Quilting prisms together....

Dear Friends,
Greetings!
I am discovering that is a rewarding as well as exhausting feat to teach cross-culturally. Today in Theology II class (Sin & Salvation) I realized that I needed to find out what, within the cultural context of my students) the meaning of the word Sin is for them. I first introduced three viewpoints of sin: Reformed (corporate and about God’s work in us); Catholic (original sin) and Evangelical (personal and an individual choice for salvation). Then we had something to base our discussion on.

I was really glad I asked. It appears that Africa has been highly influenced by missionary theology and is in the original sin camp. So I explained that I see things from a Reformed perspective and very much emphasize social justice and structural sin. So while I will not tell them how to think, they must sort this out for themselves, I will indeed be presenting material from my own bias even though I will try to give them information from the other viewpoints as well.

Perhaps it is this way with all teaching. I just happen to keenly feel the need to know about viewpoint as a white American teaching black Africans, and primarily men at that. I do not want to teach in an unexamined way, that is, as if only my own viewpoint exists. That could be very confusing for the students, as well as invalidating, and also incorrect.

I realized in class today that our discussions are circular. A student will pose a question. Then other students will reflect on a possible answer. Then I put in my understanding. Then another student will ask a question and then same thing again. The more the questions that are asked and the more the reflection, the more clarity comes. It is a group project really. Together, all of us, are stitching a quilt. A quilt seen from many prisms, because each person contributes something unique of their own and it grows into a gift from the group to all of us.

One of our conclusions today was that God called Abraham and sent him out because God created Abraham for this purpose. We also realized just how missional the Old Testament is by looking at Abraham’s Call and Send narrative alongside The Great Commission where Jesus Call and Sends all Christians.

We talked about a wide range of subjects today in this our first Theology II class. I was happy to know that most of the areas the students wish to touch upon have been covered in the syllabus. We will talk about economic justice and ecological justice. We
will talk about alcoholism and the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and we will talk about healing from the wounds of trauma (such as a generation or two of civil war), as well as the training that is needed for counselors.

It is good to be in the classroom again!
Blessings,
Debbie