonian Genesis (2nd millennium BC) story. The idea is that of a watery mother-figure, Tiamat, from whom the gods were born. She is killed my Marduk in a battle with her children whose noise had angered her, and her corpse is formed into the world. Man is made to relieve the gods of the toil of keeping the earth in order, so the gods have rest”18

But through the presentation of the true creation story in Genesis 1 Moses was arguing that Yahweh was and is greater then the gods of the deep where chaos exist. In fact Yahweh creates an orderly world out of chaos in six days and then rests on the seventh. Unlike the pagan gods He does not pass the labor on to humans, but enjoys humans and creation. Even the idea that the planets serve Yahweh’s purpose of giving humans signs for the seasons was making a huge evangelistic statement of the greatness of God (Genesis 1:14-19). Again, Moses the writer of Genesis uses language, religious themes and symbols that the new nation of Israel was familiar with. An Old Testament Survey confirms this idea, “How then is the unique literary genre of Genesis 1-11 to be understood? One may suppose that the author, inspired by God’s revelation, employed current literary traditions to teach the true theological import of humanity’s primeval history.”

17 18

David Alexander, pg 39. David Alexander, pg 130.

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We clearly see that God, speaking through Moses, did not have a retreatist perspective, rather to engaged contemporary thought, in order to make His truth more understandable. This is strong evidence for the contextual nature of God’s mission. The question remains, should that method apply in the churches outreach to Hip Hop?

Evidence 2: Circumcision Ceremony

Believe it or not circumcision was a common practice in the Ancient Near East. Yet God chose to establish that ritual as an external symbol of the covenant he made with Abraham. Genesis 17:9-12 reads:

“Then God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you”.

Concerning the common practice of circumcision, Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible reads: “Circumcision: this was no new rite. In the nations around it marked admission to adult status in the tribe. But for Israel it was the outward sign of a relationship: God was to be their God; they were to be his people. It was a mark of ownership and a reminder of the covenant ‘between me and your descendants after you”.19

Again, here is another example of contextualization. God using practices, customs and language familiar to the people. Of course, part of the transformation of culture

19

David Alexander pg 138

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through the gospel is the need to pour new meanings into common or pagan practices, as God did with circumcision.

Evidence 3: Suzerainty Covenant

The word for covenant in the Old Testament comes from a Hebrew root word which means "to cut." This explains the strange custom of two people passing through the cut bodies of slain animals after making an agreement with each other (Jeremiah 34:18).20 This idea of covenant making was a common practice in the ancient near east. God’s covenant with his people was not an equal party covenant, but the same type of covenant a king would make with his servants called “Suzerainty Covenant”. Alexander writes, “Recent discoveries of Hittite suzerainty-treaties made between a king and his vassal. They consisted of a historical introduction, a list of stipulations, curses and blessings invoked on the parties, a solemn oath and a religious ceremony to ratify the covenant. Most of the features can be found in the Old Testament pattern of covenants”21

In fact, there are striking similarities of the Hittite covenant with the form and structure of Deuteronomic covenant.22 First, the language is the same as the florid and theoretical language used in treaties to stir up emotions of the vassal and impress on him the importance of obedience. Secondly, the form (outline structure) of covenant in the Old Testament has striking similarities with ancient near east treaties. For example, the Hittite covenants had six parts:

1. A preamble (naming the author of the treat) 20

"Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary." Place Published: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986 (accessed. David Alexander, pg 138. 22 http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_covenant.html#4.2.5 21

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2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

A historical prologues (setting out the relations between the artes) Stipulations (explaining responsibilities of the partners) A document clause A list of gods (witnessing the treaty) Curses and blessings

These six parts of the covenant are very common features we find in Exodus 20:1-17; 2226; Deuteronomy 1-11; Joshua 24. This reaffirms the fact that God was communicating contextually in the Old Testament using customs that were familiar to the Israelites. What are some Hip Hop customs that God can use to communicate the importance of being committed to Him as a “Jealous God”? 23

Evidence 4: Codes of Conduct

There are even similarities in the Pentateuch with ancient Near Eastern law-codes like the Code of Hammurabi. But, there is also a small difference in the content that demonstrates the distinctiveness of Yahweh’s ethics. For example the slight differences in the Pentateuch are:






Uncompromising monotheism Remarkable concern of the underprivileged; slaves, strangers, women, orphans Community spirit Apodictic in form (‘thou shalt…’ or ‘thou shalt not….’) Casuistic in form (‘when a man…., he shall….’)24

The casuistic form is common in ancient law-codes, showing that Israelite law had been modified by Yahweh because unlike the human laws Yahweh has the absolute, 23 24

Exodus 20:4-6 David Alexander, pg 124.

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nonnegotiable prescriptions for human behavior and community. Every dimension of life is best experienced when living according to His ethics. Reaching Hip Hop culture with God’s ethics may be communicated in the same ways or styles that is common to them (straightforwardly, stories, rap, etc), but the content must have an exclusive call to worship Jesus, to regard the weak of society and have a communal approach to life. Also, it must be engrained with an apodictic approach communicating exactly what God wants in a given situation as outlined in scripture. Again the “law codes” in comparison to other law codes of their time demonstrate that God was a contextual missionary in his efforts to reach and teach Israel.

Evidence 5: Anthropomorphic Language

Anthropomorphisms means: Figures of speech, which attribute human forms, acts, and affections to God.25 This is a phenomenon you find in scripture that illustrates God’s willingness to use language that doesn’t quite describe him, but communicates his person to human beings with limited spiritual comprehension.26 William Dyrness writes,

“Yet his greatness and love is shown in such a way that he comes to us in a way that we can appreciate. As one student commented to me while discussing these things, this is a beautiful model for our contextualization of the Christian message”.27

The question is, why would God who is Holy, Majestic, Immeasurable, and Spirit use terms that compare Him to human beings? The only motive behind such a lowering of

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http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/Nave/ID/339/Anthropomorphisms.htm William Dyrness. Themes in Old Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1977, Pg 43 27 William Dyrness pg 44. 26

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Himself to use human description is that He wants us to understand Him in the only way we know how. By using, signs, images, codes and descriptions that are parts of our limited human experiences. He modifies language that describes Him to fit categories we can relate to. Sort of like a mother trying to explain the resurrection story to their five year old. How is the church modifying its theological jargon for the unchurched young people who affiliate themselves with Hip Hop culture?28 Are we willing to accommodate them by becoming like the greatest missionary, “God”?

Evidence 6: Gentiles Know Yahweh

God saved and used people who were outside of the religious society and institution of Israelite cultic worship. Examples of such a reality are people like Melchizedek ,most probably a Canaanite (Genesis 14:18). Then you have Jethro, a priest of Midian (Exodus 18:1). Balaam (Numbers 22:5) confuses us like crazy because he knows God and speaks to him personally. Most shocking of all is Rahab, the prostitute who feared Yahweh more than the king of Jericho (Josh 2:9-11). She actually ends up in the genealogy of Jesus as one His ancestors (Matthew 1:5). Then you have Ruth, the Moabite woman who is greatly praised by Boaz for her virtuousness (Ruth 2:12). In fact, Boaz and Ruth would become great grandparents of David who would receive the promise of Messiah through his blood line. Then, Naaman, a commander of the army in Syria who demonstrates faith in Yahweh’s ability to heal him of an incurable illness (2 Kings 5). Of course we cannot forget about the Ninevites. These people actually turned from sin to God (Jonah).29 How

28 29

Alexander, pg 67. Jonah & The Worm, pg 131.

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do you explain the fact that people outside of Israel, which is compared to the church in the New Testament, were saved (Ephesians 3:6)? Could it be that the Christian institutions of today (Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical) who do not accept Hip Hop culture are not really endowed by God to exclusively define who God’s people are on earth? Who worships in Spirit and Truth (John 4)? Kaiser argues, “Election was not a call to privilege, but choosing for service”.30 Could it be that visible churches only exist mainly to establish churches in which the elect can find people who look and talk like them worshipping God.

Evidence 7: Universal Promise of Blessing

I have never realized until recently that the whole purpose of God establishing the first two covenants was for the blessing of the nations, not just Israel. The establishment of the covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:1-17) and the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:3-6; 22:18) is for all peoples (quantity) and all generations (frequency). God said, “…..will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:13). Kaiser’s commentary of this verse is very helpful in understanding the full impact:

“In Genesis 12:3 and 28:14 the Hebrew phrase used for “all peoples/families” is kol misphehot, a phrase that is rendered in the Greek translation of the Old Testament as pasai hai phulai, meaning “all the tribes” in most contexts, but it could also stand for households as in Joshua 7:14. Therefore, the blessing of God given to Abraham was intended to reach smaller people groups as well as 30

Kaiser, pg 22.

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the political groupings of nations. The latter point is made clear in the fact that in Genesis 18:8; 22:18; and 26:4 the Hebrew phrase in the identical expression is kol goye, “all nations,” which in Greek translated as panta hai patriai, “all the nations.” Acts 3:25 used the Greek phrase, pasai hai patriai, “all the families.” A patria is a people group, which is a subgroup of a tribe or a clan.”

Abrahamic covenant demonstrates the universal vision of God to see all nations come to repentance, including subcultures within those nations. In fact, the whole basis for Paul’s fight with the Jewish Christians (Judaizers) was based on their emphasis on “circumcision” and “Jewish ceremonial law”.31 For the Jew, these external religious practices were considered to separate you from the evil “world”. What they failed to realize is the momentary nature of the Jewish practices and the inability for any external practice to make your heart cleansed before God.32 Yahweh argues if we emphasize cultural norms rather than the gospel of grace which gives people a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19-20) then Gentiles will be hindered from coming to Christ. Also, the very external act they emphasize will turn their trust from Christ to the Jewish religious system of works (Acts 15; Galatians 2:15-16; Colossians 2:16-17; Romans 14:13-23).

God is a universal missionary and the great commission confirms this reality (Matthew 28:19).33 He is trying to remove all spiritual, religious, and cultural barriers that keep people from seeing Christ and His truth accurately. The book of Revelation alludes to the fact that people from differing classes, languages, cultures and tribes will worship before Him in heaven in fulfillment of His missionary endeavors (Revelation 7:9). Does that not

31

Romans 2:25,28; Galatians 6:13 Romans 2:28,29 33 Kaiser, pg. 51. Kaiser writes, “Yahweh was truly calling all the families of the earth-even one’s enemiesto the same Savior and salvation.” 32

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include sincere Christians who affiliate with Hip Hop culture or must they be “circumcised” and keep “Jewish ceremonial law”?34

Application: Practicing Principles from The Past

Let me conclude this paper by giving some practical advice to those who have been stirred in their heart by the evidence that God is a contextual missionary in the Old Testament. I want to draw your attention to Christian heroes of the past who used various methods to reach the lost and dying of their culture. Hopefully you can glean some wisdom in reaching the present harvest within Hip Hop fields.

Apostles Example: STUDY & QOUTE THEIR ICONS

Everyone loves it when another person remembers a fact about themselves, or appreciates something about their culture. They especially love it when you can interact with the thoughts of artistic, political or religious people they consider to be “beloved person’s”. First, in reaching Hip Hop culture please educate yourself, engage and utilize the ideas of their cultural leaders like rappers, poets, activist, gangsters, entrepreneurs, etc. Find the ideas that reinforce the truth of Christianity and grapple with the ones that seem to contradict. Paul did this with the Greek Philosophers in Acts 17: 22-31. We read:

Acts 17:22-31 34

Dyrness, pg 117.

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22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' 29 "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by man's design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." Notice the four ways Paul engaged these Greek Philosophers: 1. He uses blasphemous icons they are familiar with as a point of connection (23). 2. He quotes their own poets and philosophers to validate his message (28). 3. He pours new theological meaning into those pagan ideas those images and persons represent (23-27). 4. He presents the truth about their humanity (26, 27), God (24, 25, 29, 30, 31), Christ (31), and their need to repent (30) in the process of communication. This is just one example of apostolic contextualization. The entire Gospel of John which was written to a Greek\Gentile audience uses the idea of “logos” to describe Jesus. Logos was a popular Greek philosophical idea describing the principle intelligence in the universe.35 Apostles not threatened by the accusation of being “syncretistic” use an unbiblical concept to connect with their audience and lead them along the path of truth. Charles Kraft Professor of Anthropology and Intercultural Communication at Fuller Seminary writes,

35

Norman L. Geisler. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999, pg. 430.

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“For him, the primary task of mission is not changing culture but using culture to communicate the gospel and change people’s allegiance (1989, 80,187). Initial acceptance of the receptor culture is a key task of mission. If cultural change is necessary; it should be initiated but indigenous persons who are changed by Christ……”36

Church Fathers Example: DIALOGUE & DEFEND RESPECTFULLY

My second exhortation is to follow the example of the early church fathers who engaged their culture with respectful dialogue explaining to them the beauty of the Christian faith. These church fathers wrote “apologies”, which were letters explaining and defending their beliefs and practices. Norman Giesler writes,

“Like many other early Fathers, Justin believed that what truth there was in Greek philosophy was borrowed from divine revelation of Hebrew Scripture (ibid., 1.60). At best, Greek philosophy had only partial and dim truth, but Christianity had truth completely and clearly. Hence, ‘whatever things were rightly said among all men, are the property of us Christians’ (ibid., 2.13)”37 This is essentially what Paul was arguing in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” In the process of dialogue we need to understand that encounters with people of other backgrounds and religious faiths does not only transform them, but also it changes us. This is what the black church is missing. Religious leaders do not interact enough with Hip Hop leaders, let alone unsaved people about their issues and insights. Therefore, they do not learn ideas that stretch their theology, missiology, and social awareness. That is

36

Charles Van Engen, Nancy Thomas, and Robert Gallagher. Footprints of God: A Narrative Theology of Mission. Monrovia, California: Marc a division of World Vision, 1999, pg. 182 37 Norman L. Geisler, pg. 395.

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why many churches are dying as the world keeps on growing and moving. We see this type of dual transformation with Peter in Acts 10. Not only was Cornelius changed by the encounter, but so was Peter’s missio\cultural paradigm. Lesslie Newbign’s comments about the dual benefit of and motivation for respectful dialogue are insightful:

“It’s (dialogue) purpose is not that Christianity should acquire one more recruit. On the contrary, obedient witness to Christ means that whenever we come with another person (Christian or not) into the presence of the cross, we are prepared to receive judgment and correction, to find that our Christianity hides within its appearance of obedience the reality of disobedience. Each meeting with a non-Christian partner in dialogue therefore puts my own Christianity at risk.”

Roman Catholic Example: RESHAPE & REDIFINE CUSTOMS

Halloween, Easter and even Christmas were originally pagan festivals used to acknowledge the gods and spirits. Encyclopedia Britannica reads:

“One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December 25 was the Christianizing of the dies solis invicti nati (“day of the birth of the unconquered sun”), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the heralding of the rebirth of spring and summer”38 What was the principle behind them reshaping and redefining these festivals? Again, that principle was “contextualization”. Why make the newly converted populace stop a cultural practice that had many beneficial components, but was in need of theological and ritual reshaping. It is better to modify the customs than to stop them and make Christianity seem like it opposes their culture. This is what we call synergy. Of course this kind of contextualization can be dangerous if it merely seeks to fit a situation, but 38

"Christmas." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 30 Nov. 2006 .

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does not try to bring transformation of belief (orthodoxy) and behavior (orthopraxy) through the power of the Holy Spirit.39 This is what some Hip Hop missionaries (rappers, dj’s, pastors, comedians, etc) do. They try to reach Hip Hop culture by becoming like Hip Hop, even in situations where the practices are clearly anti-biblical. For example, a rapper, as an artist, is less redeemable when he raps about “booty shaking” “weed” or “violence”. Paul writes, “To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law),…… (1 Corinthians 9:20-21). He goes as far as culture goes without violating the moral commands of God which is love. For Paul the “ten commandments” were summed up in the principle of “love” (Romans 13:8-10). So, Paul would not practice anything in the various contexts he found himself in that violated peoples dignity, spirituality or conscience (Romans 14:19-21; 1 Corinthians 8:12, 13). I think also there is a huge difference between Hip Hop movies that have been coming out verses Hip Hop mainstream rap. With movies that have vulgar content for the sake of realism, but in the end show the true results of living a unhealthy life, would probably be more acceptable. Movies tell stories, like the Bible about actual events, gory details but with a truthful ending. Usually these endings affirm the “reaping and sowing principle” the Bible warns about (Galatians 6: 7-10). Where a rap song from an artist like “The Game”, who glamorizes sin, with no honest conclusion leaves the ghetto youth believing that sin has no consequences.40 This becomes problematic for the missionary as he works within Hip Hop culture. How does the missionary justify encouraging such an art form that has very minimal benefit for the society? These are the 39

Van Engen, Charlers, Dean S. Gilliland, and Paul Pierson. The Good News of the Kingdom: Mission Theology for the Third Millennium. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1993.Pg 108 40 http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/the_game/advocate/wouldnt.gme.txt

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kind of customs that need reshaping by the new indigenous movement as they wrestle with their cultural expressions through the use of scripture, prayer and discussion.

Monks Example: HELP FIX THE URBAN CITY

Many protestant think negatively about monasteries. Yet, we know, based on history, that many monks who took vows of celibacy and poverty, like Paul the Apostle, did well for the propagation of the gospel in the urbanized cities. As one Baptist missionary scholar wrote:

“In the midst of barbarism, the monasteries were centers of orderly and settled life and monks were assigned the duty of road-building and road repair. Until the rise of towns in the eleventh century, they were pioneers in industry and commerce. The shops of monasteries preserved the industries of Roman times…The earliest use of marl in improving the soil is attributed to them. The great French monastic orders led in the agricultural colonization of Western Europe”41

Protestant Example: USE THE DEVIL’S ART FOR GOD

Many Christians in traditional protestant churches do not realize how the early Protestant leaders that broke away from the Roman Catholic Church went through a season where they were trying to establish a new liturgy for the new protestant congregations spreading in Europe, especially Germany. Concerning there new endeavors, Charles K. Moss writes,

41

Ralph D Winter, The Two Structures of God' Redemptive Mission. Edited by Ralph Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999, p 223.

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“ This was not a new musical practice, for almost fifty years before Luther, Jan Huss and his followers, the Bohemian Brethren (Moravians), were singing and collecting hymns that were either adaptations of Gregorian melodies or popular secular airs. This group published its first collection of hymns in 1504 in the Czech language, and in 1531 a German translation was published by Michael Weiss at Landskron in Moravia. In 1524 the first Lutheran hymn book, Achtliederbuch , was published. There were eight metrical chorales included. Four of the hymns were composed by Luther himself. Between 1524 and 1545, Luther composed and compiled nine hymnals. The melodies found in these books were a mixture of Latin hymns, popular religious songs, and secular tunes recast in a religious context. Others were Medieval melodies of the Minnesingers and Meistersingers, and still others were melodies from outside Germany”42 Of course Luther struggled as to how far he should go in writing new hymns over popular melodies. Again Charles K. Moss writes,

“Luther found it necessary to discard some secular chorale melodies, such as Aus fremden Landen komm' ich her , because this and other similarly adapted melodies retained their popularity in the taverns and dance places. As Luther said, he was ‘compelled to let the devil have it back again’”43 So, as Luther engaged popular melodies his great fear was “syncretism”. The beauty of this struggle was that he cared as a missionary and pastor enough to experiment, question and even pull back at times. The question is: Are we going to engage popular melodies of Hip Hop and use them as glorious songs of praise in our churches or not? If we do we will create ecstatic feelings of joy in our Hip Hop congregations that will cause them to fall prostate before God, thanking Him for the sweet melodies of priestly praise (1 Chronicles 16:4-6). This is a principle of missions you can utilize and must use if you plan on planting contextualized Hip Hop congregations. 42

Moss, Charles K. The Musical Reforms of Martin Luther. In, http://208.11.77.182/general/articles/Luther.html. (accessed, pg1). 43 Moss, Charles K., pg 1.

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Closing Challenge

The very idea of the “Trinity” celebrates “unity in diversity”.44 Three persons in the Godhead (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), yet there is only “one” God (John 1:1). Do you see any two types of people, or any two types of trees, or any two types of personalities? The Body of Christ historically and presently is diverse in expressions, but still one in Christ. Paul verifies this type of perspective in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6: “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men”

Deep down you know this to be true? Yet you maybe to tempted to believe a lie that challenges the church and its institutions not to engage and spark an indigenous Hip Hop movement. Why not teach pastors, missionaries and young adults to be transformed by the power of God on a daily basis and redeem the culture for Christ. All cultures have sin and pagan influences. If white corporate executives and slave owners wore suits and ties should black pastors and professional stop wearing the same outfits. If jazz had a sinful origin and was associated with loose morals, should all Christians throw away their CD’s? 45 Also, should they stop speaking English? Yes English! Encyclopedia Britannica reads.

44

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/jazz. (The article on jazz from the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia reads: “Jazz was slow to win acceptance by the general public, not only because of its cultural origin, but also because it tended to suggest loose morals and low social status”. The American Encyclopedia writes, “The term was only applied to music around 1915 and was even then disliked by some musicians because it was a vulgar term for sexual intercourse”. Clearly just the name jazz had sexual connotation, much like Hip Hop has today. Yet Craig G. Lewis when asked by an anonymous youth what kind of music should we listen to, replied “Jazz” (http://faithinactiononline.wordpress.com/2005/06/11/does-ex-ministries-go-too45

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“Its (English) history began with the migration of the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons from Germany and Denmark to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries.” 46

All three of these tribes made up what we call “Anglo-Saxons”. All of them were pagans when they developed their English language around the 5th century. A European website states, “The early Anglo-Saxons were pagans and believed in many gods. When people died they were either cremated and put in a pottery urn or buried with their belongings. It was believed that the dead would need their belongings in their next life.”47

Based on the contemporary argument that cultures with pagan and evil origins should be rejected then churches must stop speaking in English, should stop incorporating jazz and should stop wearing suits and ties. They all have origins of evil and were started by lewd and sinful men. Of course such a rejection would be absurd! That is why Paul the Apostle vehemently argued that such an external emphasis in Christianity can “look” holy, but not really make a person inwardly pure or self restrained from sin. “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” (Colossians 2:20-23)

far/)! We don’t know the validity of this anonymous blogger, yet the issue remains because black gospel music has elements of jazz and blues. Are they responsible before God? Are they less spiritual for listening to a style of music that had a sinful origin and incorporates “African rhythms” that were developed in pagan cultures for the purpose of false of worship? 46 English language. Answers.com. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/english-language, accessed December 01, 2006. 47 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/anglosaxons/beliefs/index.shtml

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I have argued in this paper that the God of the Old Testament was and is a contextual missionary. I have given you ample evidence and practical advice from history and the Bible as to how you can engage Hip Hop as a missionary. The question is: Has God called you like Jonah to go to Nineveh? What is preventing you from going? Are you going to let people who are backslidden and angry like Jonah keep you away? Do you have the perspective of God? Are you ready to go on the journey?

Jonah 4:10-11 reads: But the LORD said, ‘You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?’……..”

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Alexander, David, and Pat Alexander, eds. Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983. Briscoe, Jill. Jonah and the Worm. Nappanee, IN: Evangel Press, 1983. Cashin, Sheryl. The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class Are Undermining the American Dream. New York, NY: Public Affairs, 2004. Dyrness, William. Themes in Old Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1977. Geisler, Norman L. Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999. Grenz, Stanley J, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling. Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1999. Jr., Walter C. Kaiser. Mission in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2000. Kraft, Charles H. Culture, Worldview and Contextualization. Edited by Ralph Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999. LaSort, William Sandord, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic Wm. Bush. Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing, 1996. Newbign, Lesslie. The Open Secret: An Introduction to Theology of Mission. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing, 1995. Van Engen, Charlers, Nancy Thomas, and Robert Gallagher. Footprints of God: A Narrative Theology of Mission. Monrovia, California: Marc a division of World Vision, 1999. Van Engen, Charlers, Dean S. Gilliland, and Paul Pierson. The Good News of the Kingdom: Mission Theology for the Third Millennium. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1993.

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Articles Moss, Charles K. The Musical Reforms of Martin Luther. In, http://208.11.77.182/general/articles/Luther.html. (accessed. Smalley, William A. Cultural Implications of Indigenous Church. Edited by Ralph Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999. Stott, John R. W. The Bible in World Evangelization. Edited by Ralph Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999. Winter, Ralph D. The Two Structures of God' Redemptive Mission. Edited by Ralph Winter, and Steven C. Hawthorne. Third ed, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Pasadena, Ca: William Carey Library, 1999.

E-Form "Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary." Place Published: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986 (accessed. Websites Christmas." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 30 Nov. 2006 . English language. Answers.com. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/english-language, accessed December 01, 2006. hip-hop. Answers.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://www.answers.com/topic/hiphop, accessed November 30, 2006 http://exministries.com/arguments/10.html http://exministries.com/arguments/15.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/anglosaxons/beliefs/index.shtml http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/the_game/advocate/wouldnt.gme.txt. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15047a.htm

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http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/Nave/ID/339/Anthropomor phisms.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/culture http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/pagan http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/27/michaelrichards.ap/index.html. (Michael Richards, 57, played Seinfeld's eccentric neighbor Kramer on the hit 1989-98 sitcom. A video posted on TMZ.com shows Richards launching into the tirade after two black audience members started shouting at him that he wasn't funny) http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_covenant.html#4.2.5 missionary. Dictionary.com. WordNet® 2.0, Princeton University. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=missionary (accessed: November 29, 2006).

Moss, Charles K. The Musical Reforms of Martin Luther. In, http://208.11.77.182/general/articles/Luther.html. (accessed, pg1)

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