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AnthropologistsandMissionaries1-28-2021.pptxCULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES— FRIENDS OR FOES?
Readings: Kottak, Mirror for Humanity, Ch. 1
Rynkiewich, Soul, Self and Society, Ch. 1
Kraft, “Why Anthropology for Cross-Cultural Witnesses?”
WHAT IS CULTURE?
A classic definition of culture from 19th-century British anthropologist Edward Tylor, cited by Conrad Kottak, is difficult to improve upon: “Culture…is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (Tylor, 1871—cited in Kottak, 19).
WHAT IS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY?
Conrad Kottak, author of Mirror for Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, gives us the following characterization of the broader science of anthropology:
“a comparative science that examines all societies, ancient and modern, simple and complex....[that] offers a unique cross-cultural perspective, constantly comparing the customs of one society with those of others (Kottak, 1).
WHAT IS CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY?
What about our particular subject, Cultural Anthropology? It is one of four subfields of the broader field of Anthropology, alongside Biological Anthropology, Linguistics, and Archaeology
Kottak describes Cultural Anthropology as a science that focuses specifically on all aspects of culture.
ANTHROPOLOGY AND THE COLONIAL ERA
Kottak mentions that the discipline of Anthropology came into being in the latter part of the 19th century, primarily as a result of the extensive contact that European powers had had with the inhabitants of regions in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America — first through exploration and eventually through the often brutal and oppressive process of colonization.
ORIGINS OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
People of European heritage were encountering and interacting with beings in these regions who were quite different from them, in terms of skin pigmentation, facial features, languages, and customs.
Many Europeans questioned whether these beings who were so different from them were even human, leading to extensive debates, even of a religious nature.
Eventually, the position that these were actually human beings prevailed. This prompted those of European heritage to set out to research and analyze all the differences, giving rise to the subdiscipline of Cultural Anthropology.
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS—A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
In a 2018 article entitled “Missionaries and Anthropologists,” anthropologist Edwin Zainer points out that, at the onset of the discipline of Anthropology in the late 19th century, anthropologists relied heavily on missionary accounts and notes as data sources for various cultures around the world (Zainer, “Missionaries and Anthropologists,” The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology (2018)).
In recent decades, the relationship has largely been inverted.
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS— A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
Eminent Christian anthropologists Charles Kraft and Paul Hiebert frankly acknowledge the existence of longstanding tensions between Christianity and anthropology, with the latter’s “anti-Christian reputation” (Kraft, 2).
Non-Christian anthropologists have often accused missionaries of disrupting indigenous cultures and pressuring them to change their beliefs.
Christians should be aware of pervasive, overarching evolutionary presuppositions in the field of anthropology that have both biological and cultural ramifications. (Examples in Kottak’s first chapter?)
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS— A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
However, both Kraft and Hiebert affirm that Christians can derive considerable benefits from the study of anthropology, particularly related to the area of missions. Kraft argues that anthropology’s basic inclination toward nonwestern cultures makes it an ideal field of study to help prepare missionaries to “go into all the world” (Kraft, 3).
Kraft also sees anthropology helping westernized internationals gain a valuable perspective concerning their own cultures (Kraft, 3).
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN MISSIONS— A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP
Anthropology’s cross-cultural perspective helps lessen Christians’ innate ethnocentrism, thereby helping them become “all things to all persons” (1 Corinthians 9:19-22) (Kraft 7, 9).
a. A fresh perspective on our own culture
b. Deeper insight into the cultures of others
c. Greater appreciation for the cross-cultural aspect of biblical interpretation
d. An enhanced capacity to communicate the Bible in a more meaningful way to people from cultures other than our own
e. “We are seeking learn how to be as open to cultural differences as God is” (Kraft, 2)
