Metavista

Book Review.
Greene, Colin. Robinson, Martin. Metavista: Bible, Church and Mission in an Age of Imagination. The church after postmodernity. Authentic Media, 2008.
C.G.- theological consultant, author, and former professor of theological and cultural studies at Mars Hill Graduate School, Seattle.
M.R.- international speaker, writer, and director of ‘Together in Mission’.
Comment. Henry.
I am ‘borrowing’ some language from the endorsers of the book when I say that this is a ‘theologically stimulating, meticulously researched text’. With reference to a changing world this resource reflects ‘skillful scholarship and rigorous cultural analysis’. My own experience in reading this book was one of being in over my head because of the level of literacy. That should not be taken as a negative comment on this book. I am sure that it has a strong appeal to those who have a capacity to appreciate the literacy of the authors.
Effective missions must consider the culture of the 21st century and focus on actual “cultural engagement” (intro) Callum Brown comments on cultural engagement in the U.K. He identifies five ‘criteria’ of cultural engagement. The post-Christian status of the U.K. is quite different from the post-Christian status of the U.S. Cultural engagement is assessed based on “societal imagination, cultural icons, and the nature of and encounter with the Bible as Scripture”. (intro)
We have not yet totally passed through modernity. Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, and Robert Callum have expressed significant ideas of modernity. Globalization is the story of how an “emancipation narrative (changed) to an imperialistic metanarrrative”. (15)
The movie ‘The Matrix’ illustrates the elements of postmodernity. To understand the modern requires “a new aesthetic”. (27) We are continually bombarded by consumerism with overt and subliminal messages. Reality is called into question. Change is impacted by “rules of engagement when it comes to cultural transformation”. (63)
Christendom has survived the attacks during the twentieth century, i.e. Christianity is dead, the non-Christian values of the American Dream and the “secularization of society”. (76) The problems of post-colonialism are still prevalent.
“The Bible has never been central to the life and witness of the church during the whole Christendom project.” (97) The “Biblical Theology for cultural engagement” (113) is developed around four stories: “creation, Israel, Jesus the Christ, and the church.” (118) From biblical theology we move to political theology.
Some deconstruction is done on the concept of secularization as part of modernity. What is needed today is a ‘Metavista Missional Community’. We (the church) can and should “imaginatively engage the future based on present experiences in mission, (and a) call to the Christian community to act in a counter-cultural manner”. !83 “A manifesto to the contemporary church” (225) is presented surrounding the narratives of scripture, tradition, and culture.