This is what an incarnational view of mission looks like: the human translation of divine action in the world. If we take the Incarnation seriously, mission becomes more like translation than ideological, territorial, or even spiritual conquest. God models translation by pouring out the divine self into human form; as Walls puts it, 'The Incarnation is God's perfect translation. '
From Almost Christian, by Kenda Creasy Dean, and quoting Andrew Walls, page 97.
Lamin Sanneh views the gospel's translatability as one of Christianity's signature qualities. Unlike [a certain false religion] he observes, 'Christianity spread as a religion without the language of its founder' . . .Ibid, quoting Lamin Sanneh.
Translating Scripture into the common, spoken languages of laypeople is arguably the most basic of all missional practices . . .Ibid, page 116.
Okay, guess what book I read last week. :)
And then I went to Bearing Precious Seed last Saturday to assemble Spanish scripture booklets containing the books of John and Romans. After the translation of God's Word into human flesh (see John 1:2) helping to get the translated written word to individuals who need it is a small thing.
I am getting ready to start a project with our bible club kids in which we collect money to give to Bob Jones' program Bibles for India. It goes along with the lessons we will be starting at the same time about the Bible. I wish we had a place like this close by that I could take them to.
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