With the growing awareness of cultural diversity, evangelicals are beginning to realize that "growing up into Christ in all things" (Eph. 4:15) is a corporate enterprise. Due to involvement in mission and international travel, many Westerners are beginning to realize how much they have to learn from different cultural traditions. LEARNING ABOUT THEOLOGY FROM THE THIRD WORLD is designed to introduce western Christians to discussions about theology going on in the Third World. The assumption is that western thinking about theology has not taken third world perspectives into account, and the day has come for us to bring these brothers and sisters into our conversations about Christianity. For the churches in this part of the world are rapidly becoming a significant force in the world and their leaders are becoming increasingly articulate about their faith (and about distortions the feel missionaries have introduced!). It is Dyrness' thesis that if we approach these sometimes unsettling writings as learners rather than teachers, we will find our own perspectives significantly altered. The maturity of the whole church demands this kind of inter-change. After an introductory chapter on the nature and problems of contextualization, the book gives major overviews of the theology of Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Issues are presented in such a way as to show that each area of the world has developed a unique approach to theological issues, and that each perspective has something to contribute to the development of theology. To illustrate this a final chapter discusses Christology form this cross-cultural perspective and the conclusion sketches out ways in which both western and non-western traditions may interact to enrich theology.

Learning about Theology from the Third World

Dyrness, William A.

History

Zondervan

Invitation to Cross-Cultural Theology seeks to extend the study of theology to the way in which lay communities of Christians endeavor to shape their world by their faith. Using narratives of experiences with God as source material, Dyrness sets out to discover the framework, both explicit as well as implicit, that guides their lives as Christians. Testimonies are heard from five very different communities around the world. In the final chapter, the author discusses the various ways in which Christ and salvation are being addressed in these communities today.

Invitation to Cross-Cultural Theology

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Reformed Theology and Visual Culture: The Protestant Imagination from Calvin to Edwards

William Dyrness explores the roots of Reformed theology from sixteenth-century Geneva to seventeenth and eighteenth-century Puritan New England. Though this tradition impeded development of particular visual forms, Dyrness argues that it encouraged others, especially in areas of popular culture and the order of family and community. Exploring the theology of Calvin and others, Dyrness demonstrates how the tradition created a new aesthetic of simplicity, inwardness and order to express underlying theological commitments.

Cambridge University Press

How can art enhance and enrich the Christian faith? What is the basis for a relationship between the church and visual imagery? Can the art world and the Protestant church be reconciled? Is art idolatry and vanity, or can it be used to strengthen the church? Grounded in historical and biblical research, William Dyrness offers students and scholars an intriguing, substantive look into the relationship between the church and the world of art. Faith and art were not always discordant. According to Dyrness, Israel understood imagery and beauty as reflections of God's perfect order; likewise, early Christians used art to teach and inspire. However, the Protestant church abandoned visual arts and imagery during the Reformation in favor of the written word and has only recently begun to reexamine art's role in Christianity and worship. Dyrness affirms this renewal and argues that art, if reflecting the order and wholeness of the world God created, can and should play an important role in modern Christianity.

Visual Faith (Engaging Culture)

Arts & Photography

Religious

Baker Publishing Group

Global theology represents one of the most important trends in theology today. What does it mean to do theology in a global context? How can Christian theology be understood as a conversation between different parts of the world and various streams of Christian history? This concise introduction explores the major issues involved in rethinking theology in light of the explosion of world Christianity. Combining the voices of a Western and a non-Western theologian, it integrates Western theological tradition with emerging global perspectives. This work will be of interest to theology and missiology students as well as church leaders and readers interested in the changing face of world Christianity.

Theology without Borders: An Introduction to Global Conversations

Oscar Garcia-Johnson

Baker Academic

How Does America Hear the Gospel? [Paperback] [Oct 19, 1989] Dyrness, Mr. Wil...

How Does America Hear the Gospel?

World

Wm. B. Eerdmans-Lightning Source

"For all the declarations of advance and creativity made for contemporary worship," William Dyrness says, "the controversies that swirl around it are anything but new. And they call us to reflect on the sources of our inclinations in our current circumstances." / A respected scholar of theology and culture, Dyrness here explores where the church has been, theologically and historically speaking, and how that shapes ― and needs to shape ― where the church will go. He shows how both medieval worship and Reformation spirituality have continued to determine the development of Christian worship in both its Catholic and its Protestant forms. / Through accessible language, clear examples, and thoughtful questions for reflection and discussion, Dyrness makes a very vital conversation about worship available to a wide audience of pastors, worship leaders, and church members.

A Primer on Christian Worship: Where We've Been, Where We Are, Where We Can Go (The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies (CICW))

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Reveals the presence of God in the creative works of human life and culture What are the "poetics of everyday life"? What can they teach us about God? Art, music, dance, and writing can certainly be "poetic," but so can such diverse pastimes as fishing, skiing, or attending sports events. Any and all activities that satisfy our fundamental need for play, for celebration, and for ritual, says William Dyrness, are inherently poetic -- and in Poetic Theology he demonstrates that all such activities are places where God is active in the world. All of humanity's creative efforts, Dyrness points out, testify to our intrinsic longing for joy and delight and our deep desire to connect with others, with the created order, and especially with the Creator. This desire is rooted in the presence and calling of God in and through the good creation. With extensive reflection on aesthetics in spirituality, worship, and community development, Dyrness's Poetic Theology will be useful for all who seek fresh and powerful new ways to communicate the gospel in contemporary society.

Poetic Theology: God and the Poetics of Everyday Life

The world has changed much since earlier Western missionaries set sail across the seas. And as a new millennium dawns, even greater global and cultural changes are overtaking us. Yet missions has remained much the same. In Changing the Mind of Missions James F. Engle and William A. Dyrness offer a courageous analysis of the challenges facing North American and other Western Christian missions: 
<ul>
<li>How can we work within a world context that is shifting from modernity to postmodernity?</li>
<li>How can we reverse our assumption that missions means going from "here" to "there"?</li>
<li>How can we recapture the vitality and comprehensiveness of the gospel for the complex plight of today's world?</li>
<li>How can we reexamine our commitments to programs and strategies in light of the baseline fact that we are engaged in God's mission?</li>
</ul> Here is a book that is sure to spark conversation among missionaries, students of missions, mission leaders and church mission committees. It points a way forward with the goal of increasing the spread of the gospel by every means possible to every corner of our world.

Changing the Mind of Missions: Where Have We Gone Wrong?

Engel, James F.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Dyrness, William A.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Dyrness, William A.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Dyrness, William A.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Learning about Theology from the Third World

Invitation to Cross-Cultural Theology

Reformed Theology and Visual Culture: The Protestant Imagination from Calvin to Edwards

Reformed Theology and Visual Culture: The Protestant Imagination from Calvin to Edwards

Visual Faith (Engaging Culture)

Theology without Borders: An Introduction to Global Conversations

How Does America Hear the Gospel?

A Primer on Christian Worship: Where We've Been, Where We Are, Where We Can Go (The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Liturgical Studies (CICW))

Poetic Theology: God and the Poetics of Everyday Life

Changing the Mind of Missions: Where Have We Gone Wrong?