A German theologian (from the Pietist tradition) once asked me where I could find a theology of “transformation” in the Bible. I wish I had had this book at hand at the time.
Part of Regnum’s Global Voices: Latin America series, it is a rigorously argued series of essays that examine the interplay between the long-accepted concept of “worldview” and transformation. Its theological perspectives point out that “Jesus always lived on the edge of the kingdom,” “the gospel concerns nothing less than all things (Col. 1/16-20) and the mission of the Church concerns nothing less than all things.‘
The early church and the Reformation were eras “when Christianity really made a difference,” with the “destruction of the hierarchical pyramid of power” and the transformation of entire communities.
They apply valuable lessons from different periods of history. But while they criticize much of contemporary evangelicalism, they are not blind to the mistakes of earlier heroes of the faith. For example, they praise Abraham Kuyper: “It is important … to recognize in the light of Scripture what Kuyper did right and what he did wrong.”
The Christian Daily International (CDI) team hopes that followers of Jesus will integrate their faith into every aspect of the world created by God. These Brazilian authors analyze why this has not happened in Brazil, despite the dramatic growth of evangelism. They argue for an integrated Christian worldview and identify biblical truths that were present in historical examples when society hastransformed by the Gospel:
“The more a society becomes permeated with beliefs based on principles contrary to the Word of God, the more it sinks into darkness, with visible consequences in the form of spiritual and physical poverty, injustice, deprivation, hunger, discrimination, despair, oppression, pain and death” (p. 35).
“If the Church does not disciple society, society will disciple it” and “we must return to the sources of our evangelical faith to rediscover who we are” (p. 15).
They argue for a biblical intellectual framework in the practical application of the Bible. For example, they write, “There is an urgent need for consensus in the Brazilian evangelical community on the formulation of a Christian social theory.” The final chapter lays an intellectual and biblical foundation for working with others (another of our passions at CDI).
The book ends with “the challenge of constructing a theory and practice that is in the context of the Brazilian reality of the 21st century, but based on timeless and transcultural truths – and therefore fully applicable in our context.”
The author’s criticisms and questions are certainly also relevant for Christian readers in other parts of the Global South. And also in the global North. They call on the Church to Be the Church, as the mediator of the “transforming gospel … already invented by God”, “which is the basic biblical motif of Creation-Fall-Redemption in all its transformative potential.”
Christian Worldview and Transformation: Spirituality, Reason, and Social Order. Claudio Antonio Cardoso Leite, Guilherme Vileja Ribeiro de Carvalho, and Mauricio Jose Silva Cunha. Regnum Books International. Originally published as Cosmovisao Crista e Transformacao, paperback ISBN: 978-1-913363-13-0
