The New Shape of World Christianity: Part 4 of 5

Yet, Noll also identifies several challenges that have emerged with the shifting centers of world Christianity. As Christianity expands to non-Western centers (such as the dramatic shift of Christianity to the global south), these new churches lack the strong historical (and theological) ties that have grounded the church in other areas. While the absence of these ties has also allowed the flexibility that has accelerated growth, the absence of these ties also means the absence of a theological heritage that may defend the church from errant theology.

The rapid shift that has taken place in global Christianity has not been followed by a proportionate shift in the resources—financial and institutional—of global Christianity. For instance, educational resources and funding opportunities are more readily available in Chicago, Berlin, or Grand Rapids, than Uganda or Liberia. The disproportionate distribution of resources favors a rapidly secularizing West, leaving exploding centers of Christianity in need.

Translation efforts, while a major avenue whereby the gospel takes root in culture, also create the possibility of syncretism. New translations enter into culture and use the resources of that culture’s language to communicate the gospel to lost souls. Sometimes, these translation efforts unintentionally adopt language that carries cultural and, quite possibly, religious baggage [one example cited by Noll is the translation choice of Hananim for God in the Korean copies of the Scriptures that has possibly contributed to syncretistic religions like Sun-Myung Moon’s Unification Church, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Shamanism (64)]. As the Church continues to translate Scripture into new languages in order to make disciples of all nations, it must be wary of cultural and religious syncretism.