Christianity Today

The author's last name is spelled incorrectly. It should be Tennent, not TennAnt.

Thanks for this article, I thought it a good starting place for discussion.

I have also been sympathetic to believers in Christ living in cultures or places where to openly profess and live a Christ-like lifestyle leads to persecution, loss of freedom and possible death. I have often asked myself what would I do if faced with the choice of 'give me Christ or give me death'? I pray that God will give me the courage and strength to face death if it comes to that. However, I have not yet come to the point of accepting that one can be an 'insider Christian' if that means that one can forego a 'verbal' witness. Let me ask this, since when is the word 'Christian' a 'Western' term? Were not the believers first called Christians in Antioch? Can one truly be called a believer in Christ if one fails to identify not just with the name of the one who said 'I will build my Church' but also with the Church he died to establish? Again, let me repeat, my heart goes out to those brethren living in hostile cultures, but are we not called to take up the cross and follow Him?

Reiteration of the C1 to C6 Spectrum is no longer helpful at this point in the global discussion on contextualization. The scale was useful a decade or two ago, giving a simple way of discussing possible outworkings of the gospel. But its one-dimensional nature mixes and confuses the issues as currently being discussed by those closest to the facts. The issues of core (personal) identity (who I am in my inner self), social identity, collective or religious identity, relationship to the wider body of Christ, and a whole host of religious beliefs and social and religious practices can often not be effectively boxed together onto a single point on a line from one to six. Use of the C Spectrum at this juncture tends to cause and prolong unnecessary misunderstanding and misguided opinions. The issues and concerns are very real, and some unbiblical beliefs and practices are happening in the name of “contextualization.” But arguing for or against “C5” will not bring clearer understanding.

I believe it’s less than helpful to comment on “insider” Muslims and Hindus in the same breath. Hinduism does not have one final prophet nor five primary pillars of faith (obligations) that each Hindu must fulfill in his or her lifetime. Hinduism is a composite of many beliefs, rather than a rigid common set of doctrines and practices. Because of its inclusive nature, Hinduism leaves room for a variety of beliefs and practices beneath its umbrella. Islam, on the other hand, has a clear set of beliefs and practices defining who is and is not a Muslim (though there is some dispute about the boundary lines). Because some Islamic beliefs and practices are inimical to the gospel, remaining within the socio-religious community of Islam is more problematic for a follower of Jesus than remaining inside Hinduism. Thus Tennant increases rather than diminishes confusion by lumping Hinduism and Islam into one assessment.