ABF Flashcards
(43 cards)
Bailey, Kenneth E. 1983. Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co.
CLAT 1, 4
Themes: exegesis; contextualization; OVA analysis
[Contextualization] “But in the case of parables, their theology is expressed in stories about particular people who lived in a given cultural setting at a specific time in history” (27). Therefore, we must study the Biblical context of how parables were used and what they meant in that time to understand them.
Literary structure may:
- Identify the climactic center
- Show how the author is relating the center to the outside
- Make clear the turning point of the passage and alert the reader to look for a significant shift of emphasis in the second half
- Provide a crucial key to understanding by enabling the reader to see what words, phrases, or sentences are matched with what other words, phrases, or sentences in the structure
- Demonstrate where newer material has been fitted into an older piece of literature
Luke has several parables and poems. In exegesis of Luke, the poetic structures should be taken into account and analyzed.
Baldwin, Ruth. 2000. “Results-Based Management: The Basics: Definitions and Approach.” C.A.C. International.
CLAT 2, 4, 6, 7
Themes: research process
RBM = results-based management
CLAT 2: with a foundational knowledge of the community and its arts under his belt, an arts advocate dialogues with various members of the community about their strengths, weaknesses, and hopes for better lives. Often, it helps to use a participatory method such as Results-Based Management (Baldwin 2000), Appreciative Inquiry, or Stakeholder Analysis, along with physical materials and writing, in order to structure and document this conversation. After thorough discussions of these elements, the arts advocate asks the community to decide which of these strengths, weaknesses, or hopes is the most important for them right now, or which one they would like to focus on for the CLAT process. This step gives the entire process a “Kingdom Goal,” the main aim of the cocreation project.
This approach asks participants to: IDMR (Identify, Design, Monitor, Report)
- Identify specific, measurable changes that the project/program will achieve during the time it operates; (CLAT 2)
a. Make realistic result goals based on:
i. time and resources available
ii. number of groups that will take part, their needs and interests
iii. conditions in which the project/program will operate. - Design activities that will lead to the changes (results) that you want to achieve; (CLAT 4)
- Monitor activities regularly and adjust them as needed to ensure that the project/program will achieve the desired results; (CLAT 6)
- Report on the results achieved by the project/program and the lessons your organization learned in carrying it out. (CLAT 7)
Bohannan, Laura. 2012. “Shakespeare in the Bush” In Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology. Boston: Little Brown and Company.
CLAT 1, 4
Themes: cultural beliefs/worldview (learn about the emic perspective)
- Reading Hamlet while in African village
- Wasn’t able to have serious conversation with villages because of their parties every day
- They were interested in the genealogy of Hamlet and wanted to know if Hamlet’s father and uncle had the same mother
- They questioned with their worldviews of not believing ghosts and believing someone only gets mad when there’s witchcraft
- “We, who are elders, will instruct you in their true meaning, so that when you return to your own land your elders will see that you have not been sitting in the bush, but among those who know things and who have taught you wisdom”
- Both the author and the African village thought Hamlet was a good story….but for very different reasons
Brown, Rick. 2002. “Selecting and Using Scripture Portions Effectively in Frontier Missions.” International Journal of Frontier Missions, 19(2): 10-25.
CLAT 1, 2, 5
Themes: OVA analysis for storytelling; spiritual needs; bridges and barriers; core stories
“the first principle of communication is to be receptor-oriented. As a prerequisite one needs to know the audience. What are their fears, their desires, their needs? What are their ultimate questions and concerns?”
2 strategic Qs:
1) what Scripture portions are needed for sufficient addressing of spiritual needs that will motivate community to use them for spiritual growth?
2) What media motivates members of community to use them for spiritual growth?
Core stories – address all the bridges and barriers without too much repetition
How does Brown feel Bible story tellers should choose their media?
o Biblical worldview
o Door Openers (connects with people)
o Barrier (doesn’t fit into their worldview)
o Appropriate format/match cultural patterns of communication (e.g. Luke good for oral communicators with having settings of what’s happening and Mark good for 10/40 window with questions that lead you to who Jesus is.)
o Relevancy to needs
o BOTH OT and NT
o Unbelievers can be reached through mass media
o Fit stage of where they’re at
Colgate, Jack. 2008. “Part 1: Relational Bible Storying and Scripture Use in Oral Muslim Contexts.” IJFM Missions 25(3): 135-142.
CLAT 1, 3, 5
Themes: OVA storytelling; Muslim context
3 aspects: o sharing our story o drawing out their story o sharing God’s story • Author did this with Muslim name Jafar.
Corbitt, J. Nathan and Vivian Nix-Early. 2003. Taking it to the Streets: Using the Arts to Transform Your Community. Grand Rapids: Baker Books.
CLAT 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7
Themes: redemption; justice; emotions; community; method/model
A.R.T. Model
o Stage 1: Critical awareness – aware of problem/issue (CLAT 2)
People have to have a will to change [ownership]
o Stage 2: [Community]Working Out – community attempts to work out problem through a variety of strategies (CLAT 3-5)
Collaboration with other groups can be helpful
o Stage 3: Celebration – solidify the new state and celebrate completion (CLAT 7)
Often have special celebration event
Assess progress to continue cycle for more transformation and change
Publicly recognizing accomplishments.
o Process continues (CLAT 7)
Arts can bring about transformation and renewal. Art can be used for redemptive work to contribute to a better world. Arts can be used as a voice for justice [TH readings], a call to redemption economic development, education, etc.
“The expressive arts are vital characteristics of culture, and our emotional attachment to them and cultural beliefs about them can often become barriers to cross-cultural competence and flexibility” (69).
A black Jesus being crucified was painted in South African and hung up in the church to address racial equality and justice. This led to awareness of injustice, a working out of political transformation, and celebration of how the painting was used as a memory of this past transformation in society of working out justice and racial equality (71-72).
“Art has power to translate emotions and intellect into form” (75).
CLAT 1: Community is defined as having clear boundaries, sense of belong/shared values/common interest, and a sense of connectedness/interdependence/acting together around common interests and goals (168).
Dooley, Robert A. and Stephen H. Levinsohn. 2001. Analyzing Discourse: A Manual of Basic Concepts. Dallas: SIL International.
(Also EFA)
CLAT 1, 4
Themes: OVA analysis; orality
genre is culture-specific. Genres have characteristic purposes or functions within culture.
Communicative intent = purpose of underlying text.
Contingent temporal succession = most events are dependent of previous events
Agent orientation = whether discourse is caused by agent doing event
Oral vs Written in SAME GENRE – have variations
Oral has:
- more frequency of repetition
- more deviations from default or unmarked orders (have intonation contours and pauses are used to signal boundaries)
- less organization and less concise than written (oral has more intrusions and extra explanations
- less time to think of perfect words), more paralinguistic signal (pitch, pause, tempo, voice quality, body language, etc).
Dye, Wayne. 2002. “The Eight Conditions of Scripture Engagement: Social and Cultural Factors Necessary for Vernacular Bible Translation to Achieve Maximum Effect.” IJFM, 26(2): 89-98.
(Also AA)
CLAT 2 mainly
Themes: SE
- Approp. Lang, Translation, Dialect, Orthography
- Acceptable translation
- Accessible Forms
- Background Knowledge
- Availability / Distribution
- Spiritual Hunger
- Freedom to Commit to Christ
- Partnerships
Fortunato, Frank, Paul Neeley, and Carol Brinneman. 2006. All the World is Singing: Glorifying God through the Worship Music of the Nations. Tyrone: Authentic Books.
CLAT 3, 7
Themes: using local arts testimony
Burkina Faso Testimony:
- People used to play music and dance under the moon.
- Many of the people, especially the older folks, didn’t understand the ‘foreign’ songs/French hymns and the literacy programs weren’t as helpful for them.
- Music workshops with different language group helped them learn to make Scripture songs using their own song styles set to traditional music.
- When they sing songs in their own styles even the old people would come to church.
- It helped them understand that God is alive.
- Elderly reached through music.
- The people say the music in their own styles deeply touches their hearts.
- The songs brought many people to Christ and the chief and elders even started dancing along and wanted to listen to the music all night long.
Franklin, Karl. 2005. “Re-thinking Stories.” IJFM, 22(1): 6-12.
CLAT 4, 5, 6
Themes: OVA analysis
expect stories to have a main idea or argument, even if we don’t believe all the details about them (e.g. that animals can talk) but we believe every part has a purpose.
In the stories in the Bible some of the parts are symbolic.
To be a good story it needs to build on some experience familiar to the hearer. [Wendell 1982 – levels of literacy; Krashen 1988 i+1] Good stories start with pictures and sound natural for that community.
“necessary ingredients of a story: (MISS MAE) o main point o imagination o style o space-time orientation o motivation o all involving characters o events
Jesus always had a [main] point to make, most often centering on the importance of the kingdom of God and its relationship to individuals. He was motivated to tell this story because he had been sent to the earth to do so by the Father. But he used his imagination and the cultural artifacts at his disposal to tell the stories so that they were convincing. His style was persuasive; it was a story of utmost importance and worth listening to. In fact it was to the peril of the listeners if they did not take heed to the story and change their ways
Things to look at for telling a good story:
o What cultural knowledge and experiences are assumed in these stories?
o What techniques do storytellers in the culture use?
o What non-verbals (gestures, pauses, loudness or softness of voice, etc.) do good storytellers in the culture use?
o What things in the story might get the listener or reader sidetracked from the main idea, and how might this mistake be avoided?
o What props or other materials might make the story more effective?
o Can the story be adapted as a poem, or song, or dramatization? Would this type of presentation have a more meaningful impact on the listener?
Hiebert, Paul G. 1985. Anthropological Insights for Missionaries. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
CLAT 1, 5
Themes: contextualization; drama; symbols; relationships; emic vs etic
CLAT 1: learning about people’s “historical and cultural contexts” is the foundation for sharing the gospel effectively and that “[h]uman behavior and products are not independent parts of a culture; they are closely linked to the ideas, feelings, and values that lie within its people”
A case where syncretism happened due to Hindu beliefs being brought into church through their drama.
We can learn about the contemporary scene in a culture through anthropology, sociology, history, and other social sciences.
Anthropology can help us (by):
- understand cross-cultural situation – like analyzing Christmas drama and helping culture distinguish between what things go together and what doesn’t e.g. Santa and Jesus don’t belong in the same Christmas scene
- provide insights into specific mission tasks e.g. BT. How they learned languages, grammar, etc of new culture.
- understand the processes of conversion, like social change that occurs. People are social beings and social atmosphere impacts people.
- make the Gospel relevant by providing historical and cultural settings of environment.
- relate to people all around the world and build bridges between the culture diversities. The Gospel breaks down barriers between people.
A Stratigraphic Approach to Human Beings Theological Models Anthropological Models Sociological Models Psychological Models Biological Models Physical Models This is part of an integrated approach to studying humans
3 dimensions of culture
o Cognitive dimension (knowledge, logic and wisdom)
o Affective dimension (feelings and aesthetics)
o Evaluative dimension (values, and allegiances)
Manifestations of culture
o Behavior – how people are taught to behave
o Products – the material objects of the culture
Symbol systems
o Human behaviors and products are linked to ideas, feelings, and values.
- “This association of a specific meaning, emotion, or value with a certain behavior or cultural product is called a symbol”.
- Symbols can be speech, writing, traffic signs, money, sounds, smells, etc.
- Forms and meaning [Harris 2007] can be closely tied and in some instances be so closely linked that they cannot be differentiated.
- Symbols are used in specific ways like patterns and in systems. E.g. In US forks are tied to food.
There are core traits (worldview) such as beliefs (cognitive), feelings (affective) and values (evaluative) that hold a culture together. This impacts religion, law, politics, aesthetics, technology, economics, social organization, etc.
The Gospel and Culture
o Must be distinguished from all human cultures
o The Gospel is distinct from human cultures but must be expressed in cultural forms
o Gospel calls all cultures to change
Cultures see the world in different ways. The use of time varies of what’s expected. Foreigners go through culture shock because of differences in language, routines, relationships, loss of understanding, and emotional and evaluative disorientation. In adapting to a new culture: recognize anxieties, learn about the new culture, build trust, and deal with stress.
“emic” vs “etic” views. Deal with ethnocentrism.
How a culture classifies things is different including living and non-living things, supernatural and natural, and creator and creation. Meaning of things are not the same across cultures.
If you don’t do critical contextualization: Denial of the old leads to either the Gospel is Foreign and it is rejected or the old goes underground which is syncretism. Uncritical acceptance of the old leads to syncretism.
Value of human relationships for missionary task. Not all relationships are effective in communicating Gospel but relationships are needed. Such as status and role relationships can be helpful.
Hiebert, Paul, Daniel Shaw, and Tite Tiénou. 1999. Understanding Folk Religion. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
(Also AA)
CLAT 1
Themes: contextualization; don’t reject
Split level Christianity = Christian at church but in daily lives still visit shaman and turn to other non-Christian spiritual solutions for their problems.
o Do they believe God can meet their needs?
Westerners thought they were superior because of the Enlightenment era, where science and civilization were emphasized. Missionaries thought they needed to bring their civilization to other cultures and that they were primitive.
There was distinction between natural and spiritual world and missionaries left no room for the spirits and superstitions other cultures believed, so they were continued without letting the missionaries know. They added Christian practices on top of their traditional ones.
Missionaries brought science and gospel at same time – science accepted and gospel in a lot of places was rejected.
Must learn the culture and views of the culture first.
God –> Humans; Message –> languages; Messenger –> Other cultures
Test old ways and compare them to Scripture truths.
Answer is critical contextualization [similar to Malone 2018, West 2013, Moon 2009]
Hiebert’s 4 steps of Critical Contextualization
- Gather Info: from with locals about the forms and their current meanings and their functions in local culture
- Study biblical teachings: and principles with local people that relate to the forms in question
- Evaluate: with local people the meanings of local forms in light of the related biblical teaching
- Encourage local people: to make own decision to accept, alter, or reject forms (create contextualized form)
Kindberg, Eric. 1996. “‘We are going to have a BIG songbook’: Music, Scripture Use And Literacy in Mexico.” Ethnodoxology, 1(3) :6–7.
CLAT 5
Themes: using local arts testimony; workshops
Sierra Popoluca people of eastern Mexico
– their music had been lost and they only had Spanish hymns. One man said he dreamed of them making songs in their own language. So, Juanita (MK) held a song writing workshop. They people loved it and soon writing their own songs became easy and they much preferred it than translating songs. They held five song writing workshops.
Kindell, Gloria. 1996. “Ethnopoetics: Finding Poetry.” Notes on Literature in Use and Language Programs, 50:31–46.
CLAT 1, 4
Themes: OVA analysis for poetry; emotions; culture meanings
Ethnopetics = analysis and understanding of verbal arts of other cultures
o “What makes a verbal message a work of art?”
There is a range and combination of stylistic elements:
o heightened language
o metaphorical expression
o musical form or accompaniment
o structural repetitiveness
- like the recurrence of stanzas, lines, or refrains
o prosodic features
- like meter, alliteration, and parallelism.
A poem is set apart from everyday life and language through:
o context and setting of the performance
o mode of delivery
o audience’s action
o musical attributes, or musical “setting”
The piece is locally classified as “poetry,” an important but complex factor, since:
o the distinction between prose and poetry is relative, often blurred
o some languages have no generic term for poetry, only specific types
o the mode of delivery, social function, or setting can be the criteria
“ethnopoetics is useful. Knowing the features and functions of “good literature” in a particular society forms the basis for the choice and use of speech genres for translation, literacy, and all printed and nonprint media”
Can’t be abstracted from social setting. There’s implicit cultural knowledge needed to understand the underlying meanings of poetry. Characteristics of poetry vary in different cultures (such as rhyme, rhythm, meter, so they need to be analyzed differently than Western poetry). Increase imagery, symbolic language, and repetition is common around the world in poetry.
o [Implicit/Explicit info - Sundersingh 2001; Longacre 2012]
Look at analysis of performance and expressive features of performance.
“The 3 main means of performing oral poetry are:
1) singing,
2) chanting, and
3) speaking”
Some cultures use instruments, like drums, to communicate some types poetry (e.g. drum poetry)
Poetry expression can:
o Enhancing understanding
o Evoking emotions that lead to action
o Providing for better short- and long-term retention
o Facilitating message transmission to others
King, Roberta R. 1999. A Time to Sing: A Manual for the African Church. Nairobi: Evangel Publishing House.
CLAT 4, 5, 6, 7
Themes: music analysis; workshops
CLAT 7: After a music creation workshop seminar, a people group in Cote d’Ivoire used one of the newly composed songs after the church sermon. The naturalness of the song made it easy for people to just begin singing it without it needing to be taught. The people responded spontaneously and they walked away singing it (57).
CLAT 4: In creating new songs, there are 3 ingredients:
(Message, Music, Movement -MMM)
1) Message – a verbal text
- What language?
- What message?
- Are the words and imagery understood by people?
- Does it need many words?
- Do the words relate to the music?
- How does the music help or hinder the understanding of the message?
- Watch for how tones impact the song
2) Music – structured musical sound
- Melody, Rhythm, Harmony, Form, Instruments, Performance practices (e.g. clapping), Tempo, Tone Quality
3) Movement – stylized physical actions
- When a song wasn’t working well one time someone suggested they started clapping and one of the singers responded “Yes, very often the song is hidden in the clapping patterns of the hands” (84).
CLAT 5 and 6: 15 steps of composing new songs
1) Decide on goal for making a song
2) Pray and ask God for inspiration
3) Begin working with text/message
4) Make the text of the opening
5) Beginning singing the opening (e.g. call of call and response)
6) Harvest the new songs
7) Pray and encourage each singer as they begin to sing their new song
8) Sing and record new songs
9) At first have only positive comments
10) Gently begin critiquing songs
Build trust first in group
Keep focus on making song for God’s glory, allow people to experiment, let songs start small, develop biblical philosophy for critiquing song (like how we’re here to build and encourage each other and recognize everyone is made in image of God)
11) Practice singing new song as group
12) Allow time for song to develop
13) At later meeting sing new song with further critique based on goals of song
14) Sing new songs and add clapping, instruments and dance
15) Prepare song for recording
King, Roberta. 2008. Music in the Life of the African Church. Waco: Baylor University Press.
CLAT 1, 2, 4
Themes: contextualization; don’t reject; music analysis
The 4 Arena Approach (Venn Diagram of 4 circles):
1) Missional Context (World)
- cultural setting of ministry
- what questions need to be asked about the context?
- includes how music is defined for each cultural group, what a groups involvement with music is, how music is used and how it functions, and what it means within its context.
2) Biblical Text (Word)
- Meaningful and truthful communication of the Gospel. Look at how the church interacts with Scripture and how theology is done in musical contexts.
3) Personal Pilgrimage (Relational Dimension)
- The study of people making music. Looking and reflecting on the critical qualities and skill sets of musicians and their influential roles.
4) Faith Community (Church)
- How music makes Christ known and worshiped. Music plays critical roles in worship, witness, spiritual formation, and leadership. Looks at contextualizing music and worship and liturgy.
Missionaries brought their Western hymns and instruments. “When the white people hear it they think it is African, and when we hear it we think it is European”
5 key patterns of musical orality that facilitate meaningful interaction with Scripture:
- Call-and-response form
- Participation
- Communal orientation (group-oriented)
- Repetition
- Aggregative development of the text (content develops over longer period of musical performance – every other phrase may be repeated e.g. His love endures forever)
Klem, Herbert. 1982. Oral Communication of the Scripture: Insights From African Oral Art. Pasadena: William Carey Library.
CLAT 1, 2, 3, 4
Themes: orality; identity; OVA analysis
Oral communication still prominent in traditional African societies, both rural and urban. Resistance to literacy could be conscious or unconscious. Part of it can be due to the ethnic cohesion and identity they have in it.
- “The survival of the memorized and informal oral arts is therefore vital to the survival of the group identity”
Oral arts are a system for: - preserving traditions - rewarding group loyalty - expressing communal pride - spreading news - gaining social approval - enjoying a good time with friend” (knowing what the art forms are used for)
Africans have a high view of words and their power of speaking words.
- hesitant to tell strangers their real names since it can give power to exercise some degree of authority over the thing named.
- use euphemism for death and dangerous diseases for fear that naming them will bring them into reality.
- This leads them to have great interest in blessings
Arts are used with the Yoruba people when people gather to celebrate accomplishments. The focus on the gathering is on poets.
“Categories of our culture are not parallel to most African approaches to classifying”
In Yoruba oral arts are classified more by style of voice production, rhythm, or particular deity or social grouping of whom a style is associated with. (CLAT 1)
CLAT 4:
In African contexts:
- drumming indicates start of performance
- interaction with audience (audience may provide some of singing, get up and dance, and more around)
- rude to let someone perform to a “void of silence”
- polite to shout or respond with “Amen”s
- performances are free, active, and long
- commonly repetition and old, often repeated stories are seen to be good, while new ones are unreliable or dangerous.
- flexibility and artistic creativity
- may be told slightly differently each time
- ideophones (VROOOOM)
- metaphors
- poetic imagery
- tone is different for speaking vs singing (translation from western hymns does not work)
Konkomba team. 2002. “Konkomba - Faith Comes By Hearing Project - What We Have Learned Team Report.” Scripture in Use Today, 5:15-21.
CLAT 3
Themes: memory; orality; drama; identity
Ghana - NT cassette tapes helped:
- people realize they could not continue to practice their traditional religion and be Christian.
- learn that Jesus would protect them from their fears of stopping their traditional religion.
- people learn to quote Scripture by the chapt and knew what each chapter’s main points were about.
- them believe what their pastors preached about was true.
- motivated them to become literate
- helped give them tool for evangelism
In oral cultures religion is transmitted orally so it fits their culture. Audio Dramas also worked well for this culture. It helps them become part of the story.
• Hearing Scripture in their mother tongue they were surprised that:
o Jesus speaks Konkomba
o Jesus addresses them directly
o Jesus does not need a translator to talk to them and they do not need a translator to talk to Him: Jesus is Konkomba!
o The pastors and leaders were not making things up but the stories they were telling them were really in the Bible
Krabill, James R. 2008. “Chapter 4: Encounters: what Happens to Music when People Meet.” In Music in the Life of the African Church. Waco: Baylor University Press.
CLAT 5
Themes: music development; don’t reject; using local arts testimony
6 Stage of Music Development for African communities:
(I A A I I I)
1) Importation
Tunes, texts, and rhythms all from Western missionary
2) Adaptation
May have some African elements like adding in drums, rattles, or other local instruments.
3) Alteration
Either the tune, text, or rhythm is dramatically changed to be African
4) Imitation
Tunes, texts, and rhythms are locally composed but in a style inspired or replicated from a Western musical genre
5) Indigenization - preferred
Tunes, texts, and rhythms are all locally produced in indigenous forms and styles
6) Internationalization - preferred
“tunes, texts, and rhythms from the global faith family beyond the West and one’s own local context become incorporated into the life and worship of the church” (75). [multi-cultural worship]
Congolese church choir tour in US. There’s this quote about how an African director about to perform with Africans their music, told the crowd and said when they get to heaven then everyone will take a vote on what kind of music they’re going to sing, and with the church growth of the global South, they all know who’s going to win. So, the people better get used to singing their kind of music.
Longacre, Robert E., and Shina Ja J. Hwang. 2012. Holistic Discourse Analysis. Dallas: SIL International.
(Also EFA)
CLAT 4
Themes: OVA analysis
Discourse analysis looks at:
- word order
- verb forms
- participant reference (noun phrases, nouns, pronouns, and person endings on verbs)
- definite/indefinite articles
- temporal and location expression
- adverbial clauses
- sequence signal and conjunctions
- mystery particles (occur in text but speakers can’t easily gloss)
- length of syntactic units
Discourse analysis in necessary for doing natural translation and making good literacy materials. This helps miscommunications from happening.
Things to look for how they impact discourse:
o Verbs
o Nouns and pronouns
o How verbs and nouns/pronouns interplay with each other in the ongoing structure
o Various kinds of cohesion and coherence that hold it together
- Cohesion = explicit linkage found in text
- Coherence = has to do with lexical associations and is more implicit
o How it builds to one or more peaks/climaxes
o How all this determines precisely what part each sentence plays in the fabric of the whole
o How all this constrains how we may interpret discourse
“Discourse analysis rejects the assumption that variety simply occurs for variety’s sake. The counter assumption is that variation in form is a choice made by the speaker or writer with a certain end in view” (15). It’s assumed that the parts as a whole in living interplay with each other.
Need identification of text and the text type that it belongs to. Two parameters of etic scheme: contingent temporal succession and agent orientation.
Emic schemes could include: narrative (definite-event), narrative (immediate past), descriptive narrative (hybrid of narratives), expository, procedural, hortatory, and hortatory 2 (polite-exhortation).
Can chart out clauses (e.g. SOV), chart exposition, inciting incident, climax, denouement, and conclusion.
Neeley, Alan. 1995. Christian Mission: A Case Study Approach. Maryknoll: Orbis.
(Also AA)
CLAT 1, 4, 5
Themes: contextualization
How to study a case from Neeley:
- Read the case
- Determine the cast and chronology
- Identify the basic issues
- List the possible alternative
- Research other materials for additional insights
- Reflect and meditate on what you have discovered
- Participate in the discussion of the case
Can a Christian Celebrate the Hindu Diwali Festival?
o 14 yr old Indian boy is sad because they can’t celebrate Diwali after becoming Christians. They ask the missionaries about it and what they are allowed to do.
“Don’t Come Over and Help Us!”
o The dispute is if the drama used by the Karen Bible School in Burma is appropriate for evangelism. The Sgwa Karens view themselves as superior and feel like they should be in charge of how to evangelize and that they know the best way. They have traditions and are afraid of syncretism. Peter sees the positive outcomes of the response of the Pwo Karen but the others think it is syncretism and is overboard. The Bible School students show Jesus as being/like the fifth Buddha (which only the priests know about the fifth Buddha), which is an issue of conflict. The folktale used in the drama is a well-known story by the common people of Pwo Karen, and the Bible School then added a Christian message to the end of the story, which the Sgaw Karen Christians were not in favor of.
o Positive: The representative of the husband being the hero in the story and shedding his blood as sacrifice for his wife. The husband warned his wife of what not to do and she did not obey but he still went after her and sacrificed himself to save her from the consequence of her disobedience. These relate to Christ and the love He has for us and the way He sacrificed and chased after her even though she disobeyed him.
o Questionable: The husband lied several times trying to deceive by giving blood of animals instead of his own first. This shows the hero as someone who lied which does not represent Christ.
Singing the Lord’s Song
o Mitch must decide what to say to the missionary meeting to the people about their concerns of syncretism in his encouragement of the local music in the community.
o Mitch wanted the local art music of the people group to be used. He had 3 teaching locations set up that he visited and went to for teaching people to create and use their local music. He taught at a seminary and had new local works sang by the choir at the seminary and encouraged them to use their drums and local styles in worship. Whenever he led the worship, he implemented some of the local music/instruments into it. He wanted to continue to encourage the community to use more of their local music.
o The church pastors were attached to the way they used western hymns and didn’t want to change. Richard was concerned about the problem of syncretism and combining animism with Christianity and thought Christianity should be kept separate from local forms so they would not get mixed up. He was not in favor and brought it up with the board and put Mitch on the spot. Mitch’s colleagues didn’t say much about it, so unsure if this was unspoken agreement or disagreement, however they were all in favor of hearing Mitch speak more on what he is doing. The local Christians want to maintain a connection with the translated hymns and we are unsure of their exact position on this issue. God wants people to use the creative gifts He has given them and He wants full heart worship in whatever that looks like for the people.
Neeley, Paul. 1998. “‘When I Heard These Songs, Tears Came to My Eyes:’ The Vagla Scripture-Song Workshop.” EM News 7(1): 3-8.
CLAT 7
Themes: using local arts testimony; identity
“Pastor Phillip, a Vagla blind man skilled in music of all kinds, testified to the power of these new songs made in traditional styles. ‘You can’t see my eyes because of these dark glasses, but when I started hearing these new songs, tears came to my eyes. For many years, we could have used our music to worship God and reach our people. Instead, the music has been used by the devil. But now we can sing Bible verses!’”
Vagla people of Ghana were able to create songs in their own styles for the first time and were able to finally merge their Vagla and Christian identities.
Nicholls, Kathleen D. 1977. The Prodigal Returns: A Christian Approach to Drama. Bombay, India: Traci Publications.
CLAT 2, 3, 4, 6
Themes: applying Scripture; memory; analyzing drama; improving works
CLAT 2: We must be aware of: - the conditions the people live - what decisions they are facing - understand aspects of modern living - needs of audience [Petersen -Scripture relevance dramas]
CLAT 3:
Plays, films, dramas, etc. help us remember things better because we are able to hear and see the message. [Cathcart 2013, Collard 2013, Saurman 1993]
Drama by itself is not Christian or unchristian. Drama is a medium for presenting “a philosophy of life through the reaction of the characters to each other in the situation”.
- “A play is Christian not because it uses Christian characters or Biblical material, but because Christian values are applied to real-life situations and conflicts”
Requirements of a Christian drama:
o “to present Christian truth is a dramatic way that will make the audience more aware of the grace of God in Jesus Christ, that will draw them nearer to Him and to one another as they become more sensitive to each other’s hopes and fears” (7). The church congregation could be revitalized by involving the whole church in a program of drama evangelism by finding new depths in fellowship and service.
In choosing a play:
- Does it have emotional appeal and a conflict that an audience could respond to?
- Does it have a worthwhile subject?
- Is it relevant to the experience of the audience? Will it be believable?
- Does it start at a point of interest and end with a sense of completeness?
- Are the characters real?
- Is the dialogue right for each character?
- Is it written well?
- Does it have some humour?
- Is it suitable for the ability, equipment, and purposes of the drama group?
CLAT 4: Getting started: o Assign parts o Set scene o Grouping (consistent movement with actor and important actions taking place in important areas of the stage) o Encouraging cooperation o Rehearsal plans o Prompting (non-member of cat who prompts actors) o Stage management
Masks are used in drama to represent personalities, word and gestures carry meanings, and orchestra can be used to emphasize the mood.
CLAT 5:
Look through stories in the Bible to find possibilities and that have dramatic feelings. Think about the characteristics of characters and their backgrounds. Think about the structure of the play and how climaxes will be achieved and how characters will change (or not) throughout. Think about dialogue, action, beginning and ends (does the opening interest the audience?).
CLAT 6:
What is a good play?
1. Worthy theme that can be summarized in 1 topic sentence
2. Convincing characters
3. Well-knit plot to keep audience interested and attentive
4. Memorable diction = dialogue that suits characters
5. Contributing melody/music
6. Attendant spectacle (attracts attention)
No cardboard characters – should be well-thought out characters, should be simple presentation, situation can relate to audience members situations
Nicholls, Kathleen D. 1983. Asian Arts and Christian Hope. New Delhi: Select Books.
CLAT 1
Themes: symbols; culture meanings
We must first look at “What is Indian culture [or insert culture you are studying]?” and look at what a Christian culture is.
Look at how Christian faith can be communicated through traditional art forms. Symbols are essential to Indian creativity in their poetry, painting, music and drama. “Different symbols appeal to people of different cultures” (174). The Bible is full of symbols. Symbols relate to culture and their traditions. Look for the symbols in a culture and find what they represent and mean to them.
