Monday, 9 November 2015

The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission and Reception of Faith,
Andrew F. Walls, T&T Clark, 2002, page 81

Walls now brings us back to Ephesus to consider his proposition:

The Ephesian moment, then, brings a church more culturally diverse that it has ever been before; potentially, therefore, nearer to that "full stature of Christ" that belongs to his summing up of humanity. The Ephesian moment also announces a church of the poor. Christianity will be mainly the religion of rather poor and very poor peoples, with few gifts to bring except the gospel itself, and the heartlands of the church will include some of the poorest countries on earth. A developed world in which Christians become less prominent will seek to protect its position against the rest.

Walls is making some key and, in my opinion, vital points here. However, unless he is careful he is about to make a fatal mistake.