ChinaSource Conversations

Contextualization and Chinese Culture


Image credit: Chong FatOwn work (Self took photo), Public Domain, Link

In this podcast ChinaSource Senior Vice President Joann Pittman interviews Jackson Wu and Sam Chan.

Jackson is a teacher and writer living in East Asia. His books include Saving God’s Face and One Gospel for All Nations. He blogs at Jackson Wu—Doing Theology. Thinking Mission. Sam is a theologian, evangelist, ethicist and medical doctor living in Australia, who blogs at Espresso Theology. He is author of Preaching as the Word of God.

Their discussion examines the process of interpreting, communicating and applying the Bible in a particular cultural context. Effective contextualization communicates the gospel message in a way that is faithful to how God has revealed it through scripture but also in a way that hearers can understand in their own cultural setting. Jackson and Sam contrast the starting points for introducing the gospel in various contexts, be they Asian or Western, modern or post-modern. They also introduce Chinese cultural concepts such as face, honor, shame, authority and community as they relate to gospel presentation.

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ChinaSource Team

ChinaSource Team

Written, translated, or edited by members of the ChinaSource staff.          View Full Bio