| This study contends that Argentine Baptists in the years 1982--1997 engaged in a process of contextualization. Identifying the Biblical and cultural elements in this process allows a better understanding of Argentine Baptist history and of the cultural context. It also provides tools for examining culture from a Biblical perspective and continuing the task of communicating the Gospel.; The primary resources utilized include the works of Arno Enns, Paul Hiebert, Charles Kraft, and David Hesselgrave from the field of missiological anthropology; Jose Saravia, Marcos Aguinis, Guillermo Etcheverry, and Jaime Barylko from the perspective of Argentine authors that treat worldview issues; and the work of Pablo Deiros, Carlos Mraida, Alberto Guerrero, Pablo Bottari, Bernardo Stamateas, Daniel Tomasini, Daniel Bravo, and Eduardo Lorenzo from the perspective of Argentine Baptists. In addition, the study utilized documents produced by the Argentine Baptist Convention.; The study integrates the history of Baptist work, missiological and anthropological theory on worldview, Argentine worldview, and Baptist beliefs and practices. It provides an outline of the immediate Argentine context and an overview of the history of Baptist work, identifies the presuppositions underlying the five themes influencing Baptists in Argentina: anointing of the Holy Spirit, demonic deliverance, inner spiritual healing, spiritual warfare, and apostolic authority, and shows the correlation between the presuppositions in an Argentine worldview and those in the themes. The final section provides a framework for examining Argentine beliefs and practices. It develops a Biblical study of presuppositions and proposes the affirmation and challenge of cultural themes as a means to contextualize the Gospel.; The study provides an explanation for why certain themes influenced Argentine Baptist life and suggests that Baptists engaged in the process of contextualization. It concludes that cultural presuppositions can be a valuable tool for contextualization. Through the study of worldview, cultural presuppositions can be identified. These same presuppositions are found in religious themes. By studying and interpreting the Scriptures, the themes are affirmed and challenged, and the Gospel is communicated in a culturally relevant manner. |
