Wonderful New Book on the Contextualization of the Gospel

Andrew Prince

The Contextualization of the Gospel: An Evangelical in Light of Scripture and the Church Fathers
ACTh Monographs
Eugnene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2017
Available on Amazon.com

My friend and former colleague, Dr. Andrew Prince (Brisbane School of Theology) has just published his PhD thesis which is a comparison of the Book of Acts and John Chrysostom on contextualization of the gospel.

Here’s the blurb:

There has been heightened interest and prolific publication by missiologists about contextualization since the term was first coined in 1972. There has been on going debate, particularly amongst evangelicals themselves regarding which of these meanings, methods, and models of contextualization are acceptable to use. Much of the debate has been carried out by academics and practitioners whose observations and conclusions have been largely shaped by the social sciences and practical theology. In contrast, the disciplines of biblical studies and Christian thought have not featured significantly in the debate. The purpose of this research is to establish that biblical studies and Christian thought in general (and Scripture and the church fathers in particular) have an essential contribution to make in the contextualization debate and should form part of an evangelical approach to contextualization of the gospel alongside the social sciences and practical theology. Following a review of the literature on contextualization over the past forty years, the research examines the book of Acts as representative of Scripture, and the work of John Chrysostom as a representative church father. Contextual principles that are consistent with an evangelical approach to contextualization of the gospel are drawn from each work, establishing the value of biblical studies and Christian thought in contextualization.

So if you’ve ever wondered what is contextualization, where does contextualization end and syncretism begin, how does the gospel transcend culture, or if you are into missional hermeneutics, then you’ll benefit from this book!