Should We Drum or Listen to the Teng Nyono?
BY DR. JAY MOON
For more details, see: "Should We Drum or Listen to the Teng Nyono?" Missiology: An International Review
Conflicts over Scripture and culture exist in every culture. The purpose of this article is to show how the underlying epistemologies of Scripture and culture affect the responses given by well-meaning Christians concerning issues of Scripture and culture. Once these epistemologies are understood, the interaction between Scripture and culture can be better explained and critiqued. This reflection can then lead the Christian community to a position of critical engagement, whereby Scripture and culture are fully engaged, resulting in a deeper understanding and appreciation of both. A case study concerning a drumming ban in the Builsa area of Ghana, West Africa, illustrates this.
“Stop the drumming immediately!" demanded the young man who just walked into the church in Ghana, West Africa. He explained that the teng nyono (caretaker of the local earth shrine) sent him to deliver the message that there was a ban on all drumming in the area; therefore, the church must cease drumming immediately and not resume again until he lifted the ban. The church was stunned! How should we respond?
There were two instant reactions by this church of eighty people. Some felt that the priority to worship God must be maintained; therefore, we should reject the teng nyono's ban and continue drumming to please God. The other reaction was the exact opposite--accept the ban and wait until it was lifted since this was a cultural matter. This polarization of responses between rejection and acceptance is not new or unusual. I heard recent discussions among sincere Christians in the United States concerning the Harry Potter movie. One Christian group said that the movie is demonic and must be rejected by the Christian community. On the other hand, one Christian friend said to me, "There is nothing wrong with it. It is just a good story. This is part of our culture, and I can't shelter my kids from it. They need to understand it." This position of acceptance was diametrically opposed to those who advocated total rejection. Both were sincere Christians advocating opposite positions that they felt were the best-in Ghana and in America.
Which view is right-rejection or acceptance? ls there a way forward to help us deal with issues concerning gospel and culture? While there are no easy answers to these questions, some critical reflection upon our assumptions of how we know what we know can help us to revisit our common responses. The purpose of this article is to show how the underlying epistemologies of Scripture and culture affect the responses given by well-meaning Christians concerning issues of the Scripture and culture. Once these epistemologies are understood, the interaction between Scripture and culture can be better explained and critiqued.This reflection then leads the Christian community to a position of critical engagement, whereby the Scripture and culture are fully engaged, leading to a deeper understandjng and appreciation of both. The place to start, however, is to consider the underlying epistemological assumptions.
The assumptions we have about how we acquire knowledge (epistemology) can lead Christians to different responses on gospel and cultural issues. There are three commonly assumed epistemologies: total realism, critical realism, and subjective realism. Total realism believes knowledge is objective and unaffected by cultural contexts, often leading to arrogance. Critical realism recognizes both objective and subjective aspects of knowledge, allowing for humility and learning. Subjective realism sees knowledge as subjective and created by culture, leading to the belief that truth is relative. These epistemologies shape believers' views of Scripture and culture. The epistemology of Scripture can be plotted on a continuum, ranging from naive realism to instrumentalism, with critical realism in between. Naive realism sees Scripture as the ultimate authority and rejects cultural interpretations, while instrumentalism diminishes Scripture's relevance. Critical realism acknowledges Scripture as the true Word of God while recognizing our limited understanding. To better understand Scripture, we must consider the epistemology of culture.
Epistemology of culture
The view of culture varies across epistemologies. Naive realism sees culture as valid and accepted, while instrumentalism regards culture as subjective. Critical realism recognizes culture's role but acknowledges its limitations. When Scripture and culture interact, five common resting places emerge:
Acceptance: Naive realism of culture and instrumentalism of Scripture. Cultural practices are seen as valid, and Scripture is subjective. This leads to relativism and theological universalism.
Absorption: Naive realism of culture and instrumentalism of Scripture. Cultural practices are absorbed into the church with little change, leading to assimilation and syncretism.
Critical Engagement: Critical realism of both Scripture and culture. Scripture in the mother tongue becomes the interpreter of culture, and active engagement leads to new insights. This results in proper contextualization and indigenous Christianity.
Modification: Naive realism of Scripture and instrumentalism of culture. Scripture interprets culture, allowing modifications to certain practices. However, no new insights are gained, and it often leads to a "foreign gospel."
Rejection: Naive realism of Scripture and instrumentalism of culture. Scripture critiques all culture as evil, leading to the rejection of culture without engagement. This results in isolation and fundamentalism.
Application to the drums in Ghana
During the discussion on the drumming ban in Ghana, two contrasting responses emerged. Some church leaders advocated ignoring the ban, citing Psalm 150 as justification to worship with different instruments and dancing. They believed that Scripture should be understood apart from cultural contexts and culture could be readily ignored or changed. On the other hand, some leaders felt it was important to comply with the ban for a short period and emphasized the need to respect and honor cultural practices. They believed that the ban would eventually be lifted, allowing them to return to their usual worship. These positions represent the extremes of acceptance and rejection on the "Interaction of Scripture and Culture" continuum.
Since no consensus was reached initially, the church leaders decided to fast, pray, and seek guidance from other Christian leaders. They learned from the experiences of other churches that rigidly maintaining the rejection position could lead to negative consequences and a lack of engagement with the gospel and culture. They also engaged with Builsa cultural themes, such as the need to look for underlying meanings and the potential consequences of taking the issue lightly.
Engagement with Scripture involved consulting with other pastors who had faced similar issues. They used passages like Psalm 135:7 and other biblical examples that highlighted God's control over the wind to explain to the "teng nyono" (earth shrine overseer) that the church would pray for God to keep the wind calm during the ban. This approach demonstrated the use of God's Word to respond to a spiritual issue.
Through the engagement of Scripture and culture, the church leaders gained a new understanding of God's authority and control over the wind. They realized that even if God's people remained silent, creation would praise and worship Him. They considered sharing this perspective with the teng nyono, suggesting that they would let the rocks cry out and worship God while adhering to the ban.
Overall, the church leaders recognized the importance of moving away from the extremes of acceptance and rejection and toward a position of critical engagement. They sought to find a balanced approach that respected both Scripture and culture.
Dialogue with the Teng Nyono
After engaging Scripture and culture, we had a meeting where unity and understanding increased among us. Those in the rejection position realized the limitations of their view of Scripture, while those in the acceptance position recognized the insufficiency of their view of culture. We decided to visit the teng nyono together to understand the ban. During the conversation, we discovered that the teng nyono had to save face and ensure the success of the crop. To appeal to his conscience, we showed humility, respect, and offered our assistance in praying for a blessed harvest.
Decision
During our discussion with the teng nyono, we shared with him that drumming was our way of worshiping, thanking, and seeking God's blessings on the Builsa area. We explained the deep emotional connection we have with God's work and read a passage from the Buli Bible, which surprised him. We assured him that our intention was to bless the land and not harm it through our drumming. In response, he smiled and agreed to pray together. He admitted that he didn't understand before and appreciated our explanation. Later, he informed us that the ban was lifted, allowing us to drum again. The outcome brought joy to both the church and the teng nyono, fostering future dialogue and understanding between them.
Conculsion
There are no easy answers or quick formulas for dealing with issues like the ban ning of drums in Ghana. The common default responses of rejection or acceptance limit the discussion and creative energy that could be released by the Holy Spirit. When discussing historical mission practices in Africa on issues such as polygamy, bride wealth, circumcision, and so on, Hastings points out that, rather tban being an obstacle, in the long run these issues have been an instrument to focus on what being African and Christian means. He concludes, "Christianity has often thrived upon internal argument" (1994:322). 1n other words, authentic expressions of African Christianity thrive upon the arguments (dialogue) created when Scripture and culture arc critically engaged.
In this dialogue, the epistemologies are an important element. By exposing inconsistencies in the epistemological positions, the church community can be encouraged to move toward a critical realist position such that a full engagement of tl1e Scripture and culture will occur. By critically engaging the Scripture and culture, the glory of God can be revealed in ways that have not been understood before-to the believer and Ieng nyono alike. Hidden cultural understanding also rises to the sur face, such that both the Scripture and culture are appreciated and understood. The drumming example shows tliat this process requires several commitments to include:
There must be a deep conviction thal the mother-tongue Scripture is the Word of God, which brings life and blessing when engaged in issues of culture. The moth er-tongue Scripture is the "interpreter of culture and tradition" (Bediako 1999:J) since it provides the clearest revelation of God in culture.
Space and lime are needed for the Holy Spirit to speak to the issues of Scripture and culture, realizing that the Holy Spirit is more interested in this process than we since it ultimately reveals the glory of God.
Humility must be paramount in order to accept our limited understanding of both Scripture and culture. This motivates one to be open to learning about areas of Scripture that have been overlooked. In addition. it persuades one to learn from the culture via the people, proverbs, and powers such as the 1e11g 11yo110, and so on.
Dialogue is critical for moving forward. This includes listening to the local, regional, and global church, as well as those within the culture who are the repos itories of sacred wisdom or authority.
Cases like the drumming ban become part of the local church history that can be drawn upon for future understanding. These need to be recorded to help guide the church family of tomorrow.
By plotting the initial positions, the underlying epistemologies of Scripture and culture can be articulated. This heuristic helps to point out the inconsistencies in the epistemological positions, and it demonstrates the direction that the church needs to move in order to critically engage the Scripture and cul ture. Epistemologies really do matter, and once articulated, they can help resolve issues involving the Scripture and culture.
By articulating the underlying epistemological assumptions on issues like the drumming ban, we can discuss and evaluate the responses of the church. This helps direct the church community toward the goal of critical engagement by showing which area of the Scripture and culture interaction is being neglected. By facilitating the critical engagement of both the Scripture and culture, contextualization occurs that produces "contextualized expressions of the gospel so that the gospel itself will be understood in ways the universal church has neither experienced nor understood before, thus expanding our understanding of the kingdom of God" (Whiteman 1997:4). The drum ban, then, is no longer regarded as a thorny cultural issue to be ignored; instead, it is an opportunity for the kingdom of God to be revealed.
A few months after the drum ban was over, the teng nyono came to visit the BCA church leader's house. He remembered our conversation about how the church wanted to bring God's blessing on the land. He observed how we were helping communities to dig and line wells for clean drinking water, and he came to ask the church to help them with a well in his area. Since the church humbly sought his help previously, he humbled himself as well to ask help from the church to solve this community problem. The dia logue between the church and the teng nyono created by the drum ban was still ongo ing. While the teng nyono has not come to church yet that I know of, he has a much bet ter understanding of why the church is there and how it can bless his people and land.
Now that is something to drum about!
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References Cited:
Barbour, Ian G. 1974 My1hs. Models, and Paradigms: A Comparaiive Study in Science and Religion. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins.
Bcdiako, Kwamc. 1999a "Gospel and Culture: Guest Editorial." Journal of African Chris1ian Though, 2(2): I . 1999b "Gospel and Culture: Some Insights for Our Time from the Experience of the Earliest Church." Journal of African Christian Thought 2(2):8-17.
Hall, E.T. 1959 The Silenl Language. New York: Doubleday.
Hastings, Adrian. 1994 The Church in Africa: 1450-1950. Oxford History of the Christian Church. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hiebert, Paul G. 1994 Anthropological Rejection of Missiological Issues. Grand Rapids: Ml: Baker Books. 1999 Missioogical Implications of Epistemological: Affirming Truth in a Modern Postmodern World. Christian Mission and Modern Culture. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International.
Whiteman, Darrell L. I997 "Contextualization: The Theory, the Gap, the Challenge." International Bulletin of Missiological Research 21( I ):2-7.