Paul Hiebert | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1932-11-13)November 13, 1932 |
| Died | March 11, 2007(2007-03-11) (aged 74) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Pastor-University Teacher-Researcher-Missiologist |
| Years active | 1958-2007 (49 years) |
| Known for | Anthropological inputs in missions |
| Church | Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches in India |
Paul Gordon Hiebert (13 November 1932 – 11 March 2007) was an Americanmissiologist. He was "arguably the world's leading missiological anthropologist."[1]
Hiebert was born in India to missionary parents, and studied atTabor College,Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, and theUniversity of Minnesota.[1]
Subsequently, Hiebert went as a missionary toIndia and was Principal of theMennonite Brethren Centenary Bible College,Shamshabad. After a period of missionary service, he proceeded toPasadena, California where he taught atFuller Theological Seminary before becoming Distinguished Professor of Mission and Anthropology atTrinity Evangelical Divinity School.[2] Paul became the Chair of the Department of Missions and Evangelism at Trinity in addition to maintaining his Professor duties.[3] From 1974 to 1975, Hiebert lectured atOsmania University,Hyderabad, India on aFulbright Scholarship.[4]
AFestschrift in his honor,Globalizing Theology: Belief and Practice in an Era of World Christianity was published in 2006.[5]
Hiebert died of cancer in 2007.[6]
Hiebert developed several theories that widely influenced the study and practice of Christian missions. His model of "critical contextualization"[7] describes a process of understanding and evaluating cultural practices in light of biblical teaching. It is one of the most widely cited models in evangelical doctoral dissertations dealing with contextualization.[8]
The concept of the "excluded middle" argued that mostWesterners see the universe as consisting of two tiers - the invisible things of the other world, and the visible things of this world. In this way, they exclude the part in between - namely, the invisible things of this world, and in particular the unseen personal beings, such as angels and demons. Hiebert suggested that non-Westerners are much more likely to accept this "excluded middle".[9][10][11]
Hiebert, who studied mathematics as an undergraduate, employed the idea ofset theory to describebounded sets versus centered orfuzzy sets as different ways of conceiving Christian community and theology.[12]
