Reading: Bevans [Praxis]

Bevans has moved from the translation model of contextual theology focusing on Christian identity within a particular culture to an anthropological model focusing on the cultural identity of Christians and their unique way of articulating faith. In Chapter 6, the praxis model is unveiled, focusing on the identity of Christians within a culture as that culture is understood in terms of social change. Movement from knowledge to action is the backbone of the model, founded on liberation theology, known as a practical way of thinking that directly effects everyday life.

What is most interesting about the praxis model to me is how it has inspired social change in subcultures challenging social injustices like racism and women's suffrage. Jim Wallis came and spoke at Fuller a few weeks back, reminding us that while the Church has been all over the map in conflicts since the beginning of history, faith has also provided the vanguard in the great ethical crusades of our nation's past... from abolition, to worker's rights, to civil rights, people of faith marched and preached, and agitated. Putting faith into action. The praxis model is clearly one of the most influential contextual theological methods of modern culture.