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Book Review: Mark Clark. The Problem of God: Answering a Skeptic’s Challenges to Christianity

This latest addition to the Encountering Mission series contributes to the prior discussions of mission theory and practice in the series by engaging practical issues of intercultural discipleship, a topic that has been infrequently tackled by missiologists. From the outset, the author makes it clear that the book is intended for practitioners and “people who are stuck in spiritual ruts” (xi). It also seems primed for a North American “print-culture” audience more than “oral culture” people. True to its purpose, the book is written in an accessible style with tangible guidelines and rich stories that relate to making disciples across cultures. Throughout the book, the author interweaves vivid accounts surrounding burial and funeral of the teenager son in a Builsa Christian family in Ghana into the topics of discipleship being introduced. Those who were looking for a revolutionary missiological theory would be disappointed for Moon builds on missiological concepts developed by Paul G. Hiebert to frame his ideas for intercultural discipleship. In the first three chapters, he lays the ground by elaborating on concepts of critical contextualization, excluded middle, and the centered-set theory in relation to syncretism and split-level Christianity. In the later chapters, he addresses topics such as symbols, rituals, proverbs, and dance and music, the very elements that the author sees as necessary for making disciples of all nations. It succeeds in devising contextualized applications of insights of Hiebert and others to discipling people across cultures. While a single chapter on discipling postmoderns cannot certainly do justice to this important demographic, it still shows the hope and potential of cultural insights found in other cultures for discipling the new generation. I wish that the author made not as sharp a distinction between oral and print cultures. He juxtaposes individual and collective identity, justice (guilt) and honor (shame) orientation, and redemption and creation theology. While bifurcation of complex concepts can be a helpful learning tool to a certain extent, there is the concern that some readers might oversimplify people and cultures in their minds and mistake conceptual models for reality. Overall, this book provides a practical blueprint for contextualizing discipleship in and across different cultures. It may be used at multiple levels. Scholars may want to use this work for teaching; pastors and disciplers may find a fine resource for their own intercultural ministry while college and graduate students would appreciate its practical guidelines.