Interpreting Contextualization

Last updated on: January 12, 2022 at 4:24 am By Brad Vaughn

What is “contextualization”? It is one of the most popular buzzwords in evangelicalism today. When a person hears a word enough times, it’s easy to assume that one understands its meaning. However, what happens when we assume this? For some, prejudices are reinforced without good reason. For others, the concept is oversimplified. Thus, people give little effort towards solving the challenging problems surrounding contextualization. In Saving God’s Face, I suggest that evangelicals have largely assumed a particular view of “contextualization”... Read more

Does Biblical Infallibility Allow Us to Assume the Gospel?

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 2:55 am By Brad Vaughn

How do fallible people contextualize God’s infallible word? To put it more sharply, does it matter that the Bible is infallible if fallen sinners are interpreting and applying it? Yes. It does. (This is week 1 of the book giveway. I’m giving away free Kindle books every week. Click here to enter the giveway. For the next 4 weeks, I’m writing about the topics covered in the four major sections of my book, Saving God’s Face: A Chinese Contextualization of... Read more

Week 1 of Book Giveaway

Last updated on: August 13, 2015 at 4:13 am By Brad Vaughn

This is week 1 of the book giveaway. Each of the next four weeks, I’ll discuss a different theme that follows the major sections of my new book Saving God’s Face: A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame. This week, someone will get 3 kindle books. Contextualization in the New Testament Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes A Theological Analysis of Insider Movements Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to a Christian Worldview Transforming Worldviews At the end of... Read more

Who Should Read "Saving God's Face"?

Last updated on: May 16, 2013 at 8:22 am By Brad Vaughn

Is “Saving God’s Face” a book that only “scholars” will understand? No. That doesn’t mean everyone will understand every argument being made. What it does mean is that there is a substantial amount of material that I think anyone could benefit from. Although the book was originally defended as a dissertation, there are definite reasons it is not merely for “scholars.” I’ll mention two. (By the way, next week, I begin a four-week series that includes my giving away a... Read more

Missiology or Theology? Crossing Academic Cultures for the Sake of the Nations

Last updated on: May 15, 2013 at 8:10 am By Brad Vaughn

In order to reach the nations, we will have to cross cultures academically. What God has joined together . . . At some point in the past, missiology and theology, as split as academic disciplines. If you examine the literature, it would seem there is a great chasm that few can ever cross. At times, theologians will write on missiology (e.g. Andreas Köstenberger, Peter O’Brien, Christopher Wright). Rarely does it work the other way. This is not surprising. Seminaries tend... Read more

The Dangers of Being an Evangelical Missiologist

Last updated on: August 14, 2015 at 10:58 pm By Brad Vaughn

I once had a good friend jokingly say, “I can’t tell if you are a liberal or a fundamentalist.” I think that is one of the nicest things someone could say to an evangelical. The Protestant Reformation happened in part due to Catholics’ overemphasis on tradition, which had come to trump Scripture as the church’s functional authority. However, we are not for that reason immune to the same tendency. This is one way some denominations sustain their existence. Everyone within... Read more

God’s Attributes Are Not Unique to Him

Last updated on: August 15, 2015 at 9:20 am By Brad Vaughn

In some ways, one might say the one true God is no different from false gods. In a recent article, translated on Chinese Church Voices, a Xinjiang pastor writes on the topic of discerning true and false gods. He specifically seeks to help churches wrestling with cults like Eastern Lightening. Accordingly, the pastor suggests one focus on the essential attributes of God. He mentions the following: 1. God is spirit. He not only has life but also person-hood. 2. God... Read more

The Personal History behind "Saving God's Face"

Last updated on: May 8, 2013 at 8:25 am By Brad Vaughn

What is the personal history behind my book, Saving God’s Face? Why did I write this book? Years ago, I had a startling realization. Theologians and pastors have long taught on the glory of God and its central importance in the Bible. However, because I was living in East Asia, it also dawned on me that this sort of talk about God’s glory, praising him, and magnifying his name was simply another way of talking about honor and shame. When... Read more

I'm Giving Away Free Books!

Last updated on: May 7, 2013 at 8:25 am By Brad Vaughn

In order to introduce my new book, I’m going to give away all kinds of Kindle books (besides my own). This is how it will work. In two weeks, I’ll start a four-week series introducing the major themes of the book. Each week, I’ll discuss a different theme that follows the major sections of my new book Saving God’s Face: A Chinese Contextualization of Salvation through Honor and Shame. Each week, I’ll pick a winner at random and give away... Read more

Introducing My New Book, Saving God's Face

Last updated on: May 2, 2013 at 8:29 pm By Brad Vaughn