Wednesday 7 February 2007

What does God expect us to do for other cultures an fiaths?

"Love one another"Perhaps the most widely used definition for who is a disciple is Jesus' self-referential example from the Gospel of John 13:34-35: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (NRSV) Further definition by Jesus can be found in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 14, which is a veritable treatise on the topic. Beginning with a testing trap laid out by his adversaries regarding observance of the Jewish Sabbath, Jesus uses the opportunity to lay out the problems with the religiosity of his adversaries against his own teaching by giving a litany of shocking comparisons between various, apparent socio-political and socio-economic realities versus the meaning of being a his disciple. Examples which are expressed definitions of a disciple are:Luke 14:26 Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. "Be transformed"Generally in Christian theology, discipleship is a term used to refer to a disciple's transformation from some other worldview and practice of life into that of Jesus Christ, and so, by way of Trinitarian theology, of God himself. Note the Apostle Paul's description of this process, that the disciple "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and aceptable and perfect." Therefore a disicple is not simply an accumulator of information or one who merely changes moral behavior in regards to the teachings of Jesus Christ, but seeks a fundamental shift toward the ethics of Jesus Christ in every way, including complete devotion to God. In several Christian traditions, the process of becoming a disciple is called the Imitation of Christ, after the famous book of that title by Thomas à Kempis. See also Imitatio dei.The Great CommissionUbiquitous throughout Christianity is the practice of proselytization, making new disciples. At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, when calling his earliest disciples Simon (Peter) and Andrew , he says to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people" (Matthew 4:19). Then, at the very end of his ministry Jesus institutes the Great Commission, commanding all present to "go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:19-20a). Jesus has incorporated this practice into the very definition of being a disciple and experiencing discipleship

source - wikipedia

In the Great Commision mentioned above by the source, Jesus tells his disciples 'Therefore, go and make desciples of all nathions baptizing them in the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit'. These were the words of Jesus telling Christians to spread christianity and this is exactly what Don is doing for the Sawi tribes. Missionaries are who travel to carious places to spread the words of Jesus. God wants his believers to spread chritianity to as many people as they can so that they can also be saved.

1 comment:

African Globe Trotters. said...

Yes Mark. Good that you quoted your source. I particularly like how you handled the material in a mature fashion. Mrs.Mc.