Question: Is Christianity merely a religion for the West?

Expanded question: It seems to me that Christianity is a religion of the West. How is it possible for the Pygmy or the Eskimo or other member of an obscure culture to become a Christian, considering they may never have any exposure to Christianity, and moreover, have no real connection to it of any kind? And is it not true that those cultures that do adopt Christianity do so in a way that is very different than the way we (White Europeans) know it? The subtleties of conversion and especially the concept of election and the elect of God is difficult for any one to come to grips with, never mind someone from a culture with no affinity with Christianity. Concepts of election are very complicated. Is it not true that if we were born and raised in one of these cultures it would be very difficult to convert to a religion as foreign as Christianity? I find it very hard to reconcile this.

Answer:

Thanks so much for this question. Here are some responses:

1. Christianity did not originate in the West. It started in the Middle East with Jewish followers of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, God's Son. If you look at Acts 2: 5-11 and the Pentecost experience you will find a list of people from various countries in the Middle East, along with Africans, among the first followers. Arabs are represented as some of the first converts and we know that Stephen baptized an Ethiopian in Acts 8:26-40. (Extra-biblical data indicates that the gospel was opened up to Africa through this man.) In Acts 1:8, the plan prophesied by Jesus is that Christianity will go into the entire world. This is also found in Luke 24:44-49 and other places. In the last book of the Bible, Revelation 5:9-11, we find people from every tribe, nation, people, and tongue in heaven.

2. It is also important to realize what is going on currently. Africa's exposure and adoption of Christianity is massive, causing some people to say that it will be the center of Christianity in the future. China is experiencing such a growth of Christianity that it is hard to keep up with the current statistics. Most people believe that Christianity's spread there represents the greatest awakening ever known to man-literally millions of converts. I regularly receive correspondence from people all over the world who follow Christ.

3. Having traveled to many countries myself and having preached to many language groups and people groups, I can say that my Christianity is no different than theirs. It is true that the West is more building oriented and that a home, a shade tree or a hut might be more common as a meeting place for other countries, but the experience of knowing Christ is the same and there is an immediate identity between us. We easily recognize a difference between traditions (related to culture) and core beliefs (related to the Bible). My written materials go everywhere and are received by believers in other countries as well as in the USA. As long as I am biblical, there is no problem. It has been a good thing for missionaries to keep from attempting to transfer their Western culture and stick to transferring the truth to nationals. This is being done successfully in many places. Even Hudson Taylor, the founder of China Inland Missions, dressed in a pig-tail and shaved head, cowl, and black glasses, fully identifying with the Chinese.

4. The doctrine of election is also not so hard to understand if presented biblically. Remember that the Jews have no problem with election since they see themselves as God's chosen people. A missionary to the Arabic nations would be much less effective without believing in election, because it is also part of their mentality. To the sophisticated, independent American, however, election is often very difficult to receive. At any rate, I don't find this a problem related to culture any more so overseas than here. There is a great history of missionaries who believed in election going to other parts of the world-some with great success. For instance, the father of modern missions, William Carey, believed in election and taught it in India. So also did other early missionaries such as Adoniram Judson in Burma, Paton in Fiji, William Burns and Lottie Moon in China. Any Bible truth can be received where the Holy Spirit can applies it to the hearts of those who hear.

5. Finally, no religion has an automatic reception in parts of the world where it did not formerly exist. So, you don't commonly find Muslim Eskimos or Hindu Pygmies. We are told to evangelize the world and we are doing that bit by bit. I am sure that you can find Pygmies who are converted. In fact, I read an article on this a couple of years ago. I'm not sure about Eskimos, but it would surprise me if there were not some Eskimo believers.

I do hope this helps.

Please write if you have further questions.

Jim