Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Master's Theses Graduate Research 2012 God's Mission to the "Nations" and Hindus: Three Old Testament Narrative Models Andrew J. Tompkins Andrews University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses Recommended Citation Tompkins, Andrew J., "God's Mission to the "Nations" and Hindus: Three Old Testament Narrative Models" (2012). Master's Theses. 55. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/theses/55 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. ABSTRACT GOD’S MISSION TO THE “NATIONS” AND HINDUS: THREE OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVE MODELS by Andrew J. Tompkins Adviser: Bruce L. Bauer ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Thesis Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: GOD’S MISSION TO THE “NATIONS” AND HINDUS: THREE OLD NARRATIVE MODELS Name of researcher: Andrew J. Tompkins Name and degree of faculty adviser: Bruce L. Bauer, D.Miss. Date completed: October 2012 Background to the Problem The world’s religions outside of Christianity have still hardly been touched by the gospel. This is especially true of Hindus, which make up the third largest religious group in the world. The time for new understandings and approaches is long overdue. Problem The challenge of understanding how to present the God of the Bible to Hindus in a meaningful and lasting way continues to perplex the mission-minded person. For centuries this challenge has been present, and yet the gap between Christians and Hindus in many ways appears to be increasing. This study looks at God’s mission in the Old Testament with a focus on the encounters between God and His people with people from the surrounding “nations” in order to develop a more biblical approach to the challenge. Three relevant narratives are analyzed in detail in order to gain working theologies that can be applied missiologically to the Hindu context. The first chapter gives an overview of God’s mission in the Old Testament and compares the “nations” with Hindus of today. The next three chapters are divided into three narratives that include cross-religious encounters: Naomi and Ruth, Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, Elisha and Naaman. These three narratives each highlight specific elements of God’s mission to the nations: Naomi’s attitude of ḥesed that leads to Ruth transforming her worldview to follow Yahweh; the widow of Zarephath’s experience of God’s power that leads her to a clearer understanding of who God is; and Elisha’s encouragement of Naaman to “go in peace” despite Naaman not having a fully accurate understanding of God. These three narratives provide a foundation for better missiological approaches to Hindus. At the same time they are an example of the potential that Old Testament narrative holds for missiology in general. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary GOD’S MISSION TO THE “NATIONS” AND HINDUS: THREE OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVE MODELS A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Andrew J. Tompkins 2012 © Copyright by Andrew J. Tompkins 2012 All Rights Reserved GOD’S MISSION TO THE “NATIONS” AND HINDUS: THREE OLD TESTAMENT NARRATIVE MODELS A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts by Andrew J. Tompkins APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: _______________________________ Bruce L. Bauer, D.Miss., Adviser _______________________________ Richard M. Davidson, Ph.D. _______________________________ _______________________ Wagner Kuhn, Ph.D. Date Approved TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Background to the Problem ........................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................2 Scope and Limitations.................................................................................2 Methodology ...............................................................................................3 2. GOD’S MISSION TO THE “NATIONS” AND HINDUS .................................5 God’s Mission from the Beginning.............................................................5 The Nations .................................................................................................8 The Choice of the “Nations” .....................................................................10 God’s Relationship and Mission to the “Nations” ....................................13 God as Sovereign over the “Nations” ...................................................13 God’s Desire to Bless the “Nations” .....................................................14 The Blessing Is Salvation......................................................................15 God’s Call for Participation in His Mission .............................................17 God’s Mission to the “Nations” of Today ................................................19 The Reality of Plurality .............................................................................19 Hinduism and the “Nations” .....................................................................21 The Similarities .....................................................................................23 Three Examples ....................................................................................23 Nature .................................................................................................24 Images ................................................................................................25 Human Beings ....................................................................................26 God’s Mission to Hindus ..........................................................................27 God as Sovereign ..................................................................................27 God’s Desire to Bless Hindus ...............................................................28 God’s Desire that Hindus Hear of His Salvation ..................................29 Towards a More Biblical Approach ..........................................................30 3. GOD’S MISSION THROUGH STEADFAST RELATIONSHIPS: AN ATTITUDE OF ḤESED AS THE FOUNDATION ...........................................32 The Book of Ruth: Theme and Purpose ....................................................32 Ḥesed.........................................................................................................33 iii Naomi and Ruth ........................................................................................36 Naomi ....................................................................................................36 Ruth .......................................................................................................38 Worldview Change ...............................................................................40 Reason for Worldview Change .............................................................41 Theological Implications ..........................................................................42 Missiological Implications ........................................................................44 Understanding the Context ...................................................................44 Ḥesed as the Foundation for Cross-Religious Relationships ................45 Historical Realities ..............................................................................46 Present Realities ..................................................................................47 Genuine Ḥesed Stemming from Genuine Faith ....................................49 The Workplace and Neighborhood/Village ..............................................52 Conclusion ................................................................................................53 4. GOD’S MISSION THROUGH REDEMPTIVE POWER: THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH’S TESTIMONY .........................................................................55 1 Kings 17:8-24.........................................................................................55 The Missiological Implications.................................................................60 Power Encounters in Missiological Literature ..........................................61 Hindus and Power .....................................................................................64 Where Hindus Find Power ....................................................................65 Healing Power .......................................................................................67 The Hindu Context Understood in Light of the Narratives ......................69 5. GOD’S MISSION THROUGH PATIENT ENCOURAGEMENT: ANOTHER LOOK AT SYNCRETISM IN LIGHT OF THE NAAMAN NARRATIVE ....73 Unusual Narrative .....................................................................................73