Defining Beliefs
Ed Silvoso identifies "Five Pivotal Paradigms" he considers essential for sustainable transformation to take place. Specifically, he calls people to recognize that:
- The Great Commission is about discipling nations, not just people.
- The marketplace (the heart of the nation) has already been redeemed by Jesus and now needs to be reclaimed by His followers.
- Labor is the premier expression of worship on Earth, and every believer is a minister.
- Our primary call is not to build the Church, but to take the kingdom of God where the kingdom of darkness is still entrenched, in order for Jesus to build His Church.
- The premier social indicator that transformation has taken place is the elimination of systemic poverty.
Several criticisms have been made. Firstly "people" and "nations" are parallel ideas, and no biblical distinction is being made. Secondly, the creation mandate should be distinguished from the salvation mandate. Silvoso conflates the two; even though the creation command to work is not the same as the command to worship. Building the church and the kingdom are not separate ideas that can be distinguished neatly, and so once again a false dichotomy is posed. Finally, judging whether the kingdom has come on grounds of health and wealth is highly disputed.
Read more about this topic: Christian Transformationalism
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