Contextualization

Consider the methodology of the apostle Paul in seeking to transmit the value of the ancient Scriptures to his own secular society. His two public addresses, first to the Asian crowd in Lystra and later to the Athenian philosophers of the Areopagus, are “the [only] two examples found in Acts of the preaching of the gospel to purely pagan audiences.” ^{8F. F. Bruce, Commentary on the Book of Acts (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1954), 292.} GOP 372.1

In both instances Paul bridges to his hearers on the level of their felt need for connection with the divine (albeit a polytheistic divine), by presenting to them a supreme divine Creator, who transcends the mythological gods of their pantheons. In Lystra he connects his audience to “the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them” (Acts 14:15). ^{9Unless otherwise noted, all scriptural references are from the New International Version (NIV).} In Athens he bridges to “the God who made the world and everything in it . . . the Lord of heaven and earth [who] does not live in temples built by human hands” (Acts 17:24). In both cases Paul contextualizes his message in order to connect with the spiritual felt need of the audience he was seeking to reach. ^{10In Athens “Paul does not quote Hebrew prophecies quite unknown to his hearers; the direction quotations in this speech are quotations from Greek poets. But he does not descend to the level of his hearers by arguing from ‘first principles’ as one of their own philosophers might. His argument is firmly based upon the Biblical revelation of God, echoing throughout the thought, and at times the very language, of the OT scriptures. Like the Biblical revelation itself, his argument begins with God the Creator of all and ends with God the Judge of all” (Bruce, 355).}GOP 372.2

With considerable detail he described his modus operandi of contextualization in his letter to the Corinthians:GOP 372.3

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings (1 Cor. 9:19-23).GOP 372.4

Paul does not advocate a dumbing down of the gospel or a watering down of the divine message. Rather he describes a contextualizing of the gospel message through the intentional strategy of identifying with the person or audience he is seeking to reach or convince. Thus Paul’s contextualization was not a modification of divine revelation, but rather a translation of divine truth by speaking to his target audience in a language (sociocultural as well as linguistic) they could understand and clearly hear. For “how can they hear without someone preaching to them [in their own language]” (Rom. 10:14)?GOP 372.5

Is it possible to do the same, to contextualize the way we present or market the writings of Ellen White to our contemporary society? Can the Spirit of Prophecy be effectively presented to millennials in their sociocultural language? What would an effective contextualizing strategy for this generation look like?GOP 373.1

In order to draw a new generation into a user-friendly relationship with the writings of Ellen White, our contextualized invitation to them must include these three appeals: we must appeal to their embrace of metanarrative; we must appeal to their metaphysical longing; and, we must appeal to their high-tech methods of communication. Consider how these three appeals would dictate our modus operandi in presenting Ellen White and her writings to millennials.GOP 373.2