Book review by Yalin Xin, Director of WCIUs Institute of China Studies.
Read MorePhoto credit: Britt Reints - Flickr
by Yalin Xin, PhD
These reports from WCIU’s Institute of China Studies are intended to give readers a chance to see China's own perspective on the China story. The fact is that often times valuable lessons are filtered out by Western political lenses.
Read Moreby Kalemba Mwambazambi and Basua Ngandu Kahakatshi
This study addresses the tension between the church and Central African culture. It tackles the question of the necessary new modes of the presence of the church through the resolution of the tension between the gospel and the culture in order to empower the people in Central Africa in different areas. This article demonstrates that the first missionaries in Central Africa countries did not understand the culture of African people and simply rejected what they could not understand because it was considered as heathen. As a result, the first missionaries’ contempt for African worldview and their fundamental values led to proselytism. There is a need to rethink the missional tools used by the church in order to present the Word of God in the language and culture of the people of Central Africa. This can lead to a change of mentality that in turn can lead to holistic development. If these tensions can be resolved, the leadership of the church can work to end corruption and injustice by promoting biblical values through its members who are active agents in all spheres of the African community social structure.
Read Moreby Kumar Aryal
Corruption, lack of education, population growth, and natural disasters are the main causes of the persistent poverty in the Philippines. Evangelical Christians are visible in responding to poverty in the Philippines, but the majority of their programs and services meet immediate needs, which has the tendency to create dependency, instead of development, if continued over a long period of time. Evangelicals seem to have a very minimal partnership with the government, instead going directly to the poor to avoid a long government process, and not wanting government officials to pocket the money that should go to the poor. Compounding the inadequate evangelical response is that there seems to be a lack of collaboration among evangelical Christian churches and NGOs in responding to poverty in the Philippines.
This research shows that in addition to the four causes of poverty in Metro Manilla, there are four types of poverty. When economic, psychological, social, and spiritual poverty are addressed in an integrated manner, poor people will experience shalom, which is the goal of holistic development.
Read Moreby Abdou Maiga, May 03, 2018
In this article, the author reminds us that it is urgent that Africans realize that in time of war what people need most are not only humanitarian programs but also programs of peace and reconciliation. What are the challenges for this approach and what are the implications for humanitarian and developmental structures in Africa today?
Read Moreby Chris Ampadu
The Whiteboard Animation in this Reflection is based on Chris Ampadu’s WCIU dissertation.
Why is Africa poor, given all its natural resources: gold, diamonds, oil, timber?
View a Whiteboard Animation in this Reflection that addresses this question.
Africa’s problems are like a tree with spoiled fruits.
Africa’s problems have roots in worldview issues
Believing LIES impoverishes and enslaves people.
Strong biblical roots will produce good fruits (truth, honesty, self-control, trustworthiness)
by Abdou Maiga
WCIU PhD Student Abdou Maiga writes about ongoing development challenges and potential development solutions in the Northern regions of Mali.
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