Abstract
The impact or sense of text translated into a different worldview must be transformed to engage its new cultural context. An understanding of why and how this happens is vital for the globalising church to get away from a uni-central model of theological truth rooted in economic dependency on the hegemony of Western English. This article portrays inter-cultural translation in vivid ways using Scriptural example to show how some current models of translation depend for their success on either direct divine revelation or magic. This article advocates Christian discipleship at depth through inter-cultural missionary engagement rooted in local languages and resources.
Highlights
Casual observation points to a strong North American and European domination of formal theological education of Protestant Christians carried out in Africa and elsewhere in the majority world
This author advocates for theological education using languages that are indigenous to the majority world
African Christians communicating in the global arena can have their theological understanding condemned
Summary
Casual observation points to a strong North American and European domination of formal theological education of Protestant Christians carried out in Africa and elsewhere in the majority world. Recognised problems in the African church include its dependence on the West and its orientation to the prosperity gospel This short article uses a simple example to illustrate how the failure on the side of formal theological education to take account of inter-linguistic and intercultural differences is contributing to the prosperity gospel, the generation and perpetuation of unhealthy dependency on the West, and other. Perhaps, the linguistically related mechanism of translation brought to light is consistently ignored in the wider literature on the indigenisation of theology. This author advocates for theological education using languages that are indigenous to the majority world.
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