A Review of the 3D Gospel

Have you ever thought about how your culture shapes your view of the Bible? Have you ever wondered if Christians from other countries have even read the Bible, or are even Believers, because they seem to develop a different line of interpretation from what Western American Christians have?

There are very significant ways in which we view theology and the Bible. It is normally not until we leave our home culture when we do finally realize some of the vast differences in the mindsets of people we find ourselves around, and often it can and will be frustrating.

We may try to share the Gospel with people in another country, only to find out that they have no real interest in having Christ remove their guilt from sin, instead they are more concerned with the honor of their family group, or even facing spiritual retribution from ancestors if they convert to Christianity.

When Western Christians leave their home culture and experience another, there can be a buildup of confusion and frustration for all parties involved about how to communicate and even how to behave toward each other.

Blessedly, veteran missiologist (that's right, that's a real thing) Jayson Georges has written 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame, and Fear Cultures

This is a pretty short book, with only four chapters in 82 pages. It should take a little over an hour for someone to read through. But even with its brevity Georges packs a punch with a mind-opening look at not only how people are shaped by their home culture, but how the Gospel itself speaks to each culture. This book is quite a help to Christians as they seek to share the Gospel to people who think and operate within a different cultural mindset. This is not a course in adapting the Gospel to any particular culture (and the possibility of removing or altering aspects of it) but rather it is adjusting our eyes to how the Gospel itself is more full-throated than we sometimes are able to understand because of our limited cultural viewing of it.

The first chapter gives a basic outline of the three types of overarching culture archetypes, how a more full reading of the Gospel is available to us in the letter to the Ephesians, and how we too can see a more "complete diamond" therein.
Georges gives us three distinct types of cultures that seemingly fit all countries inside of: Guilt/innocence, honor/shame, and fear/power. Guilt/innocence is the predominant cultural framework for Western countries, seeing the emphasis that we put on guilt for breaking laws (whether governments or God's) and the pursuit of innocence and when the Gospel is preached by Westerners, it is often couched in the terms of guilt and innocence. Honor/shame is the major framework for most, if not all of Asia and the Middle East and deals quite a bit with the group or family reputation over and sometimes against whether or not a member is "guilty". Is the offense going to bring embarrassment on the group or the head of the group? If yes, then it probably should be avoided. Fear/power cultures typically lie in more African countries, and tend to focus on animism or spiritism as primary religions. With fear/power there is the drive to be in control over spirits, whether good or bad, and the ability to use rituals or objects to manipulate or gain favor with the spiritual world.
Georges then goes through Ephesians to see how Paul applies the Gospel to each culture within the letter.

The second chapter deals with the cultures a bit more in detail and how each culture meets or attempts to meet a perceived human need. The third chapter seeks to develop the gospel narratives for each culture-type and the primary verses in which each culture is shown within the biblical story and how each culture views various major points of theology, such as the Garden or the Atonement.

Chapter four goes into detail with ministry in these various cultural contexts and offers a 3D plan of salvation that seeks to encompass each of the culture-types within a contextualized witness that seeks to utilize that type of cultural framework to share the Gospel. Georges lists different types of evangelistic "encounters" that fit within each framework and can be typified for how evangelism can be done in a biblical manner that fits contextually within the cultural framework.

This was an eye opening book for me. As someone who works in the honor/shame culture of the Philippines that has been influenced by the guilt/innocence cultures of Western Europe/America over the past 400 years, it was extremely helpful to see areas where my evangelism and Gospel understanding can be developed.
But for most American Christians who read this book, they are instead looking at other outside cultures coming in to America. Since the nations are coming into the United States, the Church in America has an unique opportunity to share the Gospel and reach more people who can take the Truth of Christ back to their home countries, and this book can help to develop evangelism strategies that are effective at meeting people where they are culturally. So if you are someone who is interested with working with other cultures within America and evangelizing them, then the 3D Gospel is a book that I would highly recommend.