melanesian journal of theology

163 Pages·2017·0.99 MB·English

Vol29,No22013
MELANESIANJOURNAL
OF THEOLOGY
Towardsa TheologicalPerspectiveontheMysteryof
SufferingintheMidstofProsperity Theology
WithinthePentecostaland EvangelicalChurches
inPapuaNewGuinea,ParticularlyYangoru
MaxonMani
TheDeathofChristanditsMeaningforMelanesians
fromPaul’s LettertotheGalatians:
FromFeartoFreedom
GeorgeMombi
JournaloftheMelanesianAssociationofTheological Schools
Allissuesofthe MelanesianJournalofTheology areavailableonline,
inPDFformat,freeofcharge,
ontheChristian Leaders’ TrainingCollegewebsite– www.cltc.ac.pg –
andclickonthe“MelanesianJournalof Theology”panel.
Somebackissues are availableinprint.
Forthoseunableto accesstheinternet, a printed andstapledcopyofthe
MJT PDFfilecanbeprovided,for a nominalfeetocoverprinting and
mailingcosts. Pleasecontact CLTCatoneofthe addressesbelow.
Copyright©bytheMelanesianAssociationofTheological Schools.
ISSN0256-856XVolume29,Number22013.
ThisjournalisindexedintheATLA ReligionDatabase ®, a productofthe
AmericanTheologicalLibraryAssociation,300 S. WackerDr.,Suite2100,
ChicagoIL60606USA.Email: [email protected];http://www.atla.com.
Thisjournalis abstractedin Religiousand TheologicalAbstracts ,
121 South College Street(POBox215),Myerstown PA17067USA.
Email:[email protected];http://www.rtabstracts.org.
TheMelanesianJournalof Theology grantspermissionfor any articletobe
reproducedforeducationaluse, aslong asthematerialisdistributedfree,
andcreditisgiventothe MelanesianJournalof Theology.
ADDRESS:
MelanesianJournalof Theology
POBox382
MtHagenWHP
PapuaNewGuinea
Email:[email protected]
Phone:[phone]
1
MELANESIANJOURNAL OFTHEOLOGY
JournaloftheMelanesianAssociationof TheologicalSchools
The MelanesianJournalofTheology aimstostimulatethewritingof
theologyinMelanesia.Itisanorganfortheregulardiscussionof
theologicaltopicsatscholarlylevelbystaffandstudentsofthemember
schoolsoftheMelanesianAssociationofTheologicalSchools(MATS),
thoughcontributionsfromnon-members andnon-Melanesians arewelcome.
The MelanesianJournalofTheology iscommittedtothedialogueof
ChristianfaithwithinMelanesiancultures.TheEditorialTeamwill
considerforpublicationallmanuscriptsofscholarlystandardonmattersof
concerntoMelanesian Christians andofgeneraltheologicalinterest.
Theopinionsexpressedinthearticlesarethoseoftheauthorsanddonot
necessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheEditor,AssistantEditor,orthe
membercollegesofMATS.Allarticleshavebeeneditedtomeetthe
requirementsofthejournal.
Thejournalispublishedsemi-annually,normallyinAprilandOctober.
ArticlesmaybesubmittedtotheEditor at anytimeforconsideration.
Editor:DougHanson
ChristianLeaders’Training College
Assistant Editor:RobyneHobson
ChristianLeaders’Training College
Editorial Team:GaudiGabutu
MelanesianInstitute
JosesImona
SonomaAdventist College
GraemeHumble
PacificAdventistUniversity
William Longgar
ChristianLeaders’Training College
2
CONTENTS
Editorial.............................................................................................. 4
Towardsa TheologicalPerspectiveontheMysteryof Suffering
intheMidstofProsperity TheologyWithinthePentecostal
and EvangelicalChurchesinPapuaNewGuinea,
ParticularlyYangoru
MaxonMani.............................................................................. 5
TheDeathofChristanditsMeaningforMelanesiansfromPaul’s
LettertotheGalatians:FromFeartoFreedom
GeorgeMombi........................................................................... 79
3
MelanesianJournalofTheology 29-2 (2013)
EDITORIAL
ThechurchinMelanesiamirrorssomechallengesthattheglobalchurch
faces,butitalsoencounterschallengesuniquetoMelanesia.Thechallenges
addressedbythetwoarticlesinthisjournalareperhapsthemostimportant
issuesfacingthechurchinMelanesiantoday:prosperitytheologyand
spiritualforces.
Prosperitytheologyisaglobalphenomenon,butonethathastakendeep
rootsinMelanesia.MaxonMani,writingasaMelanesian,whogrewupin
theYangoruareaofPapuaNewGuinea,seekstofindtheappropriate
theologicalrelationshipbetweenprosperityandsufferingforhispeople.
RecognisingthatprosperitytheologyeasilytakesrootinMelanesiaculture,
becauseofitstraditionalbeliefs,heraisesthequestionastotheroleof
sufferingwithinscripture,and,consequently,theroleshoulditshouldplay
inthetheologyofprosperityamongtheYangoruan.Hechallengesbelievers
totake a hardlook atthetheologybywhichtheylive.
GeorgeMombi’sarticleemphasisesthedistinctivenessofthechurchin
Melanesiafromtheglobalchurch,but,atthesametime,showing
commonalitywiththoseplacesintheworldwhere“namelessforces”,such
asancestors,spirits,andsorceryarestillconsideredtoinfluencelife.
Identifyingthesenamelessforceswith (stoicheia)inGalatians,he
showsthatthebondage,Paulwasaddressing,alsofacesMelanesian
believerstoday,butitisabondagethatwasovercomebytheworkofChrist
onthecross.ByapplyingPaul’steachingtoMelanesians,George
challengesbelieverstotransformtheirworldviewintoonebasedonfreedom
in Christ, andnotonbondagetospiritualforces.
Thesearenotthefirstarticleswehavepublishedonthesetopics,norwill
theybelast.And,noteveryonewillagreewiththeconclusionsreachedby
theseauthors.However,wehopethat,asyougrapplewiththeissues,the
thoughtsoftheauthorswillhelpyougrowinyourunderstandingofwhat
God’sWordsaystoyourlife andyourculture.
DougHanson.
4
MelanesianJournalofTheology 29-2 (2013)
TOWARDS ATHEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
ON THE MYSTERY OF SUFFERING IN THE
MIDST OF PROSPERITY THEOLOGY WITHIN
THE PENTECOSTALAND EVANGELICAL
CHURCHES IN PAPUANEW GUINEA,
PARTICULARLYYANGORU
MaxonMani
MaxonManigraduatedfromthe Christian Leaders’ Training Collegein
2012withaMasterof Theologydegree.Maxonnowlecturesfull-timeat
CLTC.Hecanbereachedviaemailat [email protected].
PREFACE
Prosperitytheologyisinfluentialinthemissionalfronttoday.Ithasan
enormousimpactonthereligious,economic,andpoliticallifeofthepeople.
Thisstreamoftheologywasdevelopedinthe20thcentury,butits
philosophyisasoldaslifeitself.Asitcrossesculturalboundaries,ittakes
onandaccommodatestherecipientculturalstimulusaboutourlifehereand
now,in a pragmaticway.Mostofitsteachingsaresimplisticandone-sided,
andnormallymayresultinextremism.Itisateachingthatsaysasuffering-
freelifecanbeexperiencedhereandnow.Ontheotherhand,wehavealso
identifiedthatamajorityoffaithfulChristiansacrosstheglobeare
experiencingnumeroussufferings,becauseoftheirfaithinChrist.These
two-facetedtheologicalproblemsarepromotingthecurrenttheological
meleebetweenCharismatic/PentecostalandtheEvangelicalfactionsofthe
church.
However,inourdiscussionpertainingtothesetheologicaldivisions,and
theirtheologicalpresuppositions,wehavetriedtolistentobothsidesofthe
debate.Therefore,wehavesurveyedtheimpactofprosperitytheologyin
PapuaNewGuinea,particularlyinYangoru;whattheBiblesaysabout
5
MelanesianJournalofTheology 29-2 (2013)
prosperity,thetheologyofsuffering, and a questfortheologicalbalance,and
itsimplications.Wehave,therefore,concludedthat,fromabiblical
perspective,prosperityandsufferingbelongtogether.Theyshouldbe
understoodfromabiblicalcovenantalperspective.TheOTcovenantswere
relational, arelationshipofreciprocity,butsupersededinthecomingof
Christ.Thus,life,incommunionwithChrist,isafulllife.Eitherin
prosperityorsuffering,allshouldlivebyfaith,forGod’sglory.Therefore,
Christianfaithisrelational,andprosperityandsufferingbothbelongtothis
relationship.ItisafaiththatisfoundedonGod’swordalone,itcannotbe
shakenbyexternalcircumstances,itisimmoveable,evenwhenexternal
supportandevidences,likeprosperity,areremoved,anditstandswhenall
elsefails(Job13:15).Thus,thekeytosuchstrongfaithandintimacywith
God,andahealthierrelationshipwithoneanother,dependsonourclose
fellowshipwithGodin alloflife.
INTRODUCTION
ThousandsofChristiansacrosstheglobearebeingmadehomeless,stripped
oftheirdignity,aresuffering,andexperiencingpersecutionanddeathfor
theirfaith.Whyistheresufferingfor afaiththatpromisedfreedomforthe
prisoners,eyesightfortheblind, releasingoftheoppressed,goodnewstothe
poor,andtheyearoftheLord’sfavour(Luke4:18-19)?Iftheseverses
implylifeinitsfullness,whyistheresuffering?Whatisthebiblical
perspectiveonChristiansuffering?Ontheotherhand,manypastorsin
PapuaNewGuinea(PNG),particularlyinYangoru,arepreaching
prosperitytheology.ThisisatheologythatsaysthemoreyougivetoGod,
themoreyouwill receivefromGod;yousowmaterialpossessionsoncertain
Christianleaders,ortheorganisationstheylead,andyouwillreaparich
harvestofblessings;or,ifyoubecomeamemberofacertainChristian
organisation,andfollowitsspiritualprinciples,youwillbeblessed,
spirituallyandmaterially;orthemorespiritualyoubecome,themore
materialandspiritualblessingsyouwillreceivefromGod.DoesGod
alwaysbringphysicalandmaterialblessingstothefaithful?Isprosperity
theologytrulyscriptural?Isprosperityameasuringrodformeasuringone’s
spirituality?Isittheplumblinebywhichwemeasurewhoisandwhoisnot
aChristian?Isthereanyrelationshipbetweenprosperitytheologyandthe
6
MelanesianJournalofTheology 29-2 (2013)
theologyofsuffering?Wheredowedrawthelinebetweenprosperity
theology andthetheologyofsuffering? 1
Againstthisbackdrop,thisthesisexaminessomeoftheissuesassociated
withprosperitytheologyinPNG,particularlyChristiandiscipleshipin
Yangorutoday.Thus,thispaperarguesthatprosperitytheology,divorced
fromsuffering,isanthropocentric,andreflectsYangoruanpragmatism.It
challengesEvangelicaltheologiansnotonlytocritiquetheteachingof
prosperitytheologians,buttoexploretheworldviewsthatmaybe
influencingthisstrandofteaching–tobiblicallyevaluatetheseworldviews,
andtoconstructamore-theologically-balancedEvangelicaltheologyof
prosperityandsufferingasaproposedguidetoChristiansfortheirdaily
lives.
Therefore,inordertoexplore,evaluate,anddevelopabalancedtheologyof
suffering andprosperity,theissuewillbe addressedinthefollowingmanner.
Thefirstsection,onthe“ImpactofProsperityTheology”,willexplorethe
impactofprosperitytheologyinPNG,particularlyYangoru.Thesecond
section,onthe“BibleandProsperityTheology”,willelaborateontheBible
andprosperitytheology. PartAofthissectionwillwrestlewiththequestion
“Isprosperitytheologybiblical?”,whilepartBwillpointtowardsabiblical
theologyofprosperity.Then,inpartC,wewillmakeanevaluation.In
sectionthree,onthe“BiblicalTheologyofSuffering”,wewilllookatthe
cross-shapedcharacterofGod,thecross-shapedcharacterofGod’schurch,
andthecross-shapedcharacterofChristiandiscipleship.Sectionfour,on
the“QuestforTheologicalBalance”,isanattempttodevelopabalanced
theologicalviewofsuffering andprosperity.And,inthefinalsection,onthe
“Implications”,wewilllook atthetheologicalandmissiologicalimplications
thatmay ariseinourtheologisingofthisissue.
METHODOLOGY
Theschemasthatwillbeanalysedinthisstudywillincludeculture,
theology,andbiblicalparadigms.Theseschemaswillbeapplied,to
approachtheissue,enablingustoexploretheuniquesocial,economic,and
1 BongRinRo,“IntheMidstofSuffering,isProsperityTheologyScriptural?”,in
EvangelicalReviewofTheology 20-1 (1996),pp.3-4.
7
MelanesianJournalofTheology 29-2 (2013)
religiousspheresofthepeople.Thismeanswewillstudytheissuesintheir
naturalsettings,andmakesenseofthephenomena,intermsofthemeanings
peoplebringtothem.Then,wewillcriticallycontextualisethecultural
aspects,synthesisetheologicalandbiblicalteaching,andseekabalanced
viewoftheissue.Basically,itwillbeahistoricalandnarrativetheological
method,from a Yangoruanperspective.
LIMITATIONS
Thistheologicalissueisofhistoricalandglobalchurchconcern.Ithas
becomeatugofwarbetweenCharismatic,Pentecostal,andEvangelical
factionsofthechurch.Ithasbecomeproblematicforthechurchacrossthe
wholeworld,includingPNG.Itsimpactonchurchesordenominationsis
phenomenal.2 However,duetothelineofargumentselectedforthis
discussion,theauthorwishestoadvisethatthispaperwillbeculture-and
place-specificinitsthoughtandframe.Therefore,thisdiscussionwillbe
specificto PNG, and,inparticular,totheYangorupeople.
DuetothelimitationsofthewrittendocumentationofYangoruanmythical
andancestralheritage,mostofthecontributionsinthefirstsection,onthe
“ImpactofProsperityTheology”,willcomefromtheauthor. 3 Interviews
willnotbedone,becauseofdistance,andtheunavailabilityoffunds,but
relatedmaterialsfromotherpartsofPNG,and,especiallyEastSepik
Province,willbeselectedjustforthefirstsection.Moreover,thekeyword
inthedevelopmentofthispaperis “life”.Life,therefore,is,inprinciple,the
fundamentalbasisuponwhichallhumanontologies,epistemologies,and
methodologiesarecarvedout,toexplainorprotectindividualsandsocieties
2 Somekeyarticlesandbooksdealingwiththisproblematicissuecanbesourcedfrom
EvangelicalReviewofTheology 20-1(1996);RobertM.BowmanJr, TheWordFaith
Controversy,GrandRapidsMI:BakerBooks,2001;CraigL.Blomberg, NeitherPoverty
norRiches ,LeicesterUK:IVP,1999;andJohnF.MacArthurJr, CharismaticChaos ,
GrandRapidsMI:Zondervan,1992.
3 TheauthorofthispaperadvisesreadersofthisdocumentthatmostoftheYangoruan
storiesandmythologyhavebeenimpartedtotheauthorbytribalspecialists,inpreparation
fortheauthor’striballeadershipinthefuture.Therefore,theauthorhasthisprivilegeto
usethisknowledgeasatoolforrevisitingtheculturalbeliefsystems,inorderto
reinterpret themfromabiblicalperspective, inanendeavour todocontextual theology.
8
MelanesianJournalofTheology 29-2 (2013)
fromharmordanger.Thusthepresuppositionsattachedtotheconceptsof
suffering andprosperityshowthesignificanceoflife. 4
THEIMPACT OFPROSPERITYTHEOLOGYASIT AFFECTSTHE
NATION, PARTICULARLYTHE YANGORUANPEOPLE
Thecultureofanyhumansocietyisahistorically-andtraditionally-
fashionedshell,hardenedbytimeandexperience.Itbecomesashieldof
survival,andanavigatingcompass,inaworldofchaos.Itisdesignedto
protectlifefromtheonslaughtoftheravenousworldthatmayendangerit. 5
Thus,anynewsocio-political,orsocio-economic,orsocio-religiousvalues
willbe animposition.AsNarokobiobserved:
TheunderlyingnobilityofMelanesiansocieties,andtheirvalues,are
yettobeunderstood.Almosteverymodernofficial,whether
governmentorreligious,worksontheassumptionthatMelanesians
havenothingtoteachthem.Theresultisthateveryefforttodevelop,
everyefforttoeducate,everyefforttoChristianise,everyeffortto
democratise,is anexternalimposition. 6
Thisexplicitlymeansthat,nomatterwhatonemaybethinking,everynew
formofreligiousorseculardevelopmentisanimposition:churchministries,
churchrites,educationsystems,politicalsystems,judiciarysystems,and
economicsystems,andsoon. 7 Manyofthesesystemshaveattackedthe
solidMelanesianshell, andmade aninroadintotheintegrationofvalues.
Butisthisintegrationhealthyforthecountry,orforthechurchinPNG?
Thisissubjecttoinvestigation.Forinstance,oneprominentimpositionhas
beentheWesternliberalpoliticalculture,enforcedbythecolonisers,with
littleornoregardforthetraditionalstructures,whichembodyideas,beliefs,
andvalues.Afteryearsofindependence,wearewatchingtheresurgenceof
4 MaxonMani,“QuestforSalvationinPapuaNewGuinea:TheYangoruanPerspective”,
inMelanesianJournalofTheology 26-2 (2010),pp.69-70.
5 Ibid.,p.69.
6 BernardNarokobi, LifeandLeadershipinMelanesia ,SuvaFiji:UniversityofSouth
Pacific,1983,p.60.
7 Ibid.
9