ThinkFwd: EP015 Soong-Chan Rah - White Captivity of the Church Pt 1

In Soong-Chan�'s view, it is not Christianity that is collapsing but rather the Western-, White-culture Christianity that�'s rooted in suburban, upper middle-class, politicized culture—whether the mega church or emerging church. But just the opposite, Soong-Chan sees incredible growth and strength in the multi-ethnic, immigrant, and second generation churches. Soong-Chan was born in Korea, but lived most of his life in America. In his personal life experience, his Korean and American cultures intersect to create a new multi-cultural experience. He suggests we need to hear the stories of the Native Americans, immigrants, and the many non-white cultures (many of them much older than the recent “anci-future” trends that only go back 200 years to European roots). “I am not putting down Western White evangelicalism, and I don�'t want to throw out Christianity that has existed before us. But there�'s a lot more out there, and all the elements of all of our varied cultures need to be part of the discussion,” he says. By interacting with people who are outside of “our” culture, something new emerges from our dialogue together. It�'s not that the truth of the gospel changes, but that seeing things from where I�'m seated (culturally) or where you�'re seated, we may have different and honestly valid views. We need to hear all the voices to see the full picture of what God is doing in our world.“Is the church culturally relevant or culturally captive?” asks Soong-Chang Rah, author of The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity. He talks with ThinkFwd host Spencer Burke about the purported decline of American Christianity. In Soong-Chan�'s view, it is not Christianity that is collapsing but rather the Western-, White-culture Christianity that�'s rooted in suburban, upper middle-class, politicized culture—whether the mega church or emerging church. But just the opposite, Soong-Chan sees incredible growth and strength in the multi-ethnic, immigrant, and second generation churches. Soong-Chan was born in Korea, but lived most of his life in America. In his personal life experience, his Korean and American cultures intersect to create a new multi-cultural experience. He suggests we need to hear the stories of the Native Americans, immigrants, and the many non-white cultures (many of them much older than the recent “anci-future” trends that only go back 200 years to European roots). “I am not putting down Western White evangelicalism, and I don�'t want to throw out Christianity that has existed before us. But there�'s a lot more out there, and all the elements of all of our varied cultures need to be part of the discussion,” he says. By interacting with people who are outside of “our” culture, something new emerges from our dialogue together. It�'s not that the truth of the gospel changes, but that seeing things from where I�'m seated (culturally) or where you�'re seated, we may have different and honestly valid views. We need to hear all the voices to see the full picture of what God is doing in our world.show less...